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| - This extended weekend had been full of good eats, let's see if we can keep the streak going and what better place to do that than at the newly opened Cali transplant, Jinya Ramen Bar.
Jinya is located close to the hustling and bustling Vegas area with tourist and local traffic alike, just off Decatur and Flaming-O, away from the compettion on Spring Mountain. Upon arrival, the place looked closed and includes a drive through that is not functional and uncertain if and when it will be up and running. You will find the entrance on the Eastside of the building, trust me, it's there. (Shouts to Downtown Cocktail Lounge's secret door)
Once we got in, it totally looked like and had the feel of a bar, only that you are taking shots of tonkotsu broth. Actually, I took a peek at the alcohol menu and it was respectable. Problem was the place reminded me of that "dark dining" phenomenon all over NYC cause it made me want to refund my Lasik work. Hard to order when you can't see, just saying. Cool Victorian loop style light bulbs that were totally ineffective to say the least. Somehow, the wifey was able to see done good friends and fellow Yelp elitists, Laurie and Derek, that did liven up the mood.
Oh yeah, weird to the wise... don't get stuck with your dominant eating arm against the wall of you are seated in the tandem mini booth unless you want bruises. It's tiny and requires an Orbitz baby seat to get in and out.
When it was time to order, I was saddened to learn that they were out of the tonkotsu asuri. Not only that the shrimp toast and takoyaki was nowhere to be found as well. So I opted for the Tokyo Tonkotsu Special, but to top it off (or lack of topping it off), Jinya was out of eggs too! Kinda turning out yo be more like Jipya instead of Jinya! I was slowly starting to think that the opening may have been premature.
The waitress was pleasant and from Hawaii. She could easily tell we were too but is still subject to the same brutal scrutiny (if warranted) just line everyone else. Oh girl just needs to expand her knowledge on the craft beer menu, but she got redemption by showing me each if the bottles and cans up close to get the real deal Holyfield.
The food came out rather quick and I gave it the broth test right off the bat and the verdict is...manslaughter, cause man did I slaughter the ish out the bowl, maybe it's because I hadn't eaten since breakfast at Rise and Shine this morning. The flavor that stood out profoundly to me was the bonito flakes and the thick noodles was a Nice touch. I can't Complain about the chashu though, the chicken chashu too. I wonder if it is a stretch to say it rivals Monta's melt in yo mouth chashu?!? Not to mention we got double the chashu since they were out of everything we initially wanted.
The spicy shrimp tempura was mediocre at best, not traditional by any stretch of the imagination. The mayo sauce, ehhhh not a fan, but the skrimpz were big but it still reminded me of buffet style and not impressive at all. The seaweed Salad had more vegetable greens than seaweed and the pork belly bowl tasted a lot like rinsed adobo. The wifey said the spicy chicken ramen was delicious though, you know what they say, happy wife, happy life.
What they lacked in menu items, they sure made up for in Cool Japanese craft beer and double chashu. Some new interesting brews seen for the first time included, Yona Yona ale and Coedo Shikkoku, but went with the Suiyoubi No Neko. No I'm not bi and yes I have a neck, but true translation is "Wednesday (humpday) Cat," a Belgian style white that was especially good on Saturday chased down with almond pudding for dessert. Oh yeah, they played good music that prompted me to give them a score of 3.2, would been a whole point higher had they dished out what we wanted. Hopefully, the next round will get me editing this review in a positive way.
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