Ramen noodles but not that kind

This is not the ramen I ate in college

Foodventure: Itani Ramen 1736 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94612

I’m not a ramen connoisseur. I have very little experience in it and often have no idea what I’m ordering when I go to ramen places. It seems lazy but I have often had to refer to friends who frequent ramen to tell me the best options. I’m a California girl, living in the center of an emerging and ever expanding food scene. But I do the same thing with Pho.

So trying Kyle Itani’s third restaurant Itani was a good change of pace and an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone.

Itani is directly next door to Yonsei it’s newest handroll Sushi spot. I will tell of their tale in a separate post. I can’t spoil all the foodventure fun in one post. Both restaurants are across the street from the Fox Theater. In fact, there’s a walk way between the two restaurants.

We entered just as “Make the Road by Walking” by Menahan Street Band was playing. The song that has been used as a sample on Jay-Z’s “Roc Boys” and it felt only right hearing the horns in the cleanest form before sitting down.

Take a look at what we tasted while we were there:

Kara’age: marinated fried chicken, lemon and sesame. Pre- sauced, crispy chicken and not dry but tender. The lemon wedge gave it a nice boost but it wasn’t necessary.

Veggie Gyoza: mushroom, garbanzo, ginger. Option to try two ways sloppy or yaki (griddled)

Cold Cali Noodles: Snow crab, avocado sesame, pickle ginger nori wasabi soy ginger vinaigrette. This is their summer ramen dish and service cold. Smokiness of sesame and the heat from the wasabi was great. I couldn’t finish it during the lunch and it was helpful to know that it transported well for leftovers that evening. I’m wondering if this is a good to-go meal for the next day.

Oxtail ramen : sweet potato, garlic, chives, bean sprouts, sesame and a very jammy egg. For anyone who has dietary restrictions and can’t handle a beef or chicken stock, it was also good to know the ramen broth was made with dashi, which is a fish stock in the miso family.