Restaurant Review #114: Kinchan's, Sawtelle, West LA

Shiitake ramen

Update: Kinchan's has permanently closed.

Everyone has their favorite ramen house on Sawtelle. Non-grocery store ramen is new to me, so I've been on a mission to try them all--a mission that coincides nicely with my mission to eat at just about every restaurant on Sawtelle.

Ramenya is closed on Wednesdays, so I ended up at Kinchan's. It made no difference to me, really, since I hadn't tried either before.

I got the shiitake ramen to go. My order was ready very quickly, and the service was friendly. The restaurant looked a bit cramped and didn't have a whole lot of atmosphere. The ramen was good at first, and they sure didn't skimp on the mushrooms, but the flavor quickly became one-dimensional, with the dominant flavor being salt. The noodles were better than Chabuya, but not nearly as good as Asahi, but it depends on the texture you like. I'm an al dente kind of gal, but Kinchan's noodles were fully cooked (though not overcooked). I was pleased by the abundance of shiitakes, but the snow peas were soggy.

The soup also contained tofu and beef in small quantities. There wasn't a lot of broth in this ramen, and I'm not sure if that had something to do with getting my order to go or if Kinchan's just isn't big on broth. Eating the ramen out of the styrofoam it came in proved to be a surefire way to repeatedly burn my tongue (styrofoam really does keep the heat in) so I had to transfer my food to a bowl (dishes, boo!). As far as portion sizes go, I could have made two meals out of this (of course, wet noodles don't keep well at all), but I could probably feed three or four of me with a bowl from Asahi.

The soup came with a side of what may have been daikon pickles. They were an almost mustardy yellow and had a flavor that can only be described as "why white people eat at P.F. Chang's." I've liked daikon pickles at other places, like Yakitoria, but these had a sweet, musty flavor that made me wince.

Verdict: I'd rather wait in line at Asahi. Only one more ramen house to go! I have a feeling Asahi will win, though.

Kinchan's
2119 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-445-0031

California

I intentionally don't write reviews when I'm out of town. I want to keep my site tightly focused, and when I'm on vacation, I don't want to work! However, I just can't stand letting these good restaurants go unmentioned, so this post will be an ever-expanding list of my favorite non-LA restaurants.

In California

Santa Barbara
1. The Palace - You'll wait in line outside, but the line moves fast and live zydeco music will keep you entertained while heaters keep you toasty. The food is excellent, the staff is happy to accomodate allergies and preferences, and you have to save room to eat a chocolate souffle with bourbon sauce for dessert. Come super-hungry because you'll also want to try every flavor of corn muffin they serve before your meal. The food can't compete with real southern cajun food, but it's still very good food, and we are starved for any cajun at all in these parts. At some point during your meal, the entire restaurant will sing songs while the staff comes around to clink glasses with you. In spite of being cheesy, even I manage to enjoy this ritual.




Berkeley
1. Skates on the Bay - The waitress actually brought me a free drink for no other reason than that the bartender had accidentally made an extra cosmo (either that or she was hitting on me!). More importantly, I loved my scallops and the cheesy potato entree. Sit by the window and enjoy the view of San Francisco--especially lovely at night. Dateworthy.

Santa Cruz
1. Costa Brava - The quality of food, portion size, menu variety, wine list, dessert menu, noise level, interior design, prices, and service are all nearly perfect. I wish this restaurant were in Los Angeles. Of course, if it were, the hostesses probably wouldn't have been nearly as friendly or accomodating, and the place probably would have been loud and obnoxiously trendy. But in Santa Cruz, it was perfect. It was even easy to get reservations for 7:30 on a Saturday--and we made them only 2 hours in advance. Dateworthy.

Cambria
The Black Cat
Robin's