Oakland

On a whim decided to go on a Sunday road trip with ramen boy. Hubby was out of town, no soccer commitments and it was the day before a month of summer school. Perfect for a ramen getaway and more. Actually it’s the only way I can spend some quality time with my fourteen year old. I bribe him with ramen and a long drive so that we can talk — if he doesn’t have his headphones on. I’ve learned that if I don’t force the conversation he usually instigates it and so I’m open ears.

It was a scenic and pretty quick drive through the Delta to Oakland. We made a pit stop for the best strawberries at a tucked away stand that we found years ago on another trip and knowing that the strawberries are at its peak now just had to buy a flat to bring home for later. We had to circle the block a couple of times to find street parking near the restaurant but it was a good opportunity to peruse the neighborhood. Noticed it was a choice location right near the Paramount Theatre and next door to a cannabis establishment. We had a good chuckle when we thought the line of young people outside were waiting for ramen. Definitely a conversation piece with ramen boy commenting that when the people had the munchies they would come next door to eat ramen and gyoza.

The fast food style of ordering and paying for your meal in advance at Itani Ramen is definitely a smart move for the area and clientele. Ramen is just not a lingering kind of meal but I suppose if you have appetizers, drinks and good company its all possible. We are the eat and go type of people especially when it comes to noodles. Ramen boy ordered the shio ramen just with chashu and no veggies. He was hungry so he asked for extra noodles. I had seen on the Instagram page a picture of the shivering noodle dish and had to give it a try. Our 10 piece gyozas were quickly devoured by him I think I only got two pieces. Absolutely delicious. Light, crispy with a bit of crust and topped off with a generous amount of finely chopped scallions. The how to eat gyozas instructions on the table was a nice touch. He liked the noodles which are made fresh at the restaurant but because he asked for extra noodles the noodle and broth ratio was off. There wasn’t much broth in the bowl so it was too dry. The ramen should have been served in a bigger bowl or the extra noodles should be delivered piping hot when you are ready for more. He didn’t share his chashu but I did have a sip of the broth at the end and he let me have his half egg. The egg was divine and the broth was milky and light with a not too salty finish. I’d like to try the shoyu ramen next time.

My shivering noodle salad was picture perfect and fresh tasting. Much thought has gone into the presentation of this dish and the toppings to go with the poached chicken and cold noodles. The snap peas was a nice surprise cut perfectly to eat along with the cherry tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, dried nori, radish sprouts and pickled ginger in some shoyu dashi. I added some chili oil to give it some more heat. The noodles were very al dente. I like my noodles katame (firmer) for ramen but for cold noodles I like a little more bend and softness to it. Ramen boy tasted the noodles and he thought it was just fine. Personal preference I think.

The concept of a late night open every day ramen joint makes Itani Ramen a cool place to go to and slurp some noodles. Quality ingredients are used here and for that reason I’d come back again to try the other ramen dishes. Ramen boy said for sure he’d come back and it better be for the noodles!

Itani Ramen
1736 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA
(510) 788-7489