Address: 1288 Market St, San Diego, CA 92101
Date Visited: 6/16/2017
# of Marathoners: 15 (Alli, Annalise, Jayzee, Jenn, Jenne, Jess, John, Laura, Matt, Melissa, Michael, Miko, Sarah P, Tom, Trinh)

SCORES
Scale:
1: I hated it  ♦ 2: I did not like it ♦ 3: I am neutral ♦ 4: I liked it ♦ 5: I loved it

• Overall: 3.74
• Noodle: 4.07
• Broth: 3.7
• Meat: 3.03
• Egg: 3.7
• Other Toppings: 2.97

Alli

• Order: Spicy Miso + 1/2 Egg, shared with Sarah P
• Overall Score: 3.5
• Noodle: I like this kind of noodles. Thick and twisty. 4
• Broth: Decent, spicy. Too spicy for me to eat by myself. 3.5
• Meat: Chicken and pork? Decent. Thin, no fat, charred. 3
• Egg: Texture not as good as Yamadaya but great flavor. 4
• Other Toppings: 3
• Service: Sunny! Fine, not as good as Yamadaya.
• Ambience: Full of itself.
• Other Food: Don’t do it.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes. Because it’s one of 2 restaurants I can walk to from work … otherwise no. Decent. Want to hate on it for being hipstery and having weird ramens but, you know what, they’re decent.

Annalise

• Order: BeShock Ramen
• Overall Score: 3.5
• Noodle: A good texture, thick but not chewy. 4
• Broth: Good! Rich, but not overly creamy. Pork-y! Addendum: Not as good as it cools. Salty! 3
• Meat: Tender, but not the texture/fattyness I prefer. 3
• Egg: Flavorful; would have liked a slightly softer yolk. 4
• Other Toppings: Seaweed was good! + A  good amount. Liked the root. 3.5
• Service: Good. Wasn’t busy. Accommodated us easily, pretty quick turnaround.
• Ambience: Okay.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Good! Maybe? I’d pick others first … but mostly because Gaslamp.

Jayzee

• Order: BeShock Ramen
• Overall Score: 4.5
• Noodle: Chewy. 4
• Broth: Delicious depth. Overall salty. 4.5
• Meat: Chicken + pork. 1
• Egg: Perfect. 5
• Other Toppings: Solid. 4
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes. I hate that I liked this place.

Jenn

• Order: Gorgonzola Cheese + 3 x 1/2 Eggs, shared with Jenne and Michael
• Overall Score: 4
• Noodle: Good texture, cooked well. Straight noodle. 4
• Broth: Light, mixed with gorgonzola, becomes a creamy, cheesy delight. 4
• Meat: Tender chicken with a slight charred taste. 3
• Egg: Cooked well, good flavor. 4
• Other Toppings: 3
• Price: Standard?
• Service: Good, given very few other patrons in the restaurant.
• Ambience: Modern, lots of glass windows. Industrial/modern feel.
• Other Food: Spicy pineapple paloma cocktail — delicious!
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes. I hate that I liked the gorgonzola cheese so much. Surprising … shocking in fact!

Jenne

• Order: Gorgonzola Cheese + 3 x 1/2 Eggs, shared with Jenn and Michael
• Overall Score: 4
• Noodle: Nice, light, but chewy texture. They look handmade. 4.5
• Broth: I kinda love this gorgonzola madness. 4.5
• Meat: Blah chicken breast. 2
• Egg: Lots of flavor! Slightly overcooked. 5
• Other Toppings: Avocado, just no. Prosciutto doesn’t add anything. Random leaves same. 2
• Price: A little on the high side.
• Service: Very patient with our enormous group! Sunny is here! Main waitress not super friendly but efficient.
• Ambience: Feels like a hotel lobby.
• Other Food: The chicken was good but Yamadaya is better. Interesting cocktails but not great.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? I don’t know if it’s ramen as such but it’s good! Tastes like Japanese Italian food. / Maybe … if I was craving gorgonzola noodle soup? I didn’t really like the other ramen I tried.

Jess

• Order: Spicy Miso Ramen, shared with John
• Overall Score: 2
• Noodle: Noodles were soft. Better prepared. 5
• Broth: Not the best. A little spice but bland. Too many other ingredients like corn, which made it crunchy. 3
• Meat: Tender. 4
• Egg: Overcooked. Probably the worst part. 1
• Service: Good.
• Ambience: Nicer, more hipstery.
• Other Food: Chicken karaage was tender.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? No. I would only come back if I were in the neighborhood, wanted ramen, and didn’t wanna drive anywhere.

John

• Order: Spicy Miso Ramen, shared with Jess
• Overall Score: 3.5
• Noodle: Really thick, like Terry Crews. 4
• Broth: My fault? It was too spicy. 3
• Meat: Not enough. Thin and pale like Steve Buscemi. 3.5
• Egg: N/A
• Other Toppings: N/A
• Price: Meh. Too expensive for the portion size. Rent is probably high.
• Service: Good enough. Asian guy is a cutie.
• Ambience: Airy, modern, chic. Perfect for downtown d-bags.
• Other Food: Karaage was delish! Loved the batter and spicy mayo dip.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? No.

