Ramen California Restaurant (Torrance, California)

I keep reading about Ramen California.
Oishii Eats.
Go Ramen.
Rameniac.
Exile Kiss.
Los Angeles Times Food Section.

Finally, it was time to experience this new place for myself! I met Jun, Yvonne, and Courtney tonight at Ramen California in Torrance, California (Southern California's "cool ocean breeze" South Bay community).

Please, please put aside any ideas you have about Ramen. Especially the 10 cent stuff you had in college. And even set aside the pork ramen in your local Japanese ramen restaurant. When I heard about fresh veggies in ramen, I was a bit skeptical. I'm used to a piece of fatty pork in a rich broth, but after eating here, I'm so converted!

Ramen California is light, filled with fresh farmer's market vegetables and is, simply put, delicious.

Californian Ramen
Check out all those fresh veggies! The broth is light and as you eat it, it gets colored by the red beets.

If you want to read about the background of the chef, his philosophy, and the farmer's market ingredients he purchases...please read the above reviews. Because this is our conversation (verbatim):

Yvonne: Oooh. This is so good.
Jun: This is soooo good.
Courtney: That's my favorite.
Mary: Oh, smell this!
Yvonne: Yummmmm.
Courtney: Delicious!
Jun: Mmmmmmm.
All: [Hands clapping]: Yeah! More bread! Food of the Gods!
Jun: You done with that? Can I have the rest?
Yvonne: When are we coming back?

The noodles are organic and have a lovely texture. I slurped them up!

Bread. Bread. Bread. Rosemary Kasha Bread. It's basically a bao with rosemary and lovely sea salt. And it is my new best friend.

Reggiano Cheese Tofu ramen with seasonal vegetables. The ramen comes in three sizes and we all got the small size ramen.

California Vegetable Mix (Onyasai) with Crispy Anchovy Powder
Oh my goodness. This was my favorite. It was delicious!!!

Masala ramen made with curry. Smelled and tasted great!

Alpine Sausage with Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce
This was good, but it was our least favorite item.

Oysters. Yum.

The peeled, fresh tomatoes were delicious!!!

For drinks, Courtney and Jun ordered the small "taster" wine...and they got a big glass! Our final bill was very reasonable...4 people: $52

If you are boiling in the valley or IE, take a trip to the South Bay and enjoy the cool ocean breezes as well as some delicious ramen and small plates.

Ramen California
24231 Crenshaw Blvd. Unit C
It's in the Torrance Crossroads Plaza (with an In N Out, Home Depot and Vons. Ramen California is located next to Office Depot on the side closest to Lomita Blvd.)
Torrance, CA 90505
tel: (310) 530-2749
fax: (310) 530-4318
Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays
Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm to 10:00pm

May 2010 Note: I had to close comments on this post because Every Single Day I was getting SPAM comments coming from Japan (strange, huh?) After rejecting what seems like hundreds of comments, I realized I can close comments on a single post. - mary the food librarian

Beach City Baked Donuts (Redondo Beach, CA)

There's a new donut place in town. I love the donut, and I was especially intrigued by these because they are BAKED and not fried.

I visited Beach Cities Baked Donut in Redondo Beach. The store, owned by Koji Shimooka and Gina Samejima, cooks the donuts in waffle press-like machines. According to an article in the Daily Breeze, Koji saw these donuts in his native Japan and brought back the idea.

The donut's texture is spongy and cakey...nothing close to the airy, super sweet texture of Krispy Kreme donuts. It tastes like many Japanese cakes - so I loved them. However, they are definitely are not the prettiest donuts!

The plain donut is $1.25 and the rest are $1.50 each. The mixed dozen is $15.00. Yes, way more than Krispy Kreme, but I think of these more of a Starbucks muffin or loaf type of treat. Because they don't have a glaze (or the deep fry grease), they are drier and less sweet than your usual donut. I suggest having a nice cup of tea, coffee or milk with these donuts. The donut shop has a coffee bar as well as chilled bottled drinks.

I bought:
Honey Drip
Golden Soy (Kinako)
Coco
Cinnamon Sugar
Chocolate Chocolate Chip

Unfortunately, the Green Tea donuts weren't ready when I stopped by. Each donut is individually wrapped. I've found many Japanese and Asian pastries are packaged this way...yes, probably a violation of the Kyoto Protocol, but helpful if you want to save your treat for later.

The store has three of these machines in the front of the store so you can watch the donuts being made.

I recently bought a new mini-donut maker from King Arthur (I'm working on a post about these)...and I wonder if I can recreate some of the flavors at home.

My favorite was the Golden Soy donut. It is covered in Kinako (soybean flour) and sugar. I am definitely heading back to try the green tea as I love green tea or matcha flavored anything! I also want to try their specialty donuts such as Earl Grey, Apricot and Japanese Sweet Potato.

My co-workers liked the Golden Soy and Honey Drip donuts. Least favorite were the chocolate chocolate chip and coco donuts.

Honey Drip (plain) and the Coco baked donut

Bottom Line: I don't think Homer Simpson would approve of these baked donuts because they don't have enough fat and sugar, but I think Lisa Simpson would like them! :)

Location:
Beach City Baked Donuts
Where: 501 N. Pacific Coast Highway @ Beryl, Redondo Beach
Hours: 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Phone: 310-303-3159

Articles/Photos:
Daily Breeze newspaper article: Baking, yes baking, a healthier doughnut, by Melissa Heckscher, Wednesday, July 8, 2009.

Here are some nice photos from the Daily Breeze.