Midtown Lunch

I’ve been a big fan of Tatsu Ramen ever since they opened up on Sawtelle two years ago, and clearly I’m not the only one if they’ve survived the competition on that street.  It’s especially good in the summer time, when their soup-less naked ramen is a great alternative to the heavy-osity of Daikokuya and the Tsujitas. And their hot ramen is not too shabby either. So when I heard they were opening a new location on Melrose near Highland I wasn’t too surprised.  But with a new location comes a new(ish) menu, and one of the new items was a huge surprise.

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If you go by the insane number of new ramen places that have chosen the beginning of summer to open their doors, you’d think June, July, and August were prime ramen eating months.  And maybe they are for some?  But for me this is actually the one time of year I don’t really feel like slurping down a hot bowl of liquid pork fat, served underneath a glistening sheen of more pork fat.  Call it my version of the bikini diet.   That’s why I got so excited about the Naked Ramen at Tatsu, the new order-from-iPads ramen spot on Sawtelle.  All my favorite parts of ramen (the noodles, the pork, the scallions, the egg), replacing the hot broth with with breadcrumbs, lime juice, and a slightly sweet sesame soy sauce. It’s not cold, but it is still perfect for summer. I could eat this every day for the next 3 months.

Luckily I don’t have to!  Here are 5 more soup-less noodle dishes I’ve enjoyed over the past few weeks…

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When I heard about Tatsu Ramen opening on Sawtelle, three things immediately came to mind:

1. Ordering on iPads is a stupid gimmick…
2. … there’s no way this place is going to be good.
3. What the hell is “naked ramen” and why the hell would I want to eat it?

What I learned after actually eating at Tatsu?

1. Ordering ramen on iPads attached to the wall is kind of fun!
2. This place is no freakin’ joke.
3. And naked ramen is my new favorite bowl of noodles for the summer

Check it out after the jump…

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