Ramen Nagi created quite a buzz when they opened at UTC a few months back. Having eaten at the location in the Golden Gai, I was curious even though this location of Nagi didn't make the hardcore niboshi broth that the Tokyo location is famous for. I initially thought about going right away, but it was just too hot at that time. And then I started getting texts from FOYs like JeffP showing me the crazy lines and also hearing about folks waiting 90 minutes in line for their ramen. I'm sorry, I got work to do and just don't have the time nor fortitude to wait in lines during lunch hour. It's one thing to be in a line that just moves constantly like at you know where, it's a whole 'nother thing here in SoCal, I mean it seems even lines for baked goods move slowly.
Still, "FOY" Calvin really wanted to try Nagi after I mentioned the place to him while having ramen during a rather mediocre visit to Menya (post upcoming). So, we decided on a plan. It would be on a Monday; we'd arrive 15 minutes before opening and see how things are at that point in time
As things turned out, we got to the shop at 10 before opening (11am) and were the second party in line. We were handed sheets to select how we wanted are ramen….the US's version of the Japanese ramen ticket machine I guess.
This being my first visit; I decided to go with the "Chef's recommendation" along with a tamago (of course). We were also told that karaage was available.
Once the place opened things moved fast. There already was water on the table along with all the condiments; we handed off our order sheets, mentioned that we wanted karaage, and it was off to the races.
Our ramen arrived within ten minutes.
At first blush I found the broth to have mildly porky – savory tones but was on the salty side; though it was fairly fatty – rich and nicely coated my tongue. I really couldn't make out any garlic flavor, probably because the broth was too salty.
The yolk of the well seasoned tamago was a lovely, tender orb and was warm! One of my pet peeves is having the yolk of my boiled egg served ice cold in my ramen.
The noodles were on the thinner side, slippery, with a decent "pull" to them.
As much as I enjoy spiciness, I didn't care for the "Nagi sauce" in this bowl of ramen as it really heightened the saltiness and distracted from the flavor of the tonkotsu style broth.
The chashu at Nagi is made from pork shoulder which can be on the tough side; but the slices here are thin and the meat has a decent tenderness along with a mild porky-soy sauce flavor.
Calvin really liked the marinated moyashi.
The Karaage took a bit of time to arrived, but was lip-melting hot!
These pieces were quite large; in fact Calvin and I could only finish one piece each and ended up taking the rest back to JeffP as a "consolation prize" since he couldn't make it. The batter was quite crunchy, almost edging on hard. The meat as on the chewy-dry side. It was covered in an overly sweet sauce. I don't think I'll order these again.
Both Calvin and I had enjoyed the ramen at Nagi. In my mind, I had already envisioned the "version" of the ramen I wanted on my next visit. And so, going with the same game plan I set off for "Nagi part II" on the following Monday, arriving at 10 minutes before opening. This time there were four parties in front of me.
I was handed my ordering slip which took me but a few seconds to complete.
This being a solo visit, I was seated at the counter.
Which gave me a front row seat to view the "line".
Which was in constant motion….
I could actually see my bowl being put together….it arrived in minutes.
The chashu this time around looked to have an almost "red" tinge to it; but was perfectly fine. I had ordered the broth to be "heavy" in terms of richness which it definitely was. So very rich, but not greasy, in fact the texture reminded me of the Seabura (backfat) ramen we had in Narita! Loved the thickness. Going for a lighter tare meant it was less salty and wouldn't you know, I could even make out the garlic!
The boiled egg was every bit as good as on the previous visit….good consistency displayed here.
I got the thicker noodles and being that I like them "katame" I ordered it "firm". I would even enjoy thicker noodles here. These had such a nice stretch and chew. I was really pleased with the noodles this way. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I found it enjoyable.
To me, the adjustments I made on this visit worked out well. And even though I took time to savor things; I was out of Nagi in 20 minutes! Shades of Japan!
Well, it looks like I have a new favorite ramen shop in town. Now I gotta talk the Missus into trying them out.
Ramen Nagi UTC
4301 La Jolla Village Dr. Suite 2033
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 9pm
Having 
Step inside, the sign in sheet is at the door, sushi bar is to your right. There is outdoor seating.
As always, we start with hot tea.
The paper menu is in English and Japanese. If you are early enough (and there are still some of the limited number of bento lunch specials available), you'll be given the daily Special Bento Box menu. You can also read the menus online. 
