Jinya Ramen Bar

Jinya Ramen Bar

After one of our Texas Showdown meetings, we all headed for a team dinner at Jinya Ramen in Downtown Houston.  This was the second location in town, the first being out by Nasa.  The chain is originally from California, and is pretty highly regarded.

I ordered a combo, which is not necessary unless you're a big eater.  This was my first meal of the day so I went for it.  This was just a basic salad with miso dressing.  Nothing too fancy about it.

There are different options for the combos, karage, among other items can be chosen.  I went with gyoza.  Not bad, tasty, standard appetizer fare.

Here is the main course.  I went with Tonkotsu Black.  I think I've had this more often than not when I go to either of the two locations.  I've tried a couple of other flavors, but I always end up liking this one more.  What makes it different from other Tonkotsu recipes?  I have no idea to be honest.  The broth is thick and tasty, the noodles are done well, the pork & the egg are done well.  I really love the nori sitting in the bowl.  I always save it at the end once its totally sopped up the broth, its amazing.

I've been here enough times to know what I like and don't really need to experiment.  I'm hooked on Tonkotsu ramen, so its always going to be Tonkotsu Black whenever I go to Jinya.

Ramen Jin

Ramen Jin

Ramen Jin was one of the first ramen shops to open up in Houston, and it's been a while since I last ate here.  I figured it was time to give another shot and see if I liked it any better than last time.  Vicinity wise, it's right off Westheimer and Wilcrest, across the street from Nippon Daido and Genjis.  Definitely a prime location for such a restaurant.

 

For starters, I went with takoyaki.  They have all the usual appetizers, gyoza, karage, and this dish.  Most places tend to give out 5 or 6 pieces, so the 4 I got here is a little less than average, but since I was by myself it wasn't a big deal.  The food was very tasty though, nice and crispy outside, soft and not too chewy inside.

The main event though was the ramen.  I got my favorite tonkotsu ramen as usual.  So to start with the positives, the pork belly was excellent, noodles were ok.  The not so positives, broth was not very tasty, like it looks like its full flavored and creamy, but its kind of an illusion.  Like it was kind of tasty, but watered down.  Definitely not the best I've had.  The rest of the dish, the egg was meh, the veggies were fine, but how would you mess that up?  Overall, not good, which is about the same way I felt about it when I ate there last time when it was only them and Tiger Den.

I don't know if I'll ever come back here since there are so many other ramen shops open now.  But those that are interested in trying it, I deem this as a spot you go to if you're in a hurry and really just want some kinda noodles.

Mellow Mushroom

Mellow Mushroom

It's been a month or so since I've added a new entry, but I've definitely been eating.  I'm going to put some of them up this week while I'm not so busy.  First up is a pizza chain called Mellow Mushroom. More of a higher end pizza joint, this place boasts a fresh made pizza with a huge variety of ingredients.  That also means it takes longer for your pizza to bake.  But there are appetizers and a full bar to take your mind off the wait. 

Speaking of appetizers, gotta go with the stuffed portabella at a place called Mellow Mushroom.  Packed with cheese and veggies and topped on a leafy salad, this was a packed starter that should be shared instead of eating solo like I did.

Main course, the pizza.  Came in three different sizes, the personal, regular, and large.  This right here is the personal size.  The pizza itself was probably enough for me, but with the appetizer I only hate half of the pie.  I ordered the house special, which pretty much is the works or supreme at other joints.  It was definitely better than your normal pizza, but you're also definitely paying more.

Overall it was a good place, the pizza was definitely good, the appetizer as well.  Others have told me that I should try the pretzel next time, and I wouldn't mind trying out a different type of pizza.