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| - There is a lack of both authentic izakaya as well as ramen joints in Pittsburgh, and Tan Izakaya attempts to remedy both. It seems that they're doing a surprisingly decent job despite splitting their efforts into two, although I feel that if they concentrated on either one of the two they'd do a better job. Their uniqueness is further diminished by the fact that they also serve sushi, an item that doesn't really fit in with the whole bar/pub draw of an izakaya. They do have some nice apps and grilled skewers that may be hard to find elsewhere, like quail egg or chicken gizzard.
In any case, we came here to try the ramen. At $12-14, they're hitting the borderline of fancy NYC ramen prices, although the quality is not quite there yet. That said, the taste and composition are definitely better than any other ramen I've had in Pittsburgh (and this is after I said that Love Yogurt had the best customizable ramen, though maybe about 25% cheaper). The broth was savory and just a bit spicy, the pork belly was tender, the fried tofu was a sweet addition, and the egg was bordering between solid and runny. As far as I could tell, we got legit ramen noodles and weren't forced to choose between udon and soba. The noodles were just a tad soft, but otherwise it was all pretty good. A fair comparison to make would probably be with G&G Noodle Bar in downtown, and after I get a chance to try that I'll probably write an update.
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