らーめん 526

So here it is! What we`ve all been waiting for, drum roll please... Ramen 526 (Ramen Kojiro (ラーメンコジロウ))! Went by this evening early enough to get my hands on the shop`s "self-titled" Ramen, and it was really good, as per usual! More on that later...




OK, so Ramen 526 is a little hole in the wall Ramen shop just a short walk from the station, and just a short walk from my place. They (like the original, and legendary Ramen Jiro (ラーメン次郎)) have few choices (Jiro has 1 choice from what I hear), but just serve up baddass Ramen. The #1 recommendation is simply called "Ramen 526" and is served up for 800円. Ramen 526 is a soup-less ramen and it rocks! Comes with some cabbage, and some bean sprouts and a couple of pieces of meat. I usually add some dried chili pepper and some other spicy stuff as well as some curry powder, but it`s not necesary, but be sure to mix well as the oil is on the bottom and it`s difficult to eat without lubricating your noodle properly. Here she is!Next on the list is the standard, familiar soup-full ramen. As always I will talk about the Shoyu/Chasyu men (しょう油チャーシュー麺) that I always get at any standard ramen shop. Here it runs the same price as the TM ramen, 800円 but you can make it an large (大盛り) for only 200円 more... don`t do it unless you can pack away a lot! The big size is easily 3 time a normal serving anywhere else. (pictured is the regular size (並盛)) The big size is easily 3 times a normal serving anywhere else. Crammed into a big bowl is about 600g of noodles plus a ton of cabbage (キャベツ) and bean sprouts (もやし). It's a gut-busting challenge (and mistake) that i will most likely take on once. The 1st time I went I ordered 大盛り thinking it would be like a normal 大盛り anywhere. I was warned by the staff a couple of times, but I figured they just doubted my eating prowess... my bad. About 1/3 of the way through i was done. I managed to struggle to about the half way point, but that was it. The next several times I went in I was teased about not getting 大盛り... it was all in good fun. The shop master and his assistant are always really nice, not always chatty, but cool none the less. 1 mistake I repeatedly make is ordering beer. A bottle of beer (瓶ビール) is 550, comparable to anywhere around, but it`s just too much to take along with the ramen, so I recommend giving yourself a good hour or so after (and a visit to the bathroom) to clear some space to drink beer. A good nap will do you good too!

Finished! (完食！)
T: 9
P: 8
F$: 7
B$: 7
V: 10
A: 7
S: 8
X: 7

Total score: 63/70

浜しん

Back in yukigaya for the 3rd review on here, and boy-o-boy does it feel... right!Hamashin (浜しん) is a place I`ve seen many (many) a time while tromping through the neighborhood but hadn`t visited until faced with the choice of visiting the "blue" izakaya (居酒屋) again... Hamashin is a Okonomiyaki/Monjyayaki/Teppanyaki place just across the tracks from the pad and it was pretty good. The food price was excellent, the taste was pretty good, the volume of the food was so-so (as we went through Monjyayaki (もんじゃ焼), Yakisoba (焼きそば), and Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) in one sitting) and the beer price was a bit high (580円 for a mug of Maltz), but with 4 beers or so and all the food I just (mentioned) the price was still under 5000円. Pretty decent I`d say. The overall atmosphere of the place was pretty good, reminding me more of a place outside the city that one here in Tokyo, very family run (って感じ). Unfortunately a group of noisy college students wanted to make the place their own this night... they were promptly sent down to the 1st floor Izakaya, yay! Man, college students were so much cooler when I was in college... but I digress...The staff was not the friendliest at first, but they warmed up fairly quickly (with a compliment or 2) and the feeling was pretty good at the little shop by the tracks.
It`s for sure a place I`d take anyone form out of town that wanted to experience "Tokyo Food" (monjyayaki) and a place that I`d be sure to visit again, and again because of the variety available on the menu... just would probably get drunk before I go... T: 7
P: 7
F$: 8
B$: 5
V: 6
A: 7
S: 6.5
X: 6

Total score: 52.5/70

Our Gang!

For the 2nd entry in Scrumped! We went outside the Yukigaya-Otsuka area to Kamata (蒲田), a short trip on the Tokyu Ikegami Line (東急池上線) from here to a Bar/Restaurant called "Our Gang". I know, I know, this is supposed to be about eating out in Yukigaya, and this is only the sencond review, but I had been all psyched up to review the Italian place down the road in Ontakesan tonight, but it was closed...

