Men-Oh: Bowling a perfect 10 in Little Tokyo ramen

Tokushima ramen with a richly porky broth

Men Oh Tokushima is certainly no secret - it was named Little Tokyo's best ramen by Jonathan Gold in this exhaustively helpful guide to ramen published on Super Bowl weekend. But it's still so new that on the very day the article appeared, the ramen shop wasn't even crowded after a late afternoon visit to the Geffen's art book show.
Located in the Honda Plaza across the parking lot from Sushi Gen, where a crowd was already gathering, we couldn't help but feel smug that we would soon be slurping hot porky broth on a cold winter evening while dozens of people waited an hour to eat cold fish or milled in front of Daikokuya. Several young families had the same idea, and the multiculti toddlers of Highland Park or Silver Lake slurped alongside of us. ("But Violet, you love nori!") We tried the karage fried chicken, because TheJGold had suggested it, but really the ramen was so deeply flavored no other dishes were needed.
Tokushima is a region of Japan famous for its pork, and indeed this bowl does its namesake region proud.
Berkshire Kurobata pork bones are simmered until they cry uncle, then simmered pork and stir-fried pork belly are added to Men Oh's springy yet supple homemade noodles (medium thickness, straight, if you're keeping track). A perfectly cooked pasteurized egg floats in the murky depths. That's really all you need. It's been called a medium-strength broth, but it was rich enough for me that I could barely manage a single mochi from Mikawaya afterwards.
Men Oh Tokushima
456 E. 2nd St.,
(213) 687-8485

Lazy Ox: Can it be all things to all people?

crunchy corn kernels with pimenton set the tone for the full-flavored menu

Little Tokyo's The Lazy Ox is one of those rare places that's both capable of snagging three stars from S. Irene and serving as an easy place to drop in for some beers and happy hour snacks -- whether you like the word or not, it's one of L.A.'s most ambitious gastropubs. I love how chef Josef Centeno incorporates spices like za'atar and influences from Morocco, Spain, the Middle East and sometimes Asia in his dishes without diluting the concept.

You must order the caramelized cauliflower, even if you're not always a fan

Nearly a year old now, Centeno's cooking seems to be getting even more wide-ranging, and while Animal gets all the nose to tail attention, the Lazy Ox is just as ambitious. Yet your squeamish friends, who would never touch a rabbit liver or pig ear, will be just as comfortable here, with a really solid burger ($14), imaginative fish dishes and a refreshing attention to vegetables. It's also a handy place for a business lunch, happy hour snacks like burrata crostini, a Belgian ale on tap, or comfort food staples like a giant veal chop or fried chicken. Nearly 50 specials are listed each night, and amazingly, they're mostly successful.

In summer, soft shell crab was fried tempura style with a crunchy crust

On arrival diners get a small dish of addictive corn kernels with Spanish smoked paprika. It's a flavor combo Centeno returns to repeatedly -- most dishes play off smoky, salty, spicy and acidic in satisfying ways. Other standouts include a salad of deeply flavored brick roasted tomatoes with luscious burrata and the unexpected addition of Japanese pickled plums; light and crunchy fried dishes from soft shell crab to ethereal yet rich battered bone marrow. A few dishes familiar from Centeno's previous stops are featured - there's usually a hand torn pasta with egg and cavatelli with rich sauce of oxtails or beef and pork ragu, and sometimes his bacos -- flatbread tacos topped with crispy pork belly and the like -- make a command appearance. The beer and wine list is ambitious enough to ensure return visits, with solid sake and shochu lists in a nod to the neighborhood and a rumored Japanese restaurant to come next door.

The hamburger is terrific, with housemade mustard and garlicky aioli

Is there a down side? They've done what they could to warm up the room, but it's tough to bring character to restaurants in brand-new office or loft buildings, and the space can also feel cramped and really loud. For my tastes, the menu is one of the most appealing in town, but at times it feels like every dish is dusted with smoky pimenton and lots of salt. But these are pretty mild quibbles -- just sit on the patio if you don't like the room and make sure to order a variety of dishes.
The Lazy Ox
241 S. San Pedro
Downtown Los Angeles
213-526-5299

Lazy Ox Canteen: Downtown gastropub first impressions

Where does Josef Centeno's new Little Tokyo spot The Lazy Ox fall on the gastropub scale? It probably skews a little more gastro than pub, with ambitious entrees in the mid-$20s and an intriguing little wine list. But there's also a "5 for $5" happy hour menu, a roster of serious beers and a list of small plates that can either tide over bar drinkers or kick off a full dinner. Centeno seems to have found a much more convivial spot than either the cavernous, overly formal Opus or the fraught-with-drama Lot 1. Restaurants in brand-new buildings could use a little time to get comfy and frayed around the edges, though the weathered brick wall and funky light bulbs try their best to make the space homey. Come summer, outdoor dining on the patio should liven up San Pedro Ave. Our selection of dishes probably wasn't quite balanced -- from the $5 happy hour menu, whipped ricotta and olive oil was nice on housemade bread, while three small bites of beef skewers were uninspired. Somehow we landed in the meaty camp again with rich and earthy cavatelli with braised oxtail and rutabaga. We finished with a tangerine flan in a cup that was more like a soft pudding, with a the citrusy/creamy flavor was a nice Creamsicle inspiration. I don't think I'd order any of those dishes again, but I'll certainly go back anyway to try the Kennebec fries and roasted mussels with chile, sample some beers (West Coast IPA always pleases) and chat with Doug, formerly of Sgt. Recruiter, certainly one of the more pleasant bartenders around. Plus, taking the Gold Line to the new Little Tokyo station was a breeze -- and I didn't have to worry about how many IPAs I had.

