Our server, actually I believe she’s the owner, brought us separate tableware and utensils to share each dish without our having to ask. The table got pretty crowded fast, but still that was a nice touch. More importantly, she was very gracious and welcoming, answering our many questions about the dishes.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniew...
PERSONAL RAMEN RANKING
1. Ramen Halu, 375 Saratoga Ave Ste M, San Jose
2. Santouka, 675 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
3. Himawari, 202 2nd Ave, San Mateo
4. Orenchi Ramen, 3540 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara
5. Maru Ichi, 368 Castro St, Mountain View;
6. Izakaya Mai, 212 2nd Avenue, San Mateo
7. Ajisen Noodle, 47890 Warm Springs Blvd, Fremont
8. Maru Ichi, 530 Barber Lane, Milpitas
9. Ramen Dojo, 805 South B St, San Mateo
10. Tanto, 1063 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale
11. Izakaya Restaurant, 1335 N 1st St, San Jose
12. Alexander’s Steakhouse Lounge, 10330 N Wolfe Rd, Cupertino
13. Santa, 1944 South El Camino Real, San Mateo (post-move)
14. Do-Henkotsu House of Tokushima Ramen, 4330 Moorpark Ave, San Jose (closed)
15. Ramen Tenma, 487 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
16. Ryowa, 859 Villa St, Mountain View
17. Orson Restaurant Bar + Lounge, 508 4th St, San Francisco
18. Sumiya, 2634 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara
19. Gen Ramen, 47890 Warm Springs Blvd, Fremont (closed)
20. Hana Japanese Restaurant, 101 Golf Course Dr, Rohnert Park
21. Kyora Japanese Restaurant, 1217 Wildwood Ave, Sunnyvale
22. BY Grill, 3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco (closed)
23. Norikonoko, 2556 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley
24. Dohatsuten, 799 San Antonio Rd, Palo Alto
25. Hana, 4320 Moorpark, San Jose
26. Ozumo, 2251 Broadway, Oakland
27. Muracci’s, 244 State St, Los Altos
28. Katanaya, 430 Geary Blvd., San Francisco
29. Tadamasa, 34672 Alvarado Niles Road, Union City
30. Masa's Sushi, 400 San Antonio Road, Mountain View
31. Nombe, 2491 Mission St, San Francisco
32. Gochi, 19980 Homestead Rd, Cupertino
33. Oyaji, 3123 Clement St, San Francisco
34. Yu-Raku, 104 S El Camino Real, San Mateo
35. Namu, 439 Balboa St, San Francisco
36. Halu Restaurant, 312 8th Ave, San Francisco
37. Sanmi, 3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco
38. Hatcho, 1271 Franklin Mall, Santa Clara
39. Kahoo, 4330 Moorpark Ave, San Jose
40. Tomoe, 810 3rd St, San Rafael (closed)
41. Ringer Hut, 1072 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
42. Noodle Theory, 3242 Scott St, San Francisco (closed)
43. Watami Shabu Shabu and Ramen, 5344 Geary Blvd, San Francisco (closed)
44. Where’s Buta by Elgin Espiritu and June Lee, Eat Real Festival, Oakland
45. Kumako, 211 E. Jackson Street, San Jose
46. Japanese Restaurant Hoshi, 246 Saratoga Avenue, Santa Clara
47. Ramen Club, 723 California Dr, Burlingame
48. Ryowa, 2068 University Ave, Berkeley (after ownership change)
49. King Won Ton, 1936 Irving St, San Francisco
50. Tazaki Sushi, 3420 Judah St, San Francisco
51. Ramen Rama, 19774 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino (closed)
52. Ogi-San Ramen, 10789 Blaney Ave, Cupertino (closed)
53. Kaimuki Grill, 104 S El Camino Real, San Mateo (closed)
54. Tanto, 1306 Saratoga Ave, San Jose (name change to Dan Izakaya)
55. Okazu Ya SF (Noriega), 2445 Noriega St, San Francisco
56. King's Garden Ramen, 39055 Cedar Blvd, Newark (closed)
57. Sushi Bistro, 445 Balboa St, San Francisco
58. Genki Ramen, 3944 Geary Blvd, San Francisco
59. Mitsuwa Hokkaido festival booth, 675 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
60. Lakuni, 325 E 4th Ave, San Mateo
61. 100% Healthy Desserts, 1155 Taraval St., San Francisco
62. Mifune, 1737 Post St, San Francisco
63. H2A Noodle, 42318 Fremont Blvd., Fremont (closed)
64. Iroha, 1728 Buchanan St, San Francisco
65. Miraku Noodles, 2131 N Broadway, Walnut Creek
66. Manpuku, 2977 College Ave, Berkeley
67. Tanpopo, 1740 Buchanan Street, San Francisco
68. Sushi Yoshi, 39261 Cedar Blvd, Newark
69. La Shang Niang Ramen (OEC), 42 Dixon Rd, Milpitas
70. Oidon, 71 E. 4th Avenue, San Mateo
71. Taraval Okazu Ya, 1735 Taraval St., San Francisco