The place was pretty cool, and based on the old American TV show, "The Little Rascals". By "based on" I mean that the name of the bar is Our Gang, and there are pictures of the characters from the show on the menu, aside from that it`s your typical "Japanese trying to be very American" bar. But, they do a pretty decent job of it. The place is packed with "Americana" and all kinds of other stuff (like a fencing foil, a Daruma Mickey, and a giant sensu (folding fan)) and sometimes it comes off as cheesy, such as the "vintage" license plates on the wall that are often repeated.
The menu was expansive! Tons of food choices, and tons and tons of drink choices! I`ve never seen a bigger cocktail selection anywhere, and it also had probably the biggest beer selection I`ve seen in Japan, the one unfortunate thing was that there is only a single selection (Lowenbrau) on tap. The draft beer (生ビール) is a hefty 700円 but pretty average for the size around here.
The food was really good, and pretty good size for the price. It`s a bit on the $$ side, but not too bad at all, a 880円 spinach salad is packed with girth and the pasta is also volumeable, but can`t remember the price of that. Be prepared to spend about 700円 for most menu items, but it`s filling. All-n-all, Our Gang is a pretty cool place that I`ll definately be back at some time soon. Might try one of the hundreds of cocktails even! Maybe not, but I might try a different beer next time. T: 8
P: 2
F$: 6
B$: 6
V: 8
A: 7
S: 4
X: 6
Total score: 47/70
*editor`s note* Our gang lost a few points for playing crappy concert videos while I was there.

らーめん一丁

The first restaurant I wanted to talk about on here is a place just down the way called "Ramen Itcho". It`s obviously a ramen shop, and it`s one of the places that made me fall in love with this place.








The 1st thing you notice about Ramen Itcho is that it is one of the only places in Yukigaya that you can eat outside, this is a big bonus! The 2nd thing that you`ll notice is that the couple who runs the place are rad! The "master", the husband is fairly quiet, but seems very nice, and the wife is just a bundle of super-charged energy that always smiles, and always remembers my order. The prices at the place are a little on the expensive side, but reasonable none the less. A bowl of Chashu-men (チャーシュー麺), which is what I measure any ramen shop with, will run you 800円 whereas a bowl of standard soy sauce ramen (しょう油ラーメン)will cost you 550円, Up-size (大盛り) is a very reasonable 100円. A big bottle of beer (瓶ビール) will run you 500 which is very reasonable in Tokyo. One of the sets available is to add a small rice and 3 gyoza (小ライス+餃子) to your order for only 200円. Several toppings are available, ranging from 100-300円.
As for the flavor of the ramen, in general it is very serviceable. It`s not the best ramen in Yukigaya, but the biggest reason to visit is the chance to sit out on the street on a sunny day (or a cold winter night, as I have done) with a big ol` beer and a calm breeze.T: 5
P: 6
F$: 7
B$: 7
V: 6
A: 8
S: 9
X: 9
Total score: 57/80

ground rules!

I guess I gotta think about some rating system huh? Well, let`s see...
I think the categories will be:
Tastyness
Proximity to the station (this is now proximity to my apartment!)
Price of food
Price of Beer!
Volume
Atmosphere
Service
Extras
These will be shortened to T, P, F$, B$, V, A, S, X respectively. There ya go, follow along please!
The scale, for each category, will be out of 10, 10 being highest, and 0 being lowest (duh!).

Also, chain stores are not a negative, but mom & pop shops are the best! I don`t know much about mixed drinks, but I like beer, and I love cheap beer!

welcome to srumped!

So "scrumped" (スクランプト)is an idea I`ve had for a bit as a place to show off the great, and sometimes not as great restaurants in the area I call home. The name "scrumped" of course comes from the stupid word "scrumptious".
Yukigaya-Otsuka　(雪谷大塚) is an area of south-western Tokyo that is bordered by the areas of Ontakesan (御嶽山), Ishikawa-dai (石川台), Denenchoufu (田園調布), and Okusawa (奥沢).
There are roughly (very roughly) 500 restaurants in this area and I have been to a fair number of them and most of them are very,very good!
What I consider my main stomping grounds, and the area that will be featured on this site is shown in blue below. Aside from this area there will be a few other restaurants included, mostly from the areas of Ontakesan, Nagahara, and Ishikawa-dai. Stay tuned!