Miyata Menji - the In-N-Out of ramen

With the closing of Kinchans Ramen last year, it seemed like all hope was lost for decent ramen in Sawtelle. The outlook got even grimmer when Tsujita opened and decided not to serve ramen for a while. Well, fear no more. Three new ramen places just opened within the area, so now there are six ramen shops within the two blocks of Sawtelle proper. If you count Gotsui that started serving ramen for lunch, and Ramenya nearby, there are now eight ramen shops within 5 minutes of driving. Sawtelle has just become the fiercest battleground of ramen outside of Japan.

Miyata Menji came from Osaka. In Japan there is only one choice, tsukemen. In Sawtelle, they also serve a soup ramen with tomato and beef. The owner calls it the In-N-Out of ramen because of the simple menu.

The tsukemen sauce is very thick and mainly fish flavor. The noodles are mixed with a lot of vegetables. They recommend grinding some black pepper near the end to change the flavor of the ramen. The black pepper actually makes it more refreshing after eating a lot of the heavy tsukemen sauce. It's very different from "traditional" tsukemen, which is why I like it quite a bit.  

The soup ramen is also a bit different from any ramen place. People might not even accept it as ramen in Amercia (remember Ramen California?). The beef is thin and flavorful like beef from a beef bowl. Beef and tomato are naturally actually very good companion to noodles. You'll know if you have eaten any Taiwanese tomato beef noodles.

Osaka ramen style is known for being adventurous and interesting. Miyata Menji is no exception. My feeling is that there's no point in trying to open another ramen shop to serve something that Yamadaya or Santouka already excel at. Take a break from traditional ramen shops and give it a try. You can blame me later :)

Miyata Menji
2050 Sawtelle Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90025