Oh My!

About six weeks ago I received an email from L.A. Weekly with the subject "Steaming burnt miso ramen."  Naturally I was curious and clicked to open when I saw that there was a review of restaurant called Ramen by Omae.  Now, I know of an Omae, but when I clicked on the link I was surprised to find out that it was the very Omae I was thinking of. Chef Omae is famous to the average American foodie for his role as sous chef to Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, but to true international food connoisseurs he is a twice-awarded Michelin starred chef.  So what's he doing in Sherman Oaks?

Serving the most amazing ramen I have ever had in my life.  I told my husband that I don't even think I can enjoy Pho after eating Omae's ramen.  We had actually eaten ramen twice before in this very same location under a different name, and the name is the only thing that changed about the place.  The old restraurant was dark with booths, and Chef Omae's has literally lightened up the joint and added crystal chandeliers above the table tops.  Its a better atmosphere to be dining in, to be quite frank.

First up my husband ordered some edamame.  Two things to note: 1) it comes cold, and 2) juice squirts out of it like nobody's business.   Other than that, its your basic edamame.

Edamame

In choosing your ramen, you only have a few choices: pork, chicken or veggie and then kogashi (burnt miso) or not.  Here's the description of what burnt miso ramen is according to the L.A. Weekly article. "Exactly what it sounds like. Order it and, behind the counter in the kitchen, cooks set explosive, leaping fire to the red fermented bean paste in a wok, before adding it to a tonkotsu broth that has been cooking for 40 hours. The milky, fatty, porky broth takes on a charred but sweet flavor, a lingering smoke almost like mesquite. It's absurdly seductive."  Yes, that's exactly what it is.  When selecting your ramen you also choose the type of noodle (yellow thick or white thin) and then how cooked your egg is (hard or soft boiled).  With no originality my husband and I both selected the pork kogashi ramen with yellow thick noodles and a soft boiled egg, and its probably a good thing we did as there was not going to be any sharing at the table.

After a few minutes one of the bowl of ramen appears and smells amazing.  I took my soup spoon and dipped it into the broth to take a sip, and was overwhelmed by the flavor coming from a broth.  I had died and gone to ramen heaven.  I then used my chopsticks to pull of a small bite of the pork, and in my mouth I tasted quite potentially the most flavorful pork ever.  My husband compared it to bacon, with its sweet and salty flavor, but it reminded me a little bit more of what Chinese barbecue pork should taste like.  Sadly the bowl only came with two slices.

Pork burnt kogashi miso ramen with yellow thick noodles and a soft boiled egg

My husband finished his bowl, but I brought half of mine home to enjoy later.  We immediately declared that we would be returning, and only half-joked that we would be back tonight for dinner.  There are many other ways to enjoy your ramen either with add-ons or their "make your own ramen" menu selection.  I can't imagine having anything except the kogashi again, but I should try to branch out and who knows, maybe I'll find that Omae has even more up his sleeve.

Other items should be noted.  The restaurant is honest about the hours its open.  For example, its open from noon to 3pm for lunch, but that means the last serving is at 3pm as they close the restaurant at 3:30pm.  Also, on the chalk board wall decoration they advertise that if you pay for your meal with cash that they will give you a 5% discount.  And as I explained to my husband when he noted by $1.20 savings, I can buy a cup of coffee at McDonald's with that.

So in summary: Go directly to Ramen by Omae.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200.

A trip to The Farm

As you know by now, I'm a fan of food related television shows, one of which being Top Chef.  So when I watched Top Chef Season 10 I became curious about chef Stefan Richter, mainly because he seemed so sure of himself and his cooking.  A few months back a Living Social deal for his Santa Monica restaurant popped up, so I jumped at the chance to partake in his 5-course tasting menu.

Upon arriving at the restaurant we found the chef sitting outside by a fire pit smoking a cigarette.  I immediately thought to turn to my husband and whisper "There's Stefan!", but before I got a chance, Stefan greeted us.  And then the next thing I knew, Stefan was talking to us like we were old friends, and showing us how badly he does laundry.  It was a very warm welcome to the restaurant, and very different from his Top Chef competitor C.J. Jacobsen who only talks to single, attractive women in his restaurant, or old people with money.

Once inside the restaurant we felt like we were outside.  The interior was designed to look like an exterior with a pagoda and lighting.  It was a very cool feel, with an open view of the kitchen and the bar.  We looked at the cocktail list and were impressed by both the beer and wine selection, but since we had recently heard amazing things about Justin cabernet sauvignons, a bottle was in order.

First up on the tasting menu was the gravlax.  The salmon had a very subtle flavor to it, not at all like what most of us think of when eating smoked salmon, or anything with the word lax in it.  But personally, I loved the egg mousse.  It was like two tiny dollops of the best egg salad I have ever had.

Gravlax (salmon, dill mustard sauce, watercress, egg mousse)

Next up was the mushroom ravioli.  I had hoped to borrow the full description of the dish from the website, but sadly this is not listed on the posted menu.  It might be hard to tell from the picture, but inside the bowl are four quarter sized raviolis filled with goodness, surrounded by the yummiest of mushrooms in a fantastic sauce.  Even my husband, who is not a fan at all of cream sauces, used the complimentary bread to wipe his plate clean.

Wild Mushroom Ravioli with parmesan reggiano

Our next dish was the scallop, which our waiter informed us was something that was always on the menu.  He even told us the best way to cook a scallop, presumably from watching the chefs in the kitchen.  This scallop was just perfect, with a nice crust on top.  The only thing wrong with the scallop, was that it was missing the S at the end - it was just one scallop.  But what else could I ask for from a tasting menu.

Scallops (sweet corn puree, pumpkin seed oil, crispy parsnips)

There seemed to be a very long gap between the scallop and the next dish.  In fact, the table next to us who was also doing the tasting menu and had started after us, got their next dish before us.  It was okay as we weren't in a rush, and we got to take nifty pictures of the Justin in candlelight.  By the way, did I mention that the Justin was served in a Bordeaux glass?  Apparently Bordeaux is French for freaking large wine glass.

Justin Cabernet Sauvignon in the dark

Our server's break must have ended, as the rack of lamb appeared.  I'm a big fan of lamb and I don't mind its gaminess at all, so I was disappointed when the lamb didn't taste like lamb.  I know that sounds weird, but it didn't.  While it was too dark in the restaurant by this time to see, part of me wondered if the lamb might have been overcooked (or sitting too long under a heat lamp) because of the time delay in service, and if so, then that is not fair to the lamb.  But it was delicious, if a tad bit too mustardy.

Rack of Lamb (red wine mustard crust, black truffle grits, curry roasted romanesco, natural jus)

And now for the final course.  Imagine my concern when our server appeared with two dishes of bitter chocolate mousse, considering the fact that my husband hates chocolate.  But would you believe that he finished his mousse before me?  Yup, it was that good.  I can't remember what the sauce was below it, but it was some sort of berry that was perfectly sweet and tart at the same time.

Bitter Chocolate Mousse

Our overall experience at Stefan's was fantastic.  The food was great.  The ambiance was inviting.  And even the chef was friendly and welcoming of his patrons, even if he wasn't cooking because his housekeeper needed the day off and he ruined his laundry.  Our only regret was that we don't live closer, but that doesn't mean we can't find an excuse or two to go back, and hopefully finally put an S on the end of that scallop.