So here's more Ramen; one by request (Ototo) and the other because of a sign I saw.
Ototo:
I guess it was inevitable based on the discussion in the comments of this post. A couple of folks asked me what I thought of the ramen here…including Taka-san at Taisho. You know I'm not a "rolls" kind of guy, so otherwise, this second restaurant from the owner of Sushi-ya really wouldn't interest me.
Strangely, I always end up calling the place "Otot", which I'm sure my friend and fellow food blogger "CC" will get a kick out of. BTW, Happy 9th Blogga-versery CC!
The shop is located next to Mr Fish and Chips in the Balboa Mesa Shopping Center.
The décor is simple, but modern, with an area of stool and bar type tables, which I thought was kind of neat.
The menu features 3 types of ramen; a red (miso) based, a white tonkotsu, and a chicken based version. I went with the Shio White Tonkotsu. The young lady and gentleman serving me were quite nice, but on the slow side. I watched my ramen come up and stay in the window while they gathered themselves to do…well, I don't know.
Eventually, the ramen made it's way, first to another, then finally my table.
My first reaction was, "is this tonkotsu"? Where was a the nice milky richness. The broth had a yellowish tone and even smelled somewhat "chicken-ny". It had a decent amount of oil, but was still not very rich. I'm wondering what kind of salt they use, or perhaps it's a bagged base, because it tasted kind of bitter to me. The boiled egg was quite good, the chashu, hard, cold, flavorless. The noodles were mushy and overcooked….perhaps it had waited a bit too long to reach my table?
In my opinion, overpriced at $9.50. I'll take a pass on this…..
Ototo Sushi Co
5651 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
Oton:
I saw a flier that mentioned Oton was serving Tonkotsu style ramen for lunch. So I thought I'd go and check them out.
Which when it arrived looked totally like it came from the Tonkotsu 101 manual. But let us first spend a moment admiring that lovely orb of goodness, the egg. This may be the best ajitsuke tamago in terms of cooking time and prep in San Diego. The noodles were also a perfect texture for me…….mass produced, but prepared well.
The broth was very white, but also too thin, and almost fully defatted which took away from the "coat your tongue" feeling you get from a good tonkotsu. The flavor was also mild, but passable. The chashu was cold, hard, though it had decent flavor. What's up with serving a solid piece of ice cold pork?
Not bad, but I'd rather go several other places before coming here for the ramen.
Oton
5447 Kearny Villa Road
San Diego, CA 92123
So where do I think these rank in the now crowded world of ramen in San Diego? Well, Otot, umm Ototo is definitely second tier. Oton, is higher second tier, perhaps along the lines Ouan, or maybe even better.