Delicious Japanese Ramen - Katana-Ya

One Japanese dish I love is ramen. These are not the tiny, short noodles found on U.S. supermarket shelves. Rather these are long noodles served in large bowls with a variety of ingredients. I had ramen in many small ramen shops throughout Japan during the 4 years I lived there. I always loved it. It was best in winter, when the hot soup warmed body and soul.

Ramen in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen) is served in different broths. The major types are miso, soy (shouyu), salt (shio), and tonkotsu (not tonkatsu).

Toppings in the ramen can include things like pork slices, seaweed, onions, corn, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, boiled eggs, etc.

There are many Japanese restaurants in San Francisco that serve Ramen. My wonderful niece, who lives in the area, recommended Katana-ya, which means something like, "Sword Shop."

The night before last, I followed her recommendation, and went to the restaurant at 430 Geary St., about a block and a half from Union Square. My wife, who was tired from our long trip to San Francisco, decided not to join me.

When I walked up to Katana-ya, there were a number of young people, mostly Asian-Americans, waiting outside for tables.

I walked up to a stand just outside the front door, where there was a waiting list. One of the people next to the stand said I should write my name on the list. I did that. Next to the names on the list was a column for the number of people in the party. All of the other names on the list had parties of two or more. That was fortunate for me, my name was the next one called.

I was put at the sushi bar. I ordered a bowl of Corn-butter Ramen for $9.50 and a 16 oz. Sapporo draft beer. The ramen was in a huge bowl as it is served in Japan. The ingredients included long ramen noodles, green onions, two slices of tender pork, corn, butter, greens, and several other ingredients. It was fantastic! The total cost came to $15.73.

At least three of the servers spoke Japanese, so when two of them asked me at different times how the ramen was, I told them in Japanese that it was wonderful.

ご馳走様でした大変おいしかったです！