Comments (0) BEST RAMEN-INDUCED STEAMBATH - 2009
Daikokuya
The best ramen, at the best price, at the latest hours in town is at Daikokuya. Justly regarded by L.A. cognoscenti (900 Yelp reviews = no longer a secret) as the perfect capper to a night of drinking, dancing and more drinking, a large bowl of tonkotsu style ramen in pork broth (get kotteri-style for added back-fat flavor) with a not-too-hard, not-too-soft boiled, marinated egg, green onions, and bits of Kurobuta pork to cure any incipient hangover/heartache. The place seats about 30 — sitting barside lets you observe the prep, and savor the smells coming from two vats of steaming broth. Too hot for a bath-sized bowl of steaming ramen? You can get tsukumen (chilled noodles), fried rice and gyoza, or order a half-portion, (but since the regular portion is $8.50, you might as well splurge). Be prepared to stand in line, and in summer, to sweat once you get seated inside. After you leave, full of noodles and pork, be prepared for total strangers to remark on your fragrant presence. 327 E. 1st St., L.A. (213) 626-1680, daikoku-ten.com.
—Kate Coe
