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Sacramento, CA

Sacramento, CA

Kodaiko Ramen & Bar

Posted on December 13, 2021

A rainy day is a perfect excuse to get out for a bowl of ramen. Hubby and I planned to go downtown to get some noodles for lunch and to Ruhstaller for a beer. Then head over to Fleet Feet to check out running gear and then to Ginger Elizabeth for dessert and peppermint hot chocolate. It’s easy to miss Kodaiko’s storefront. Still, once you descend the stairs to the restaurant, it’s reminiscent of some of our favorite basement eateries in Tokyo that promise you some tasty delights. It wasn’t crowded when we arrived, so we were seated quickly. We both ordered tonkotsu ramen and karaage (fried chicken) to share. Since hubby doesn’t like aioli, they recommended swapping the sauce with a soy-ginger version, which was delicious. The chicken was bite-sized, super tender, and had a light crunch. Maybe they used mochiko flour for the coating? He also doesn’t like eggs, so I got to eat his half that came with the ramen. The ajitama (seasoned egg) was perfectly done and is a must-have accompaniment with ramen. The pork chashu was tender, and the noodles were done just right – al dente and springy. The broth wasn’t too rich and I loved that they added plenty of mizuna (mustard greens).

My only gripe is that I like my ramen to be piping hot so that when I slurp the steam fogs up my glasses, I was surprised that I would have to pay for chili oil to add a little kick to the broth. It should be available in a container on the table free of charge. It’s a nice touch that makes places stand out, like Ippudo offering free spicy bean sprouts and ice-cold mugicha (barley tea). For hygienic reasons with the pandemic, it’s understandable that it’s not available for sharing on a table. I hope that 2022 brings more business to the downtown area in Sacramento. It’s been tough for many restaurants to stay open, and I’m glad that Kodaiko is a popular restaurant. When we were leaving, there was a line of folks waiting to get inside. The food quality here is no surprise with chefs Takumi Abe and Billy Ngo in the kitchen. I’ll be back soon to try their spicy kimchii chicken katsu sando on fluffy milk bread.

Kodaiko Ramen & Bar
718 K St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 426-8863
kodaikoramen.com

Sacramento, CA

Empress Tavern

Posted on December 26, 2017

I had a serendipitous encounter with a bowl of ramen at Empress Tavern. I felt a wave of nostalgia because it was below the Crest Theater taking me back to my college days at Davis. As I descended down the carpeted stairs leading to the restaurant I was anticipating good food and meeting new work colleagues. After introductions and talking about our holiday plans we perused the menu. It was my first time but I had heard that the burger recently won the Sacramento Burger Battle. I was torn between that or the fried chicken sandwich until Christina asked what was the blue plate special. Prime rib ramen. We broke out in laughter. If you didn’t know I had a ramen blog it wouldn’t be so funny. Seriously this was a sign from the ramen gods I had to try it.

I can be skeptical about ordering ramen when it is a daily special and not from a ramen shop but the beauty of ramen is that you can have the creative license to make it your own. I should know. I make my own version to comfort me on those days that I need it most. Their soft boiled egg won me over. It wasn’t a marinated (ajitsuke tamago) but the ooze factor was on point. It was a hearty bowl of thick noodles with scallions and topped with a mound of thinly sliced prime rib. The flavorful and tender meat was reminiscent of having sukiyaki with a little bit of fat.

A half a bowl later I was pretty full. I took the rest home as an after school snack for ramen boy. I wasn’t sure he would like it since the noodles were already in the broth and to reheat it again would make the noodles soggy. Luckily the thick noodles survived a second heating with some added bone broth.

He liked the thick noodles, the thinly sliced meat and the slivers of pepperoncini. I think the meat is used for the french dip sandwich so the pepperoncini was an accident meant to be as it adds a dimension to an otherwise very simple bowl of noodles. He told me it reminded him of the chuck roast that I make in the slow cooker with a packet of Hidden Ranch dressing, a stick of butter and a bottle of pepperoncinis.

Cilantro was so last year in Tokyo. This is ramen’s new secret ingredient. Shhh.

