Finally got around to finishing this post. A little recap of the LA Street Food Festival:
So, we stayed at the LA Street Food Festival until five, which was the closing time. They were pretty strict about shutting everything down right away. It’s not really worth driving all the way out to LA for only a few hours, so we decided to head to Little Tokyo to browse around and work off a few of the calories we had just consumed.
But anyone who knows us well knows that we wouldn’t go very long before finding something else to eat. We walked to Kinokuya bookstore above the Marukai and took a pit stop there. Some of us took our time looking at the magazines and books, while Sam, Auntie Linda, and Joseph waited outside at a table. Of course, Sam claimed that Orochon Ramen was “staring at him” from across the plaza.
Turns out Orochon Ramen is where Man v. Food’s Adam Richman (from Travel Channel) tried their spicy challenge. So, if you look at the menu, the spicy scale goes from 1 to 7 (seven being the least spicy, and one being the most spicy). Even spicier are “Special 1″ and “Special 2.” None of us has the guts to take on the challenge, but we were excited to be eating at the same restaurant (especially Linda, whose a die-hard fan).
Orochon Ramen’s shio ramen was very satisfying after a long day in LA. And characteristic of LA, Orochon serves massive portions; we fed four girls with one bowl (plus an extra order of noodles). The broth isn’t quite as nice as many other ramen restaurants, but the spiciness is really nice (we ordered a 4). We also tried the spicy fried rice, which had a slow, eventual bite to it. It’s the good kind of heat–slightly masochistic and very addicting.
While we weren’t going to try the challenge, we definitely egg’d on the guys at the table nice to us to give it a whirl. It was pretty amusing watching them sweat and try not to show that they were suffering.
After dinner, of course, you have to have dessert. There was a little shop in the middle of J-town where Joseph kept looking into the window or asking if Jen ordered something there. When we left to find a restroom, Joseph said, “Can we come back after dinner?” So as soon as we started heading back, Joseph requested we re-visit the little dessert shop. We managed to snatch up the last of the red bean pastries. They were delicious.
Needless to say, we were pretty stuffed by the end of our food-filled Saturday. It’s interesting, because I’ve never really appreciated living so close to Los Angeles. There are times when I feel frustrated by the congestion and traffic and dysfunction of LA’s urban sprawl. But when it comes to food, there’s really no other place in the world like it. And I’m thankful that I got to spend the day with people who love eating as much as I do. (Thanks to Diana, Sam, and Crystal for the photos!)
Orochon Ramen
123 S Onizuka StLos Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-1766
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