Anyone who knows me well will likely know of my affection for Spanish cuisine, a passion which rivals and in many ways, surpasses even my love for ramen. Admittedly, I don’t eat noodles nearly as much as I used to. A steady diet of Mediterranean influence - fish and tomatoes, olive oil and beans,has replaced a lot of my gonzo noodle slurping in recent months. In part this has to do with health; all those fats and carbs have to go somewhere, and as relatively young as (I’d like to think) I am, it’s never too early to cut back on the calories and perhaps spare a few arteries in the process.
southern all stars: the yatai of tenjin and nakasu, hakata
by rameniac | 03 Mar 2008
It should come as no surprise, to any close reader of this site, that I am completely enamored with not just Japan, but more specifically, southern Japan. Yes, the rameniac does play favorites, but it’d be pretty hard not to, not when historically speaking, the world’s best tonkotsu ramen is served at literally thousands of yatai food carts scattered across Fukuoka city’s Hakata district. What the taco truck is to Los Angeles, the yatai is to Hakata, and I wear my heart proudly on my sleeve when I say that I root for the Softbank Hawks and count among my favorite people on earth my tomodachi in Northern Kyushu, whose residents are often friendly to a fault and exude the warmth of oden simmering past two am on a wintry morning.
For those of you lucky enough to be living near a Mitsuwa Marketplace in the States, it's time once again for their Kyushu & Okinawa Fair. Ramen-wise, tonkotsu ramen specialist Tatsunoya (龍の家) from Kurume will be setting up shop 7/16 - 7/19 in Torrance and 7/23 - 7/26 in New Jersey. There's also Yamachan Nagasaki Sara Udon and Okinawa Soba doing the rounds at several locations. I'm lazy in this heat; check their schedule for details.
the ramen girl, now serving on DVD
by rameniac | 26 May 2009
I’ve resisted writing about The Ramen Girl, largely because Ed already beat me to the punch (bowl). What’s not to love about this Brittany Murphy vehicle, a Tampopo meets Lost in Translation-inspired rom-com featuring Japanese character actor Toshiyuki Nishida as a cranky old ramen chef and (woo hoo) an all-too-rare Asian male love interest? The truth is, a little over a year ago, the fine folks at Media 8 Entertainment invited me to a screening of the film, and I had hoped to help the filmmakers generate some hype for it by waiting until they had secured distribution and a release date before drumming up some buzz. Yes, rameniac can be bought, for the price of a free movie and a couple of hours of air conditioning!