Empress Tavern
1013 K. Street
Sacramento, CA
(916) 662-7694

Sacramento, CA

Ju Hachi by Taka’s

Posted on October 13, 2017

Not exactly an orthodox bowl of tantanmen. The owner of the restaurant is Japanese but raised in Brazil. I was torn to try the butter corn miso or the bacon bit tonkotsu ramen but played it safe and decided to compare Ju Hachi’s tantanmen to the competitors in the area. Ramen boy would have been the ultimate supertaster but I came with colleagues. The sliced tomato was an unusual addition along with the chopped jalapeño and the cilantro kind of threw me off my ramen game but I didn’t want to be judgmental since this wasn’t the usual bowl of tantanmen for me. Surprisingly all of the ingredients meshed well. Not quite the traditional bowl of noodles but I liked the gentle kick to it and that it wasn’t heavy. A richer broth would have given it more dimension but all in all it was a very satisfying bowl of noodles. I had no problem finishing it off. Ramen boy would have ordered this sans veggies. Just the meat, noodles and broth. I suppose that would be the true tantanmen taste test. Next time butter corn miso ramen to take me down memory lane.

Ju Hachi by Taka’s
1730 S Street
Sacramento , CA 95814
916-448-3481

Sacramento, CA

Takumi Izakaya Bar

Posted on March 15, 2017

Jury duty and an extra long lunch break has given me the opportunity to check out nearby restaurants. I had heard Takumi serves a $50 bowl of lobster ramen and I admit it turned me off from trying the place. The most expensive ramen I have had in the U.S. has been either at Ippudo in New York or Ramen Shop in Oakland. All under $20 still. The thought of spending $50 for a bowl of ramen in my opinion is gimmicky. Ramen is just not fancy food. Go ahead and dress it up all you want but the most important elements are simply the noodles and the broth.

I ordered the miso ramen. The chashu was delicious with just the right amount of fat. I prefer a  soft yolk to the point of runny but these were pretty darn close and very tasty. Unfortunately the broth lacked depth and was a tad too oily. The menma (bamboo) tasted off as well. Even though the ramen was underwhelming the service was above and beyond excellent.

My six week jury duty stint has really made me one tough customer. I have come back another time and ordered the bento lunch with mixed tempura and gyoza. Once again the food didn’t wow me but thumbs up to the service. I kept thinking maybe I ordered the wrong dishes judging from the happy diners around me thoroughly enjoying their food. Keeping an open mind I should try their happy hour and will have to try their yakitori dishes and sushi another time. Ramen boy can try their tantanmen. That will be the true test.

Third time lucky.

Takumi Izakaya Bar
826 J. Street
Sacramento, CA
(916) 228-4095
@TakumiSacramento

Sacramento, CA

Shoki Ramen Shamrock Ready

Posted on March 6, 2017

Bonding time with ramen boy over some noodles after his soccer training. We can be creatures of habit and order the same thing. I thought I’d change it up and order the curry ramen but the Matcha soy milk ramen caught my eye. I like drinking green tea but having it in a ramen broth I was a bit skeptical. The broth was subtle with a green tea flavor but matcha has a slight chalky bitterness to it which is hard to mask. I was impressed that the flavor was smooth and coated the noodles with each bite. Simply adorned with chashu, bean sprouts, fresh spinach and seaweed.

I think the chef created this ramen when Shoki Ramen was featured at The Ramen Lab in New York during the summer. Timely with St. Patrick’s Day coming up and I am glad that I tried it.

Going to stick with the usual in the future though. After all, Shoki Ramen makes a mean bowl of tantanmen.

Sacramento, CA

Kru

Posted on November 13, 2016

A much needed night out with hubby and our friends at Kru’s new location in East Sacramento.  It’s a wonderful addition to the neighborhood with outdoor seating and a stunning interior which is open, airy and inviting and with a handsome sushi bar to boot.