72. Suzu Noodle House, 1581 Webster Street, San Francisco
73. Bushido Izakaya, 156 Castro St, Mountain View
74. Fresh Taste, 2107 El Camino Real, Palo Alto
75. Asuka Ramen, 883 Bush St, San Francisco
76. Sapporo-ya, 1581 Webster St, San Francisco
77. Tokyo Ramen, 678 Barber Lane, Milpitas (closed)
78. Kamakura, 2549 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda
79. Mama-san!, 312 8th Ave, San Francisco (closed)
80. Katana-ya Ramen, 10546 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito
81. Hotei, 1290 9th Ave, San Francisco
82. Bear's Ramen House, 2521 Durant, Berkeley
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Pork Shoulder Roast
The Rub
Shredded Pork Shoulder
4 to 5 pound pork shoulder, bone-in
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut into wedges
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 12-ounce beer (a basic lager works well)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Trim the pork shoulder of any thick layers of fat. Combine the brown sugar, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the pork with the spice mixture, getting into crevices and on the sides. Allow the pork to sit for about 30 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the pork on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pot. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, and beer. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to bring up any browned bits.
Return the pork to the pot. Cover and put in the oven for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, checking once or twice, until the meat is extremely tender and pulls away from the bone easily. Shred the pork in the pot, using tongs to separate the meat from the fat (see photos above). Discard the bone or set aside for another use.
Serve the meat with several spoonfuls of the vegetables and sauce.
Receipe one
Pork Shoulder Roast with Caramelized Onion Sauce
Roast pork is always a good bet when a flavorful, hearty meal is called for. And this recipe has a delicious caramelized onion sauce to go with it. I prefer a shoulder roast over the more popular pork loin roast because modern pork has become so lean that juicy flavorful pork loins are a thing of the past. But the shoulder is still very good, and can produce a delicious roast in addition to the other things the shoulder is used for, such as barbeque pulled pork. But don't be afraid to use this recipe with a loin roast if that's what you want.
If you have leftovers, you can make pulled pork sandwiches, because the flavorings used here don't interfere with the pulled pork seasoning.
You can use a six pound shoulder with the bone in, as shown in the photo, or you can use a boned shoulder that weights a little less, but you should tie twine around it in four or five places to hold it together during roasting.
The shoulder roast is also called Boston Butt Roast, so your market may sell it under either or both names.
Allow six hours from start to finish, so this is probably either a weekend meal or you start it when you leave home and it will be ready when you return. It should, however, sit outside of the oven for at least another hour before carving.
Don't expect to get nice even uniform slices from this roast like you would a pork loin. This roast comes apart naturally between its sections, and you carve each piece across the grain. It may fall into several pieces by the time you get it on the plate, but it's going to get covered with a rich brown onion sauce, so it doesn't hurt the appearance much. But I guarantee you are going to love the flavor.
Here's the recipe for the Pork Shoulder Roast:
1 6 pound bone-in or 4-5 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston Butt) roast
garlic salt
pepper
1 tablespoon rosemary, preferably fresh, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sage, fresh, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fennel seed, finely chopped
2 large red onions, peeled and cut in wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. If you purchased a boneless roast, use twine to make belts around it in three places across the roast and once or twice around each end. Sprinkle the roast all over with garlic salt and pepper.
