Daikaya

I was in our nation’s (America for ya’ll who don’t know) to do a ramen pop-up event back in May 2019. Of course, I wanted to try a couple of the local shops to see what was going on. Daikaya is probably the most famous shop in town. Noodles imported from Hokkaido, Japan. Miso is their specialty, but in true Hokkaido fashion, they have a menu with shio and shoyu as well. The shop is in a cool part of town, has an izakaya on the second floor, and is just minutes from all the attractions.

Do you think Trump slurps here?

Vegetarian ramen is standard at (most) American ramen shops these days.

Cool design is also a standard in most popular shops.

Noodles imported from Sapporo’s Nishiyama Seimen, one of the only noodle companies to have an export business for their noodles. I hope to visit their noodle factory in Japan soon!

The shop doesn’t just have ramen. Japanese beers, sake, shochu, and cocktails are all there. No, I didn’t have a DIAL BACK THE MOXIE, a drink with lemongrass shochu, aged rum, acho reyes chile liqueur, honey, lime, thai basil with my ramen, but you can.

By the way, the second floor of the building is an izakaya. I didn’t go, but I like the concept.

All in all a satisfying bowl. You might wait a bit, as people tend to linger in ramen restaurants like this. When I went, we waited about 10 minutes, but I’ve heard of much, much longer waits.

I absolutely love that they tell patrons to eat within 45 minutes. Still, 45 minutes is way too long for a ramen lunch, but at least it is a start. Personally, in Japan, I try to spend no longer than 10 minutes slurping my ramen, and if the shop has a line of any length, I am quick to get out. I know, I know, the customer is king in America, but that is just the way ramen shops run in Japan. No drinks, no snacks, just ramen. You do you, but if you want to spend the entire 45 minutes enjoying time with friends, I suggest crushing that bowl asap, then chilling with a drink and snack after the noodles.

Official site here.

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Daikaya in Washington, D.C.

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西穂山荘 (Nishiho Hut in the Northern Alps)