I saw so much of Sawtelle last weekend, but I skipped the ramen. So it was only a matter of time before I started craving the dish that makes Sawtelle special...Except there was no way I was going to brave all that traffic again.
Eboshi is much closer and much better than "close enough". The Nikumiso Ramen converted this shoyu hater to a shoyu tolerate-r, maybe even a shoyu appreciate-r. Subtlety isn't lost in Eboshi, and rather than being overrun by soy sauce, this broth had more of an underlying hint, which paired surprisingly well with spicy ground pork. The soy sauce actually lightened the heavier crumbles, and it kept the broth from being too heavy on a hot day.
The Mabo Ramen is the best of both worlds when you can't decide between a rice bowl or ramen because it's kind of a rice bowl in liquid form. The shoyu is the same, but adding a mabo-tofu to the ramen noodle mix is definitely the best kind of interesting.
For those who can't stomach soup, the Jaja Men is basically the Nikumiso Ramen minus the soup. Spicy ground pork spiffs up the softer, slicker noodles, and it's almost as good as my mama's zha jiang mian.
The ramen is a little different at Eboshi, but just because it's not on Sawtelle doesn't mean it doesn't measure up. The ground pork is a more concentrated alternative to chashu, and the stronger soy-based broths make a South Bay statement. I still can't say no to a good tonkotsu, and I still go crazy over kotteri, but if I'm feeling something noodly and close, Eboshi will do nicely.
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