Spitz Downtown: Doner kebabs and beer bring variety to Little Tokyo

When Spitz and Oinkster in Eagle Rock opened about two years ago, Northeast L.A. got a taste of the new wave of reasonably-priced casual food that's actually good. At Spitz, everything from the sweet potato fries to the Lamill Coffee was well-thought out. The new Little Tokyo location adds beer and wine to the mix, creating a homey hangout spot for Downtown dwellers and workers. Although Little Tokyo has a many good restaurants, Jeremy Piven showed us that you don't want to eat sushi every day, so a chicken or lamb doner kebab seems like a good way to vary the diet. The sandwiches are available in wraps or as foccacia sandwiches, and there's also vegetarian falafel for non-kebab eaters. I was invited for a small press preview and tried the combo doner plate, which is a greatest hits basket of salad, chicken, lamb, falafel and fried pita strips on a bed of French fries and sweet potato fries. The beer menu had some interesting selections -- Spitz owners Bryce and Robert were able to convince the notoriously choosy Craftsman Brewing to take them on as a new account. I tried a can of "the world's best canned beer," the Gordon strong ale, which had a nice hoppy flavor but had less carbonation than I would prefer. Instead of the gelato like the Eagle Rock location, the Downtown Spitz is experimenting with dessert kebabs of chocolate, fruit, mascarpone, etc. While I can't get too excited about the pricey steakhouses et al over at L.A. Live, beer and doner kebab at a decent price are something everyone Downtown can be happy about.
(press preview)

Taste test: Takumi is Little Tokyo's newest sushi surprise

hirami or halibut sushi

After weeks of sad little rushed lunches of supermarket sushi at my desk, I was starting to crave the real thing. I knew that somewhere out there people weren't eating ice-cold rice topped with completely tasteless tuna. But where to go? The Westside is bursting with great sushi bars, but that's not an alternative on a Friday night after work. Saito is good, but perhaps a bit claustrophobic. I love Sushi Gen, but I'm not willing to fight the crowds on a weekend evening.
So it was off to Takumi, where Hiro from Sushi Gen set up shop a few months ago with the former owner of Shin on Hillhurst. We snagged seats at the bar and watched as our neighbors inhaled quantities of uni and live scallops. Everyone was also ordering sea snail served in a giant shell. We went a little more subdued and started with lovely halibut sushi topped with a bit of red pepper, a beautiful huge bowl of ankimo (monkfish liver) with seaweed, a rich, melty plate of grilled butterfish, breathlessly fresh snapper with real wasabi and lemon and a trio of small, briny yet mild Kumamoto oysters from Washington state. We finished with orders of excellent toro sushi.
Takumi doesn't seem nearly as crowded as it should be for sushi of that quality, so get there now before the hordes from Sushi Gen figure it out. It's not cheap, though -- the toro helped bump our total up to $80 with two large beers. It wasn't a huge quantity of food but it was a completely satisfying meal. The room is pleasant and quiet, with soft jazz accompanying some serious fish-eating. I got a peek at the bill of the couple next to me, and it was $230 -- now that must have been a lot of sushi (omakase is $80 per person).
Takumi
333 E. 2nd St.
Little Tokyo
213-626-1793

Little Tokyo afternoon: Ramen and froyo

I wanted to pick up some black cod and sundry Japanese groceries at Mitsuwa, so we stopped for lunch in the Little Tokyo Square mall at Hana-Ichimonme, which was recommended on Rameniac's blog. It was a perfect lunch spot, cute and cozy with a wide selection of ramen and bargain combination lunches. We had the signature Hanaichi ramen with is made with a soy sauce base; it has a distinctive taste of fish stock, which was fine by us but lighter and distinctive from the rich pork-based broth at Daikokuya. They also have the pork-based one and a miso-based one, with toppings like corn, kimchee and stir-fried vegetables. The pork gyoza were light, yet crispy and greasy in the best way; there's also a huge selection of rainbow-hued fruit drinks with various combos of red beans, ice cream, rice cake, gelatin cubes, etc. And my favorite, coffee jello. But we skipped dessert there and instead tried out Fiore/IF, the Pinkberry-esque spot in the Japanese Village Plaza. I like the clear plastic chairs and furry pink couch on which Matt chills in the photo, and I found the sour yogurt/green tea swirl very intriguing. I kept sampling a bit of the green tea and a bit of the sour flavor to see which I preferred, until it was practically gone. Very refreshing after a bowl of hot, salty ramen, but I don't think I'll be rushing there all the time when Pinkberry opens in Silver Lake.