Ramen phenom in San Jose
Ramen goes sleek: As one Yelper wisely observed, South Bay malls are stepping up their food game — especially where favorites from Asia are concerned. First it was Din Tai Fung, Taiwan’s legendary dumpling restaurant, which opened last May to great acclaim and long lines at Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara.
Now Westfield Oakridge Center in San Jose has welcomed the ultra-popular Jinya Ramen Bar, conceived by Tomonari Takahashi, the son of a restaurateur who operated an izakaya in Japan. The younger Takahashi opened the first of his seven Tokyo restaurants, Sabakuro Ebisu, in 2000 and his first Jinya Ramen Bar in the United States in 2010.
As a writer for LA Weekly noted: “When the first Ramen Jinya opened in L.A., in a strip mall in Studio City, Angelenos went a little nuts, happy to have superior tonkotsu ramen available — without having to drive to Gardena.” Known as Tonkotsu Black, this is Jinya’s signature dish, pork-based broth with pork chashu, thin noodles, wood ear mushrooms, dried nori, seasoned egg, garlic chips, garlic oil and spicy sauce. Another top-seller is Cha Cha Cha ramen, which comes to the table with fresh garlic and a garlic press. All of the broths are simmered for 10 hours, and the noodles are aged in-house for three days.
In a nod to local tastes, the restaurant offers Bay Area craft brews from 21st Amendment, Anchor Steam and Lagunitas as well as Japanese beer, wine, sake, shochu and Ramune soda.
The sleek, contemporary Jinya is open for lunch and dinner daily, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. You’ll find the entrance on the Blossom Hill Road side of the mall. No reservations are accepted, so be prepared to wait. 408-281-9888; www.jinya-ramenbar.com.
Icon is back: Oakland’s legendary Bay Wolf restaurant — a mainstay at 3853 Piedmont Ave. for 40 years — has been reborn as The Wolf. With that name and an oh-so-appropriate menu, new owners Rich and Rebekah Wood pay tribute to the legacy of Bay Wolf co-founders Michael Wild, Larry Goldman and Michael Phelps. This trio of trailblazers started showcasing seasonal ingredients way back in 1975.
The Wolf’s garden-fresh inaugural menu features a winter vegetable stew, a soup of red kuri squash and a chicory salad studded with cara cara oranges. And it wouldn’t be an homage to Bay Wolf without a duck entree. In this preparation, the seared Maple Leaf duck breast is served with Anson Mills grits, maitake mushrooms, broccolini and a sage pan sauce.
Leasing the Bay Wolf space was a natural for the Woods, restaurateurs who also own Wood Tavern and Southie. “We just love that spot,” Rich Wood told us in 2015 when the Bay Wolf retirement was announced. “My wife and I had some first dates there 20 years ago. To get the opportunity to go in there is surreal. We’ll hopefully pick up where they left off.”
Hours, reservations: http:// thewolfoakland.com.