Ramen Tatsunoya — Restaurant in Pasadena

Forget everything LA has taught you about ramen. If you're reading this while sitting at Ramen of York, act fast! It isn't too late to do the ten minute drive to Tatsunoya. Skip the overcrowded, under performing and vastly overrated Daikokuya in Little Tokyo. Spare yourself the long lines at Tatsu and Tsujita in Sawtelle. Yeah, you heard me: ignore Tsujita. There. I said it.

My first slurp at Tatsunoya sent me back in time to my first bowl in Japan. I might not have been sober that night but trust me, I remember it and every bowl that has come since. I mean, without getting too dramatic, I think Tatsunoya has temporarily saved me $800 in airfare back to Japan. I'll probably be back online looking for the next deal soon, but I'll take the $15 lifeline for now.

What makes Tatsunoya special? If I'm being honest, I have absolutely no idea. Don't get me wrong, all the places I mentioned above are great (except for Daikokuya). However, Tatsunoya seems to be the overachieving younger relative of Angeleno ramen. Look, the broth is beautiful, incredibly unhealthy and riduculously delicious. It's everything soup should be. The noodles are cooked with experience, they are thin (my favorite) and the toppings are better than most of us deserve -- I'm definitely sure that I'm not worthy.

Relatively new to the LA ramen scene, Tatsunoya is nestled just off the busy Colorado Boulevard in Old Town Pasadena. It's unassuming and, in the handful of times I've been there, hardly has any waits. Like I said, I have no idea why the noodles here are so special and there's nothing wrong with LA ramen. However, Tatsunoya is truly deserving of being distinguished as a unique, umami-enducing, gekiuma-shouting and splendidly faithful adaptation of the legacy of Japanese ramen.

I might sound dramatic but this review is my offering to the Ramen gods as a thank you for dropping Tatsunoya on this city. Blindfold me and tell I'm in Japan. If I heard you, I'd believe it but I'm simply too...

I finished a big test, and my mom took me and my three younger siblings (including our dog Athy) to Old Town Pasadena. We walked around on a mini, fun window-shopping spree. I found myself craving warm broth to counteract the slightly chilly and rainy day. A quick Yelp search revealed a couple of ramen shops nearby, and so we came upon Ramen Tatsunoya which happened to be the closest one nearby. We were hesitant about entering since we had our dear dog Athy and was unsure if we could bring her in. The people at Ramen Tatsunoya were incredibly accomodating. Granted, she is a kind dog who stayed very still next to mom and patiently waited for us to have our food (insta: @athythelabradoodle). I felt we were very looked after as customers, as different servers checked in with our table regularly. I liked that! We each of the originals - and they did not fail in each being uniquely special. Our order was as follows: 1 Koku Ex Chasu - meaty, rich, reminded me of chicken noodle soup but with Chasu. 1 Spicy - the spiciness is of typical ramen but the taste is tangy and almost resembles jjampong (if you know, get this entree!) 1 Jun - indeed hits the sweet spot of being right in the middle of Koku and Spicy. If you find yourself conflicted between getting the two, I highly recommend this - I got this for myself. Gyoza 8 pcs - we got this because it was a ‘Chef’s recommended/special’ on the menu. It did not fail. My sister found a whole garlic in hers and we began to notice how adding garlic is one of the ways the gyoza leaves a Good lasting impression in your mouth. The gyozas were soft too! 1 Tatsunoya roll - An explosion of crunchy flavors. The chasyu had the softness of imitation crab meat and the smokiness of wild salmon. The Chasu will melt in your mouth! The noodles completely soaked in the base soup. Everything fit together so well.

Summary: Good Ramen for...

Let's be honest, if you searching the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area for good ramen, you're likely to be drawn to the Westside of town, where eager Yelpers have given five star reviews to places that serve (well, there's no better way to say it) pure crap ramen (see SLR).

The best ramen in the GLA area comes from the Eastside, at Ramen Tatsunoya in Pasadena. That's probably because the chain is an original Japanese ramen chain, and the Pasadena location is their first US branch. This is what ramen is supposed to taste like people, a broth so succulent that you are focused on the pure ecstasy that accompanies every bite, and nothing else (this is why many ramen places in Japan have tiny little cubicles for each diner, so you can avoid distraction while you enjoy your bowl).

For two years now I have been dutifully turning to Yelp for help in finding great ramen, and it keeps letting me down (especially on the Westside of town). Now I have been a yelper for almost a decade, and an Elite for just about as long. So it pains me to acknowledge that Yelp is failing is its most essential role, weeding out the bad from the good.

Of course, I will keep trying, because that's what I do. And in the meantime, I can only try to teach my fellow Yelpers by example. Still, I fear the greatest tragedy in the GLA Yelp might be that too many Yelpers never actually read anyone else's reviews (they only love the sound of their own "inner voice").

Please note: this Yelper has not tried 'every' ramen place in the GLA area (mostly because too many bad ramen places are getting unwarranted reviews), so there might be more great ramen out there yet to discover - I'm keeping my...