When the dark and moisture-heavy clouds of winter gather, soup is on my mind. Often I make it at home, using homemade stocks cooked down from bones and…
Sweet and Virtuous: Enjoy cookies but don’t eat wheat? The recently opened Confections by Kirari West offers rice flour-based cookies with a Japanese twist…
One of Tokyo’s most celebrated ramen shops, Afuri, is opening a massive new restaurant in the heart of LA’s Arts District on June 11. With shops in Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area, Afuri hopes to make a strong impression on Los Angeles with a signature yuzu-shio broth that incorporates both chicken and seafood, plus noodles made on the premises. With a worldwide presence, solid following in Japan, and strong start in the U.S., Afuri is definitely the most exciting new ramen spot to open in Los Angeles in some time.
The ramen scene in Los Angeles has had multiple waves, from the early shops in Little Tokyo, Sawtelle Japantown, and Gardena to the slightly newer places spread across the center of the city and out into the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, and beyond. Various styles have flourished over the decades too, from spicy tantanmen like the bowls found at Killer Noodle to the garlic-bombed richness of Tsujita Annex. Of late Angelenos have preferred the rich,