Midtown Lunch

According to the L.A. Times tomorrow is the big day for Miyata Menji, the new ramen/tsukemen spot opening on Sawtelle in the old Gr/eats space.  Being a tsukemen addict (and lover of all things ramen) I’ve been cautiously excited about this opening, but the more and more I read and see the more wacky this place sounds.

From the LAT:

Japanese comedian Tetsuji Miyata brings his Miyata Menji concept to L.A. from Osaka, where noodles dubbed TG2-D and KK100 are served in ramen and tsukemen. On the menu are just two items: tonkotsu ramen with pork broth, teriyaki beef, shallots and fried tomatoes, and tsukemen with steamed noodles, anchovy cabbage, grated cheese (optional), minced pork, vegetable potage, tomato and croutons.

Teriyaki beef!? Tomatoes? Grated cheese and croutons? Well that explains the menu photos I spotted last week…

I was wondering what those giant slabs of meat on top of the ramen were!  Of course they’re teriyaki beef. And if you’re going to top your tsukemen with grated cheese, I suppose the noodles should look like fettuccine. Maybe this nuttiness is some kind of regional specialty of Osaka? Nope. According to Rameniac, Osaka is not well known for serving one particular type of ramen. And I suppose if you’re not trying to emulate ramen from a particular region of Japane, then there really aren’t any rules. And I do love teriyaki beef. (Quite frankly, who doesn’t?) Plus if Gottsui’s new ramen has taught me anything, being a snob to some static view of how things are “supposed to be” (whatever that means) might end up causing you to miss out on something pretty tasty. And that Tusjita line does get pretty long.

Then again, the owner is a comedian.  I hope this doesn’t turn out to be one big joke…

Miyata Menji, 2101 Sawtelle Blvd. 310-444-9988