If you have a spice grinder or a Magic Bullet, you can put in the rosemary, sage, and fennel seed and the grinder will make you a nice rub for the roast. If you have to chop them by hand, make them reasonably fine, but it's not necessary to work too hard, as they mainly flavor the outside of the roast and the juices. (They also make the house smell great while the roast is cooking!) Anyhow, after they're mixed, smear them all over the roast.
Coat a roasting pan with cooking spray. The pan should have reasonably deep sides; two or three inches if you got one. Put the seasoned roast in the oven.
After three hours, add the onions. To get wedges, cut off both ends, set the onion on what was the root end, and make cuts 90 degrees to each other, and then at 45 degrees to wind up with eight wedges. Like cutting a big fat round pizza. Peel off the outer layer, if necessary, and rub each wedge with a little olive oil, and a little salt and pepper. Scatter them in the pan around the roast, and toss to mix with the meat drippings. (If you have an unusually lean roast, you may have to add some water to the pan once in a while.)
After two more hours, the roast will have reached an internal temperature of 170 degrees or more. Take the roast out of the oven, put the meat on a platter or cutting board, and cover loosely with foil. Let it sit for at least an hour, which will give you plenty of time to get the sauce and the rest of the meal together.
Put the roasting pan on the stove and tilt it so you can skim off most of the fat with a spoon. Then turn on the stove, and get the juices (and onions) in the pan simmering. Add the wine and scrape the pan clean with the flat end of a spatula. (This is called deglazing the pan, loosening the fond from the pan into the sauce. Add the cider, honey, and vinegar, and simmer the sauce for 1/2 hour or so. The sauce will become very dark and flavorful.
Carve the pork into its natural pieces, and slice those across the grain for servings. Top with the sauce. In the photo at right, I've served the pork on top of mashed potatoes, with cold applesauce, Swiss chard, and a green salad on the side. Notice how dark the caramelized onions and sauce become. Man, do they ever flavor those potatoes!
RECEIPE 2
Put the roast in the 450 degree preheated oven. The hot temperature is going to give the roast a nice golden color.
Set the timer for 10 minutes.
When the timer goes off re-set the oven temperature to 250 degrees.
Continue cooking about 50-80 minutes or until the meat registers 145 degrees on a meat thermometer. Some roasts are long and thin and others are short and fat, consequently the cooking times will vary depending on the shape of your roast. The meat thermometer is the best way to judge the right amount of cooking time.
(As of May 24, 2011 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is updating its recommendation for safely cooking pork. USDA recommends cooking whole cuts of pork to 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer placed in the thickest part of the meat, then allowing the meat to rest for three minutes before carving or consuming. Ground meats, including ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork, which should be cooked to 160 °F and do not require a rest time. The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, remains at 165 °F.)
Remove the roast from the oven and set on a cutting board. Cover the meat with tin foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes before slicing it. The temperature of the roast will continue to rise about another 5 degrees
Shredded Pork Shoulder
4 to 5 pound pork shoulder, bone-in
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut into wedges
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 12-ounce beer (a basic lager works well)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Trim the pork shoulder of any thick layers of fat. Combine the brown sugar, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the pork with the spice mixture, getting into crevices and on the sides. Allow the pork to sit for about 30 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the pork on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pot. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, and beer. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to bring up any browned bits.
Return the pork to the pot. Cover and put in the oven for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, checking once or twice, until the meat is extremely tender and pulls away from the bone easily. Shred the pork in the pot, using tongs to separate the meat from the fat (see photos above). Discard the bone or set aside for another use.
Serve the meat with several spoonfuls of the vegetables and sauce.
Receipe one
Pork Shoulder Roast with Caramelized Onion Sauce
Roast pork is always a good bet when a flavorful, hearty meal is called for. And this recipe has a delicious caramelized onion sauce to go with it. I prefer a shoulder roast over the more popular pork loin roast because modern pork has become so lean that juicy flavorful pork loins are a thing of the past. But the shoulder is still very good, and can produce a delicious roast in addition to the other things the shoulder is used for, such as barbeque pulled pork. But don't be afraid to use this recipe with a loin roast if that's what you want.
