 | [with-draw-uh l, -drawl, with-] noun 1. Also, withdrawment. the act or condition of withdrawing. 2. Pharmacology. the act or process of ceasing to use an addictive drug. 3. coitus interruptus. |
It's only been a few months since returning to San Francisco after living in Tokyo for the last 6 years of my life and the painful pork fat laden midnight sweats from ramen withdrawal have yet to subside. Looking up the definition for withdrawal, I wonder if ramen can be classified as an addictive drug... it's definitely not coitus interruptus... although having an awful bowl of American ramen could possibly bring similar amounts of agony and rage.
It took some time, but I think I've finally come to accept that the ramen boom has just only begun in SF. Noodle-starved addicts like myself will need to patiently wait until the quality and consistency catches up to some of the mid-level ramen chains in Japan. So far, my experiences with eating ramen in SF have been plagued with inconsistent and depthless broths.
It took some time, but I think I've finally come to accept that the ramen boom has just only begun in SF. Noodle-starved addicts like myself will need to patiently wait until the quality and consistency catches up to some of the mid-level ramen chains in Japan. So far, my experiences with eating ramen in SF have been plagued with inconsistent and depthless broths.
It seems like ramen shops here substitute effort and creativity with salt and chilies. My other nagging issue is being restricted to only having variations of tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen available which I guess I sort of understand because it's basically a gateway drug into the ramen world. But...there are a multitude of other delicious animals out there that would make an amazing base for soup. A simple example of a technique used in some ramen places in Japan is using various types of dried seafood - sardines, shrimp, squid to create a background flavor which gives depth to their soups. These problems aren't irreparable, but people just need to go back to basics and start by creating a unique soup broth they can make consistently that doesn't rely so desperately on salt or sriracha as a crutch. Start simple and please make it taste better than something I can get in a styrofoam bowl in Japan. I don't think my expectations are that unreasonable. Do you?