Ritsu Tonkotsu Ramen - Izakaya Sozai

[jupiter]

Hi, so last night, i finally made it ot Izakaya Sozai, and the food was fine. Some of it was exceptional, some of it was "meh" but the one thing that stood out the most, the best, was the Ritsu Tonkotsu Ramen. The menu even recommends that you end your meal with it. As there were three of us determined to try to eat almost the whole menu, we split one bowl three ways at the end.
That broth is revelatory. i have never had anything like it. I really want to know what Melanie thinks about it! (I looked over your most recent list from earlier this month and didn't see it anywhere on there. Have you tried it and hated it? Or have you not had a chance to try it yet?) The noodles were cooked perfectly and had a good toothsomeness to them. The egg was perfectly soft boiled and the roast pork was delicious. But really, it was all about that broth. I have never had tonkotsu ramen before, so i can't say. maybe this was a horrible version, but as it was my first, it was new to me and delicious as well. The broth was unctous with out being greasy. It had an abundance of black pepper in it, that i would normally be averse to, but with this creamy marrow broth, it worked.
The yakitori is good: the chicken skin and the enoki wrapped mushrooms were my favorite; And some of the small plates were decent: the clams with sake and the tofu steak with mushrooms were both good, but nothing amazing, and the special of sauteed ankimo was different, but what set it apart was the way they treated the peppercorns that accompanied it and the sauce. (and speaking of the sauce, it was the consensus of the table that their sauces and broths were really the most thoughtful part of the compostions going on.)
Anyway, i would whole heartedly recommend that everyone try this bowl of ramen if they are pork eaters.

Take care,
Jupiter

Izakaya Sozai
1500 Irving
San Francisco, CA 94122

[vulber]

agreed

[Ruth Lafler]

Melanie has a policy not to respond to call-outs. For reference, here's her most recent ramen ranking:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/889512

[jupiter]

Thanks Ruth. that is how long it has been since i have been posting.

i will take her name off the title.

take care, and if you get a chance, you should try the ramen too if you like porky soup noodles!

[Ruth Lafler]

Well welcome back! And thanks for the rec -- I've never gotten into ramen, but maybe I should.

[jupiter]

and i just read through your ramen rankings again, and i realize that i am now the second person to recommend this bowl of ramen to you. so i can't wait to hear what you think.