We were in a sushi state of mind but I knew for the sake of this blog I would have to try one of the ramen offerings and so I ordered the cold tea smoked duck ramen for us to sample. Impeccable presentation with the soy dashi carefully poured into the dish at the table. The dish came with thinly sliced rare duck over cold noodles and garnished with shaved radish, two tempura green beans (I snagged both actually my favorite part of the dish), micro greens, seaweed and masago or tobiko. It was hidden from the photo I took and now I can’t recall which fish roe it was. I’d prefer they didn’t include the roe since it didn’t add anything to the dish and was more of a distraction. However put in some ikura with the optional poached shrimp and I would be singing a different tune.

It was a delicious evening out and we will be back again soon. The ramen was good but not the main attraction. Definitely the go to place for sushi and my new favorite Peter Rabbit cocktail with Botanist Gin, Lime, Elderflower Syrup and Gifford Elderflower Liqueur.

Kru
3135 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA
(916) 551-1559

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My pretty friend about to dig into the raw oysters.

Sacramento, CA

Kimchi Craving at Binchoyaki

Posted on September 17, 2016

My girlfriend and I haven’t had catch up time in ages. She hadn’t been to Binchoyaki Izakaya Dining and so we decided to meet there. I was hoping to finally try the infamous duck ramen but it wasn’t available for lunch and so I went for the cold kimchi ramen. We ordered a couple of lunch sets to share along with the noodles. I was interested in her take of the restaurant since she is a born and bred Tokyoite with a very sophisticated palate and she spends a lot of time in Los Angeles where there are a plethora of delicious Japanese restaurants.

It is a yakitori joint so it’s a given that we had to order some sticks. I highly recommend the seafood set (it’s not listed but if you ask nicely they will prepare one for you with an additional charge). The grilled salmon with ikura on top is pure heaven and the grilled prawns with the head easily separated should you want to eat it (my mom would) has an out of this world buttery taste. Just salt, prawn and the binchoyaki charcoal giving it the delicious flavor. My friend ordered the chicken set and I told her to skip the breast meat stick and to ask for the ground chicken/duck sticks instead which are yummy. With breast meat there is a 50/50 chance that it will be dry although I’ve discovered that a 30 minute salt brine to chicken breasts when I make tenders for ramen boy always results in a super moist and juicy tender. My girlfriend liked the yakitori but did mention that it would be nice to have an option of a 5 or 10 stick lunch set where you could pick and choose what you wanted. I have to agree since we are a picky lot.

The cold kimchi ramen was one of specials for the day listed on the chalkboard. The noodles were perfectly springy hiding underneath a lot of fresh goodness including corn, cherry tomatoes, seaweed, scallions, micro greens and of course the ubiquitous kimchi. I should have taken a more careful look at what was inside but we had quickly slurped it up. Thumbs up for the tangy yuzu sauce that was used was a perfect match.

Chef Craig surprised us with some complimentary desserts and the plum granita with fresh raspberries, homemade marmalade (sweet goodness) and cream seemed like an odd combination but it went so well together. My favorite dessert in a long time.

My friend and I lingered for a while after eating. She had just shown me a silly Japanese app called Egg that I quickly downloaded on my phone for some selfie fun while we were in the restaurant. We were laughing up a storm but the servers at Binchoyaki didn’t care and let us have our good time. Ramen boy later informed me that I am so last year and that the app is like Snapchat. Oh well.

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Sacramento, CA

Raijin Ramen House

Posted on July 22, 2016

I was feeling in need of some comfort. Ramen boy just finished with his doctor’s visit. It was just a routine physical that’s required for school and he passed with flying colors. Really no need for concern but I had sweaty palms driving him there with a feeling of doom and gloom. Keep in mind that I go to doctor’s appointments and hospitals often since I accompany my mom and I never feel this way. I am always concerned but I am guessing that deep down I worry something may be wrong with my baby. Yes I know it sounds pathetic but my baby is a teenager now. He had a rough start coming in to the world, I had a hard time having him and a mother’s love and worry is forever. Forever.