Laura

• Order: BeShock + 1/2 Egg, shared with Miko
• Overall Score: 4
• Noodle: Egg noodles are really good. I thought Yamadaya bested it just a bit with the firmness yet thinness. But this is damn good. 4.5
• Broth: Very good. Just different than Yamadaya. It’s a broth that you can keep eating and tasting as opposed to the too-fatty-to-do-that broth of Yamadaya. More shoyu sauce taste. 4.5
• Meat: Pork is tender yet less fatty than most char siu. Has a really nice flavor to it. But something about it slightly bothers me. Like it’s trying too hard. 4.5
• Egg: The egg is good but not my favorite. I prefer slightly more salty egg versus slightly sweet w/ sato shoyu. 3.5
• Other Toppings: Nori, wakame, mizuna. Nice components. I like that all of it was good together, even though it wasn’t like a lot of extras. 5
• Price: Good value – > worth the price.
• Service: Dude, Sonny is here! This is his 3rd day at this place. Good service from our server who was really enthusiastic w/ this Ramen Marathon.
• Ambience: I like the yellow lighting because it gives a warm light. I like the long table. It’s a little too fancy/trendy for my taste. Feels like a downtown restaurant.
• Other Food: Karaage was ok. Weird karaage tastes like a rice crispie treat without sugar.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? No. I don’t know why. Is it because I don’t like the ambience or I think the meat is trying too hard? Too fancy here + it’s downtown.

Matt

• Order: Spicy Miso
• Overall Score: 4.3
• Noodle: I wish these noodles were in the other spicy ramen. 4
• Broth: The broth was alright. Did not live up to the “spicy” name. 3.5
• Meat: Had the right amount of meat. The taste was okay. 4
• Egg: Meh. 3
• Other Toppings: Corn is a little weird but it was good. 4
• Service: There was service.
• Ambience: This was my favorite place for ambience. I loved the look of the place.
• Other Food: Had a beer. Beer is good.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes. I liked it.

Melissa

• Order: Miso + 2 x 1/2 Eggs
• Overall Score: 4
• Noodle: It was a little too undercooked for me. I def. prefer flour noodle. 3
• Broth: The broth was ok. 3.5
• Meat: Very good, but a small portion. 4
• Egg: A little undercooked for how I like it, but still very good. 4
• Other Toppings: 4
• Service: Good. 
• Ambience: I like that it is trendy and hipster-ish, but it doesn’t go too far. I also like that it is well lit and has weird chandeliers. I enjoy all of the unnecessary lamps that do not provide light.
• Other Food: Kara-age — a little too rubbery for me. I enjoyed the spices on it though.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes. I like the random selection of ramens they have. I definitely want to try the cheesy one.

Michael

• Order: Gorgonzola Cheese + 3 x 1/2 Eggs, shared with Jenn and Jenne
• Overall Score: 3
• Noodle: Straight, firm noodles. 4
• Broth: Cheesy from gorgonzola. I’m angry that I like this. Salty. Suspiciously instant-y. Worse when cold. 3
• Meat: Chicken chasiu was dry. 1
• Egg: Well-marinated. Cooked well. Yolk a little “gel-like.” 5
• Other Toppings: 1
• Price: This particular dish was too expensive.
• Service: Sunny is here! Service is just okay so far.
• Ambience: Very modern and North Park Underbelly-ish. Very westernized.
• Other Food: Shaved ice.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes. Sadly, their regular ramen was pretty good. I’m so confused.

Miko

• Order: BeShock + 1/2 Egg, shared with Laura
• Overall Score: 4
• Noodle: Needs to be firmer, but it’s my fave kind of noodle — eggy, wavy, and chewy. 4
• Broth: I’d rather it be clear, but it’s not heavy, which I appreciate. 4
• Meat: Good char, but meat could be more tender. 3.5
• Egg: A little too strong in the marinade. 3.5
• Other Toppings: Seaweed is yummy. It tastes like good wakame. Menma is also good! No butter though 😦 4
• Price: Pricey, but we’re also downtown. $1 for 1/2 egg is the most expensive egg we’ve seen yet!
• Service: Attentive, but the servers don’t look like they’re having as much fun working here.
• Ambience: Downtown, fancyish decor, but still casual. It’s nice, not my usual style. 
• Other Food: I had a specialty cocktail, the Nagoya. It was eh. The description made it sound better than it turned out to be. Not worth the price. Eh on the Cajun chicken karaage too. It tastes like either the chicken’s not very good quality or it got overcooked. Chewy and rubbery. The seasoning’s kinda yummy but tastes sort of instanty. I did NOT like their Koji karaage. That shit was gross.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? The ramen is good but everything else, including ambience, is just okay. But yes, I’d come here again, because they have good shoyu!

Sarah P

• Order: Spicy Miso + 1/2 Egg
• Overall Score: 3.7
• Noodle: Thick noodles, but a little dry. 4
• Broth: Good kick to the spicy miso. 4
• Meat: Why is there chicken with my pork? It’s okay, it’s mostly chicken. 2
• Egg: Great seasoning + creamy. 4.5
• Other Toppings: 3
• Service: Sunny came home with a mission …
• Ambience: Hipster-chic — my water mug is a mason jar hybrid with a straw.
• Other Food: Earl grey shaved ice mountain — pretty good!
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes. The x-factor was missing, I’m not sure why.

Tom

• Order: BeShock Ramen
• Overall Score: 4.1
• Noodle: They were egg noodles. 4
• Broth: Drank it all down. 3.5
• Meat: I ate it all. Bit fatty. 3
• Egg: Yummy, yummy, I got love in my tummy. 5
• Other Toppings: They were there and tasted good. 5
• Service: Good. They got me hot tea after they got me tepid tea.
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes, if I was in the area. Wouldn’t make a point to come here specifically.

Trinh

• Order: Miso + 2 x 1/2 Eggs
• Overall Score: 4
• Noodle: 4
• Broth: 4
• Meat: 4
• Egg: 4
• Other Toppings: 3
• Service: Good.
• Ambience: Mason jars, naked bulbs, wood = hipster! Flashy pretty menu w/ lots of pictures!
• Impression/Would You Come Here Again? Yes. I don’t love it, but I would want to try something else. (Maybe not their ramen though.)