I tried this mostly Ramen shop in a strip mall near the intersection of Tuskawilla and Aloma two Thursdays ago at dinner. Watch out because they close at 8pm. And no Wednesday. It's also small. Four tables and a counter. Urban build. Modern. Simple. White. Open kitchen at right rear. Takes up almost half the space. Two cooks. One waitress/host. 3 apps (gyooza, karaage and salad) under $7. Four onigiri (rice pyramids) under $3. Five entrees. Four are ramen. One is basically ramen without the broth (mazesoba). I'll never understand why they don't break Japanese words apart when they Anglicize them. You should watch sumo and try and guess where the stresses will be in a four syllable name. I had the tonkotsu ramen. It's supposed to (according to the waitress) translate into pork (ton) bone (kotsu). Though the internet says bone is hone and kotsu is tips. So, who the hell knows. I guess the bone is always removed. Or they do that. Not sure if you ever get a whole chop or if this is the usual way and it is just used in the broth development. Which leads to the question of whether other pork based broths don't get boned. The pork here is three thin slices of very tender and tasty pork. Belly I'm guessing. The noodles were very thin. They seemed hand made. Not sure by who's hands. They also seemed to have residual flour on them. I'd say that would be another sign of freshness. Though, I wonder why it didn't boil off like it does with pasta. The soup also came with a beautifully done egg and pickled ginger, dried seaweed (nori), wood ear mushrooms (kikurage) and scallions. It cost $13. It was good. In the best way, the broth tasted like a Campbell's cream based soup. You know I'm not the ramen whisperer, but, it seems to be the place according to the cognoscenti. I see nothing wrong with that assessment. Plus they have a few other items to round out the meal. Name means tall tree (if waitress isn't wrong here too). It's just a last name in this case.
* I saw that Git N Messy BBQ down the street wasn't there any more. Internet says they are on 434 in Winter Springs now. In the Red Eye Sports Tavern.
**Travel Notes - NC/SC: I had a bad Mid East Special at Groucho's Deli in Spartanburg SC because it mixed pastrami and bologna and salami and provolone and I've never seen that mix. The meats were of the worst supermarket choice of the worst processed meats. It may work with real ingredients. Spartanburg turned out to be the home of Denny's and a little college called Wofford. A web site said a place called Wade's was popular. It looked like one of those hick diners. But, it had a huge line. Why I ended up elsewhere. I skied in Maggie Valley NC (near Asheville) at a place called Cataloochee. It cost $30 for a daily ski gear package and $40 for a four hour lift ticket. Barely any snow left. I ate at Bear Waters Brewing Company. Good beer. Two (pork and roasted cauliflower) decent tacos. On a creek. I also had terrible pulled pork and worse mac at Butt's on the Creek. I had ok fried chicken, baked potato, corn bread, biscuit and bad fries at Country Vittles. I had good moonshine and vodka at Elevated Mountain Distillery. Covid created a supply issue with bottles for the whiskey. I had a weird pizza at Cafe Italiano. It tasted of soap. Maybe they f'ed with it. Maybe they don't dry their hands. The area was cute. Although, I think it is best described as a place that looks like it has a lot of raccoons. Cheap, numerous, motel quality hotels. BW was $70. I visited the Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard NC. I had a nice time in Greenville SC. Nice downtown with a beautiful park with a river and waterfall (Reedy River Falls) in the center. It really is what downtown Orlando could use to tie the area together (maybe join the lakes with fake rivers?). Plus the baseball stadium in close. They have landscaped it very well. It looks new. Lots of condos on the river. A big suspension bridge. An events center. I ate at a little collection of food stalls created from cargo containers (Gather GVL). It was full on a week day. Families plus. I had ok sushi at Saki Saki and Eggs in a Basket (two eggs in a donut basket with fried chicken and bacon and a jalapeno maple syrup) at Hen Dough. I also had beer at GVL Beer Exchange. Two cheapest hotels (many) were Hyatt Place and Hilton Home 2 or something. Just over $100. I'd encourage you to visit. Little traffic. Lots of charm. Especially at these temps. A lot of tourists seemed to be meandering around. Lastly, I tried a Travel and Leisure Top Ten Hotel in Aiken SC. I paid $235 on a week night at The Willcox Inn. It is over rated. Just a house. On the train track, too! I ate ok shrimp and raw grits at Palmetto. I had great wings and beer at Aiken Brewing Company. Ok little town. They get Masters/Augusta overflow. I'll warn you that I-95 through Georgia and SC was bad on Saturday. Especially going south. Miles of bumper to bumper. I bypassed it for 301 through Georgia on the way back. Not that that is a short cut, but, I couldn't chance getting caught up in it. Maybe it is ok during the week, but, this is the second time I've seen trouble on Saturday recently. I also passed by Presbyterian College, Furman and Georgia Southern on this trip. Plus saw where the Swamp Rabbits skate. Funny where these places are. I just read an EL Doctorow book on the Civil War called The March. It took place near some of these areas. Weird how timing works out. Book isn't that great. BTW. More interesting subject matter (Sherman's march through the South). Ohh. BTW. Can you believe that I don't have antibodies. Gave blood. Got results. No covid after all this traveling. You draw your own conclusions.
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