What Pure? Pure Hoppiness?
Pure Project Brewing
The first two taps on their beer list are Pure. Small brewery in North county.
dope thanks… by Alesmith and close enough to Societe and Wa Dining Okan. fuk ballast point… haven’t been back in 8 yrs
As @Nemroz mentioned—the taps rotate. Whatever I ordered is probably no longer available. I did pick up a couple of bottles of beers & cider from their fridge to go. Also a selection that’s interesting and rotates.
Had the Tai ramen at Iki and loved it, different and light. Nice fish flavor with thin Tai slices in the ramen.
Loving the lighter ramens (shoyu, shio, yuzu shio and tai). I am so down for this place, makes my fatass feel like i’m eating a little bit healthier. jk.
Came here for dinner and overall this was some of the best food I’ve had at a ramen-ya in la. the large menu reminded of an izakaya more than anything.
I didn’t realize this was in the former saint martha and little tart location. And I don’t think anybody in this thread has mentioned jeffry, the part-owner, is also the general manager and somm at n/naka.
The only disappointment was the overuse of truffle oil. out of the ten savory items we ordered, three of them unfortunately had truffle oil.
Highlights were the takoyaki, tender octopus, kaisen don, uni mazeman, tonkotsu.
and does anybody know what the hell “au nori” is? i suspect it’s a typo on the menu and should be “aonori”?
salmon burrata - salmon, burrata cheese, yuzu, olive oil honey truffle, black sea salt, cherry tomato
nice fresh ingredients that didn’t need all the truffle oil.
smoky pork bao - shredded smoked pork belly, cucumbers, spicy mayo
ebi katsu shrimp bao - panko-crusted fried shrimp patties, yuzu-kosho mayo, au nori, scallions
i really liked the crispy shrimp, but the bao to shrimp ratio was too high.
kaisen don - sushi rice, sesame seed, cucumber, spicy tuna, blue crab, salmon, yellowtail, sea bream, dashi ikura, japanese scallop, mixed with special soy sauce, kizami wasabi
this isn’t very photogenic and sounds like there’s way too much going on, but all mixed together it just works and was pretty damn delicious.
takoyaki - octopus filled wheat batter fried fitters, okonomi sauce, kewpie mayo, bonito flakes, au nori
the trio of textures in this takoyaki were incredible, perfectly crisped crust, fluffy interior, and tender octopus. and i appreciate how it wasn’t overwhelmed with sauce.
tender octopus - braised; flash fried octopus, shishito, spicyu garlic ponzu, au nori, shichimi
if you’re going to name a dish “tender” you better nail it, fortunately this lived up to the name. this wouldn’t be out of place on a tasting menu at providence or kato.
langostino mazemen - temomi ramen noodle, mentaiko sauce, au nori, white truffle oil, langostino
Reminded me of the fettuccine seafood alfredo from the olive garden, only with white truffle oil.
uni mazemen - temomi ramen noodle, mentaiko, sea urchin sauce, dashi ikura, au nori
the noodles were on the firm side and you can really taste the uni in the sauce. the ikura was also noteworthy for not just being salty and briny, but also having a subtle sweetness. really good.
tonkotsu ramen - rich, shoyu seasoned pork bone stock, slow braised pork belly, kikurage, sweet corn, scallions, nori, seasoned soft boiled egg
one of the best tonkotsu ramen i’ve had in la. the broth was flavorful and light but not too salty or fatty. you can actually finish this bowl of ramen without feeling like shit afterwards.
scallop uni sushi - seared japanese scallop, sea urchin, yuzu, yuzu kosho, sea salt
again truffle oil, why?
shio koji ice cream - house-made shio koji ice cream, sea salt
yuzu ice cream - house-made yuzu ice cream, organic palm sugar, white chocolate pearl
a cross between a creamy ice cream and a refreshing yuzu sorbet, pretty unique.
black sesame creme brulee - home-made black sesame creme brulee, sesame seeds
Kinda was hoping to leave that out (on purpose). The food here stands. He doesn’t need to ride those coattails.
How was the rice?
Respectfully disagree. Though tender, flavor was lacking to me and I’m quite an octopus guy.
How was the texture of the charshu?
I agree with the truffle oil dismay. Not good. That said your photos as always are beautiful!
Whats up with truffle oil? All of us know its fake…
not tremendous. a bit soft, stuck to the plate, and more sweet than sour.
the chashu was thin and soft. i forgot to mention the ajitama was another highlight, with a nice jammy yolk.
This is soooo good there!
When I had this dish there was no truffle oil (on the menu or on the dish). It was a dish that needed no “improvement” (not that truffle oil improves anything).
It’s not all fake unfortunately(or not) but the real stuff is very expensive and the flavor, while good, still overwhelms whatever it is put with. I do not understand the overuse of it at all.
We made a return visit to Iki, and it was as great as the first time.
Tai carpaccio I didn’t get overwhelmed by the truffle oil like @PorkyBelly did, but it might have been because we also had the yuzu to balance things off; the pepper seasoning was robust, but we didn’t mind and enjoyed the extra kick
blue crab hand roll again
Uni and ikura mazemen - we sprung for the extra uni topping as you can see ,otherwise no need to repeat what everybody has said - this dish is a knockout
Tai ramen This was fantastic - the broth was fishy in a good way, and the pieces of tai were pretty rare and had a nice chewiness; the pepper seasoning was robust here as well
Shio ramen without the yuzu; I like this version better, as you can concentrate on the shio flavors, but most would like the yuzu version
spicy tuna roll - I felt bad, because I ordered this as an add on, and the server asked if their portions were too small!? I told her “no”, I just loved the food. They brought out that ceviche as an accompaniment
If I were to make one quibble about Iki Ramen, it’s that the noodles are good (they serve their purpose) but not great. In fact, my SO mused “wouldn’t it be great if they could drop their mazemen noodles into the ramen?”
I love this place. I’ve been going here for a while. Two weeks ago I went with a group and did the tasting menu at the bar.
Tai Carpaccio with Uni
Spicy Tuna on toast with cucumber and caviar
Lobster and Soft Shell Crab Each crustacean had its own sauce. The lobster was similar to newport seafood. The soft shell crab sat on top of of a spicy semi sweet chili sauce. This dish was a highlight.
Uni Mazemen with Charred Langostinos, Truffle Caviar, Ikura, and Shiso This was the best dish of the night.
Seared A5 Wagyu Tartare with Kizami Wasabi
Blue Crab with Yuzu Aioli
Yuzu Shio Broth
Matcha Tiramisu The chef’s sister made this. This was great – although the koji ice cream is still my favorite desert here, which we ended up having as well.
All in all we had a great meal. Also not pictured was a kakuni bao with a slow cooked egg, but I didn’t get a photo. We left STUFFED.
Thanks for the report! Those are actually langostinos though.
How is this place not packed to the brim every night? I’m here Friday at 730 and it’s pretty empty. I need this place to survive
I really really really want to try this place and I pretty much already know I am going to like it. I pretty much already know this is going to be the #1 ramenya in So Cal, ridiculous statement I know!
IMO, parking is really holding them back.
not sure about ranking but their menu is solid all around so don’t just go there for ramen.