So to celebrate a routine doctor’s appointment we went for some ramen. He had the garlic shoyu tonkotsu ramen with just the chashu and a side of gyoza. I wanted cold noodles and so I ordered the kimchi mazemen. Kimchi is the ultimate comfort food and pair it with rice or noodles and with an oozy egg all is well in the world. Raijin’s mazemen did not disappoint and I was quite happy to be given a whole egg. For presentation it would look better split in half showing the yolk but it would have spoiled that first bite and the burst of egg yolk into your mouth. The egg was cooked to perfection. The noodles were chilled and springy on top of some mixed greens, chopped chashu, kimchi, dried seaweed and a light shoyu citrus based (ponzu) dressing. It was on the bottom and not drizzled on top which I preferred. Absolutely delicious.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Raijin Ramen House
1901 S St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 498-9968

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Sacramento, CA

The Izakaya

Posted on July 6, 2016

After three weeks of an intense math review ramen boy declared that summer has officially begun for him by sleeping in till 1 pm (those days are a faint memory for me) and then futzing about till he realized the time having missed breakfast and lunch that he was starved. I couldn’t really get angry with him because ramen mom forgot to have lunch too futzing around on the computer. Of course he wanted ramen and I didn’t want to cook so going to The Izakaya was timely since their happy hour started at 2:30 and who can say no to $5 ramen.

It was already a full house when we got there everyone patiently waiting for the half hour to start ordering. Three types of ramen are offered: house ramen, spicy ramen and vegetable ramen. I didn’t feel like having a bowl of noodles so I went for a roll instead. Ramen boy had the spicy ramen plain as usual with just chashu and we shared some pan fried pork gyozas. I have had the ramen before and let’s just say that it’s a no frills but pretty tasty bowl of noodles. Smart marketing on their part since the place is always packed for happy hour. I also like the small details like serving water with lime slices and a piece of candy with your bill.

Walking out the door for less than $20 is a great deal. Now off to get some $5 coffee.

The Izakaya
Ramen and Japanese Pub
5651 Freeport Blvd.
Sacramento, CA
(916) 391-1378

Sacramento, CA

Binchoyaki Izakaya Dining

Posted on June 21, 2016

I hesitate taking my mom to Japanese restaurants since she likes to give her two cents and the experience makes me feel like a kid rolling my eyes begging her not to embarrass me. Now that she’s in her 80’s and not going to change her ways I’ve just learned to go with the flow and hope that she likes the food. Binchoyaki did not disappoint and is a nice addition to the Japanese food scene in Sacramento introducing izakaya type of food (Japanese tapas).

The miso soup was a welcoming start for the meal to come. It came out piping hot and the flavor was on point according to my mom. Lots of seaweed, green onions and a surprising addition of shaved corn. We later found out that the owner/chef blends three types of miso for his soup and makes his own dashi. I had the kushiyaki set with Negima (chicken leg and green onion), Binchoyaki Tsukune (minced chicken and duck), Muneniku (chicken breast) and a skewer of okra . My mom had the black cod misoyaki. She thought it was good but was more impressed with the miso soup (she ordered another one), the salad (very finely shredded green and red cabbage, carrots and lettuce), the cucumber pickles and the quality of the rice.  Most importantly, the green tea came out to her in a Japanese tea pot with scalding hot water the way she likes it and the presentation of the food with different types of dishes sealed the deal with her. She felt like she was eating at home but someone else was serving her.

For the sake of this being a ramen blog I had to try the shio ramen on the menu. Probably the most understated bowl of ramen I’ve had since Ramen Lab in New York but without chashu or even an egg. The toppings were simply finely chopped green onion, seaweed, menma and topped with three thinly sliced kamaboko mostly for decor. The chicken based broth was very lightly seasoned and not too salty. There was a mysterious ingredient that added some black flecks to the broth and to the noodles. At first I thought it was black pepper and then realized it was actually charred green onion. Nice touch gave the broth a very slight smoky flavor. The noodles complemented the other dish that I had but on its own it would likely be too bland for me. I think an ajitsuke tamago (marinated soft boiled egg) would add that oomph I wanted to taste and was wishing for.

So as I reflected over the meal with their delicious white peach sorbet I thought wouldn’t it be great if Binchoyaki served different types of ochazuke. Maybe salmon or ikura, umeboshi, pickles and …

I suppose the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Binchoyaki Izakaya Dining
2226 10th Street
Sacramento, CA
(916) 469-9448

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