Go Squared - Torrance

After over a year of build-up, I finally tried the Go Squared Ramen Burger. I looked down at that grease-glowing patty of beef between two discs of protruding, ramen-noodle tentacles while my heart fluttered in anticipation. The last time I was this excited about something, I had waited over a month to see the latest Hunger Games.

Unfortunately, Mockingjay put me to sleep with its slow-moving plot, full of emotionally-hollow moments. Even more unfortunately, the ramen burger put me into a sleepy, unsatisfying food coma with its greasy beef patty. The ramen buns were a bit mushy with a consistency not-so-different from the Kraft singles cheese-slice underneath. The overall effect is cloying and sickening when combined with the sticky,teriyaki-esque sauce that drenched the patty. The side of edamame was cute, though, kind of like a Japanese version of burger and fries.

No doubt Mitsuwa Marketplace has the best food court in town. Between tempting bowls of Hannosuke tempura, steaming soups of Santouka ramen, and impressive stacks of surprisingly-fresh grocery-store sushi, there's a reason it took me this long to try something new. Thanks to this disappointment, I won't be deviating again anytime soon.