If you have leftovers, you can make pulled pork sandwiches, because the flavorings used here don't interfere with the pulled pork seasoning.
You can use a six pound shoulder with the bone in, as shown in the photo, or you can use a boned shoulder that weights a little less, but you should tie twine around it in four or five places to hold it together during roasting.
The shoulder roast is also called Boston Butt Roast, so your market may sell it under either or both names.
Allow six hours from start to finish, so this is probably either a weekend meal or you start it when you leave home and it will be ready when you return. It should, however, sit outside of the oven for at least another hour before carving.
Don't expect to get nice even uniform slices from this roast like you would a pork loin. This roast comes apart naturally between its sections, and you carve each piece across the grain. It may fall into several pieces by the time you get it on the plate, but it's going to get covered with a rich brown onion sauce, so it doesn't hurt the appearance much. But I guarantee you are going to love the flavor.
Here's the recipe for the Pork Shoulder Roast:
1 6 pound bone-in or 4-5 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston Butt) roast
garlic salt
pepper
1 tablespoon rosemary, preferably fresh, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sage, fresh, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fennel seed, finely chopped
2 large red onions, peeled and cut in wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. If you purchased a boneless roast, use twine to make belts around it in three places across the roast and once or twice around each end. Sprinkle the roast all over with garlic salt and pepper.
If you have a spice grinder or a Magic Bullet, you can put in the rosemary, sage, and fennel seed and the grinder will make you a nice rub for the roast. If you have to chop them by hand, make them reasonably fine, but it's not necessary to work too hard, as they mainly flavor the outside of the roast and the juices. (They also make the house smell great while the roast is cooking!) Anyhow, after they're mixed, smear them all over the roast.
Coat a roasting pan with cooking spray. The pan should have reasonably deep sides; two or three inches if you got one. Put the seasoned roast in the oven.
After three hours, add the onions. To get wedges, cut off both ends, set the onion on what was the root end, and make cuts 90 degrees to each other, and then at 45 degrees to wind up with eight wedges. Like cutting a big fat round pizza. Peel off the outer layer, if necessary, and rub each wedge with a little olive oil, and a little salt and pepper. Scatter them in the pan around the roast, and toss to mix with the meat drippings. (If you have an unusually lean roast, you may have to add some water to the pan once in a while.)
After two more hours, the roast will have reached an internal temperature of 170 degrees or more. Take the roast out of the oven, put the meat on a platter or cutting board, and cover loosely with foil. Let it sit for at least an hour, which will give you plenty of time to get the sauce and the rest of the meal together.
Put the roasting pan on the stove and tilt it so you can skim off most of the fat with a spoon. Then turn on the stove, and get the juices (and onions) in the pan simmering. Add the wine and scrape the pan clean with the flat end of a spatula. (This is called deglazing the pan, loosening the fond from the pan into the sauce. Add the cider, honey, and vinegar, and simmer the sauce for 1/2 hour or so. The sauce will become very dark and flavorful.
Carve the pork into its natural pieces, and slice those across the grain for servings. Top with the sauce. In the photo at right, I've served the pork on top of mashed potatoes, with cold applesauce, Swiss chard, and a green salad on the side. Notice how dark the caramelized onions and sauce become. Man, do they ever flavor those potatoes!
RECEIPE 2
Put the roast in the 450 degree preheated oven. The hot temperature is going to give the roast a nice golden color.
Set the timer for 10 minutes.
When the timer goes off re-set the oven temperature to 250 degrees.
Continue cooking about 50-80 minutes or until the meat registers 145 degrees on a meat thermometer. Some roasts are long and thin and others are short and fat, consequently the cooking times will vary depending on the shape of your roast. The meat thermometer is the best way to judge the right amount of cooking time.
(As of May 24, 2011 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is updating its recommendation for safely cooking pork. USDA recommends cooking whole cuts of pork to 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer placed in the thickest part of the meat, then allowing the meat to rest for three minutes before carving or consuming. Ground meats, including ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork, which should be cooked to 160 °F and do not require a rest time. The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, remains at 165 °F.)
Remove the roast from the oven and set on a cutting board. Cover the meat with tin foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes before slicing it. The temperature of the roast will continue to rise about another 5 degrees
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