On Jinya Ramen & Being a Masochist

It's torturous. I gave up wheat for Lent. I don't know what I was thinking or what, indeed, I thought I'd gain from this move. I dream about bread. (Last night I dreamt I was at my aunt's house in the mountains of Norway, a pretty little wooden hut with a grass roof and goats outside, and a red and white table cloth on the table, and when she wasn't looking I raided her fridge and stuffed my face with Norwegian cardamom rolls). There is no bread, no pie, no pasta, no cake, no tart, no wheat cereal but most of all, and most importantly, there is no ramen in my life. I lied to myself. I told myself that ramen was rice noodles. I went to Jinya with my friend Tracy and I had a bowl of the pork onkatsu noodles (original) with its pork broth laced with the delicious flavor of umami. The ramen comes in big earthenware bowls, with the steaming broth full of chopped green onions and soft slices of juicy pork. The noodles are al dente (Tracy who is Japanese thought they could be just slightly more firm) and can be rolled around your chopsticks with ease. I would venture to say the the tonkatsu ramen is the most delicious thing I can think of on these cold, grey days where I sit in my chilly, thin-walled office, shivering and watching the dogs shiver in turn. Jonathan Gold gets excited about Jinya too -- his review is here.

JINYA RAMEN: 11239 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. (818) 980-3977, jinya-la.com/ramen.

From the Los Angeles Times