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| - 3 stars for concept, service and ambience. Looking to satisfy my craving for asian comfort food, I dragged my boyfriend to downtown LV for ramen despite the 114 degree weather. Entering the restaurant, I felt that I had walked into an upscale bar that is more accustomed to the likes of downtown LA; a hip oasis in the midst of the fast-food desert. However, on food alone, Itsy Bitsy comes in at a lowly 2 stars. One word to describe the food here: SALTY. We were greeted at the entrance by a very friendly host who inquired about our stay in Vegas, and took the time to make recommendations as well as describe some of the items on the menu. Per his recommendation, we ordered the shrimp potstickers as an appetizer, followed by the miso ramen with thick noodles, a shoyu egg, tofu, bean sprouts, and green onions.
The shrimp potstickers were folded into cute packages and were perfectly crispy. The filling, however, was the first indication of the chef's heavy-handed use of salt.
The ramen came in a medium-sized bowl with the perfect ratio of soup: noodles. I felt that they were slightly skimpy on the toppings--there was probably a total of 4 tofu cubes in my soup. At first bite, I was overwhelmed by the saltiness of the broth; it was seriously as if someone had poured an entire cup of salt into my soup. Additionally, the miso broth wasn't the type of miso that I was familiar with (i.e. the miso soup that you order at Japanese restaurants). Instead, it was an oily, rich broth with a very pungent flavor that didn't sit with me quite right. The shoyu egg was also unbelievably salty, even more so than my miso broth, to the point where it was almost inedible. This ramen's only saving grace were the noodles themselves--they were perfectly al dente with just the right amount of chewiness. I finished the noodles without touching the soup because I knew that my blood pressure would probably skyrocket if I attempted to drink that saltwater broth.
It saddens me to have to give Itsy Bitsy such a poor review because the concept is just so darn cool. Unfortunately, I would only return to try their drinks and other appetizers.
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