Umami Mart

Welcome to Bay Eats Japan, where we’ll alert you to newly and soon-to-be opened Japanese restaurants and bars in the Bay Area. As we’ll be listing new places, a mention is not necessarily a recommendation. Use this as a handy way to keep track of new spots you might want to try in the future.  San Francisco […]

– If Ichiban and Cup Noodles are regulars in your culinary repertoire and you’re looking for new ways to jazz up your instant ramen fix, here’s a suggestion for you: Just add sake. According to JapanToday, the latest trend in Japan is to add about a tablespoon of sake to instant ramen. And the results […]

– Ask any food fanatic about their favorite movies and undoubtedly Tampopo will be on their list (if not #1). Juzo Itami’s delightfully playful 1985 “ramen western” tells the story of Tampopo, a woman on a mission to turn around her failing roadside noodle shop with the guidance of two truck drivers – an unlikely pair of ramen ronin. Janus Films […]

Living in Japan, I’m not used to spending a lot of money for ramen. But recently, while visiting New York – Brooklyn, to be exact – I shelled out $20 for a bowl of ramen and I would do it all over again. I would hand over, without a second thought, a sum of money enough for 2.5 mammoth […]

Welcome to our new column, Bay Eats Japan, where we’ll alert you to newly and soon-to-be opened Japanese restaurants and bars in the Bay Area. As we’ll be listing new places, a mention is not necessarily a recommendation. Use this as a handy way to keep track of new spots you might want to try in the […]

– Here’s one from the archives: Did you know David Bowie appeared in a Japanese sake commercial in 1980. The ad was for Crystal Jun Rock shochu and featured a snippet of his haunting instrumental synth track, “Crystal Japan” and some intense eye contact from the Space Oddity. Oh David Bowie, we miss you!  (Dangerous […]

Kyle Itani used to have midnight ramen pop-ups at his Oakland restaurant, Hopscotch, a few years ago and Yoko and I would sneak in and snag a table. It was way past our bedtime but it was such a rare occasion for a restaurant in Oakland to be open past midnight, and, serve ramen! Now, […]

The best bowl of ramen we ate on our last trip to Japan was in the Chofu neighborhood of Tokyo. We were on our way for some R+R at an onsen nearby and stopped by Take-chan, which specializes in broth made with niboshi (dried infant sardine). It was highly rated on Tabelog, so we wanted to try it. Plus, […]

We’ve all been patiently waiting for Itani Ramen to open its doors. The time has come… THIS WEEKEND! Kyle Itani, co-owner of Hopscotch restaurant, has been working on this project for years — we even went to his Ramen Nights at Hopscotch, way back when. Yes, opening a late-night ramen spot has always been a […]

Ramen is a touchy subject in the Bay Area. Scratch that, it is a touchy subject ANYWHERE. In New York, LA, Tokyo… it doesn’t matter what town you may be in — everyone has a god damn opinion about ramen. So I haven’t really wanted to tread the waters of “The Best Ramen” in the […]