This Bento Special ($15) included Pot au feu, steamed chicken, fish miso, deep fried Spanish mackerel, deep fried meatloaf, spaghetti and rolled omelet (in addition to miso soup and salad). Pot au feu is steamed beef with vegetables; tender, rich flavored. The steamed chicken was also nicely flavored (no condiments/soy sauce is needed for any of this meal); every bite was well balanced.
Sara Udon ($18) is a crispy noodle based dish. Stir fried seafood (shrimp, fish, scallops) and vegetables with a smooth sauce surrounded by crisp, fried udon. Textures, flavors and comfort-food. 
Homemade gyoza ($7.50) are filled with a juicy pork mix,. The gyoza skins are thin with a light fry.
Chicken Katsu Bowl ($16). Served as a 'Set" (as are all the main dishes), the Katsu chicken on top of rice is light crisp-fried and juicy. 
Ebi Kakiage Udon ($14)- Shrimp with shredded vegetable. This tempura-type dish has the shrimp (ebi) coated with bits of seafood and vegetable fried into a sort of fritter. Pieces can be dipped in the udon, but the crispiness is what was craved this day.
Grouper Hot Pot ($15) (listed as 'Hataki Noko' instead of 'Nabe' on the handwritten receipt).
Arriving like this- with hidden fish and a luxurious topping of mixed vegetables and many types of mushroom in an excellent (not too salty) dashi based broth. Each component of this tray was filled with flavor. The fried grouper did manage to stay crisp for a good part of the meal.
One hot day, I ordered my favorite, Tempura Zaru Soba ($14). Chilled soba noodles with a tasty dipping sauce and tempura shrimp on the side. Soba does not affect my blood sugar levels, making this dish even more satisfying.
One day, we were seated at the back wall and were able to stop to read the display along that adjoining corner wall. Professional golfer, Xander Schauffele has a signed poster and other news items on this portion of the wall. 
Here’s another fairly quick name change! The place just opened in January. Based on my 
The broth was a bit richer than what we had on our previous visit here which was nice. The tamago a bit over-cooked but nicely flavored. For some reason, I like the savory-sweet flavor that the black garlic oil adds to this bowl. The noodles were perfectly cooked on this visit as well.
Man, this location of Boston Market had been here forever! I decided to walk on over to see what was up….hoping that perhaps an interesting eating establishment was coming to this location. I should have known better. It's a chain swap out. At least it's California Fish Grill which claims serve only "Responsibly Sourced Seafood". You can read about 
Calling this a "bowl" is a definite misnomer as it's pretty hefty. There's the standard green salad with a sesame dressing plus some fairly standard and kinda mushy and pretty salty japchae. The rice was nicely done and the portion size seemed a bit larger than before.
As you can see, the Missus was all about the tamago on this day. This bowl had a lot of "stuffs"; scallion, spinach, bean sprouts, cabbage. The best item in the entire bowl was the menma which had a wonderful texture and the earthy-soy sauce tones were on point. The two slices of "chashu", I use the quotation marks because the two thin slices were not pork belly, it was lean and tough. 
Ramen was the first to arrive. The broth is indeed lighter, though there were some nice globules of fat in it. I thought it was on the overly salty side and pretty one-dimensional in flavor, though that might be written off to the sodium overload. The chashu; which had a nice "fat cap", was thinly sliced, with a wonderful soy-porkiness to it and very tender. The tamago was also nicely cooked and marinated but was ice cold, a pet peeve of mine.
This version came with a small "pile" of veggies – mostly bean sprouts, some carrots and spinach, etc…..for what seems to be a two dollar upcharge that's not really worth the price. The shio broth seemed even lighter than the shoyu version, less rich, but not as salty. For some reason, there was a pungency like that of white pepper that resonated with me. I preferred this broth to the shoyu version.
Apparently some noodles were stuck together during the cooking process and melded into a hard, inedible ball of gluten madness. Oh man, what a bummer. I showed this to the young man working who was speechless and told me "sorry" and then walked away. Soon someone else brought me my check! So, perhaps I was in an alternate universe at that moment having lunch at Kita-"
The note on the door said "we are closed
And here again was the note posted on the door stating "we are closed". I checked Google which indicated that the place is "Temporarily Closed" as well as that "four-lettered" site which also noted that the place is scheduled to reopen on September 1st. I also did a check on the Zen Curry website, which said the reopening date is TBD.
