鷹の目 (Takanome in Soka, Saitama)

0 Reviews

鷹の目獨協大学前本店

I’m a sucker for junk-style ramen. This offshoot of Jiro-style has no soup. What it lacks in liquid it more than makes up for in outrageous junky toppings. Garlic mayonnaise, chunks of pork back fat, spicy rice crispies, cheese, and more. Takanome is one of the top-ranked junk-kei shops in Japan.

I admit, in 2021 I went on a bit of a junk-spree. Any shops with a minimally decent rating went on my radar. In the end, I tried them all. Spoiler alert, they were all great.

Great is a subjective term. Does this look great to you? If so, you’ll love every last greasy slurp. If it looks awful, then there is a chance you’ll change your mind, albeit a small chance. If you have no opinion . . . let’s be honest, everyone is divided to the extremes with this style.

ニンニク入り

Heaven. I ate this one live on Twitch. It’s at the three-hour mark of video #58 in this super secret playlist. Enjoy!

For Jiro purists, you can get ramen or tsukemen. Toppings are all over the place. Quail eggs, curry powder, and two kinds of ginger are among the choices. Load it up, that’s part of the fun of junk style. Mine was with added grated ginger, fish powder, and cheese. All the free toppings except the vegetables. Yasai nuki. Zero veggies.

A quick note on ordering at Jiro-style places. They will ask you what free toppings you want just before serving. Be ready as timing is of the essence. Futsu means normal. Mashi means extra. Nashi means none, but this word is close to mashi, so best to use nuki. Some shops explicitly forbid the use of nashi. In the past, shop masters were kind of strict about the vernacular, but these days everyone seems to have chilled out.

The homemade noodles are wheaty and served firm. Despite the use of garlic in every menu item, the shop has the subtle aroma of raw noodles. It’s lovely. The shop may also have the aroma of sweaty dudes who eat this kind of thing three times a week. Such is the risk of Jiro-anything.

Takanome has five shops scattered around Saitama, so choose one closer if Soka is out of the way.

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