NJR’S NY V LA SHOWDOWN DAY 4!!!!

Day 3 was rained out. Also, closed on Mondays, as you would expect a pizza place so deep in Brooklyn that it takes almost an hour to get there would be had you thought about it at all and not just followed your lusty tum. But onwards! And forwards! And Uptown to DAY 4! Today, we pit Ramen against Ramen in a fiery furnace test of endurance. Also—beverage against beverage in a cockfight tale for the ages! I LOVE TO PUN! I LOVE IT! PUN PUN PUN!

RAMENIA IN RAMENTOWN WITH A SIDE OF GORE GYOZA!
Daikokuya v Momofuku Noodle Shop

DAIKOKUYA
Incredibly rich pork broth
LOTS of scallions that intensify the flavor as they cook in the broth
A delicious hardboiled egg that has been pickling over night

MOMOFUKU
Very rich as well, and perhaps saltier
Two kinds of pork, both of incredibly high quality and REALLY delicious. The pork slices were mostly fat and continued to flavor the broth as it cooked, making it the porkiest porkiness ever to pork my face.
A poached egg. Cool.

This was the first real nuts-out teeth-gritted battle of the whole competition. While it was officially a ramen-off, both sides brought feisty loyal sidekicks to help wage the war. Daikokuya’s accomplice was the ever delicious, ever too-filling-to-then-try-to-eat-a-whole-bowl-of-ramen-you-crazypants gyoza. These little guys are crispy as hell on the outside, and filled with delicious porkness (yeah—there’s a theme here. Live with it.). Again, scallions are utilized to their fullest—a heaping pile of them that you pray you will trap enough of with your chopsticks to rich gyoza nirvana.

Momofuku was not going to be out done in the sidekick department, and went all out with pork steamed dumplings. These little guys sort of resemble bacos (from Lot 1). The dumpling is cut almost like a taco and wrapped about two heavenly slices of pork (I said live with it son!), some sweet plum sauce, and a few pickles. This was OUTRAGEOUSLY good. I would go back and eat six of them right now, even though I have a Batali-induced stomachache (more on that later). But this isn’t about sidekicks or costumes or catch phrases. This is about ramen.

ADVANTAGE: Daikokuya. A really tough call. Both ramens are delicious, and I have to say it’s great to know that the pigs in your soup were treated relatively well (momofuku pork comes form Neiman Ranch). But to me, Ramen is a street food and it just shouldn’t cost $16. Ramen and pork buns and beer should never set you back $48. It wasn’t just a matter of price point—I think Daikokuya’s broth is a little better—more rounded and less salty. I also think they have a better noodle to broth ratio (a few too many noodles in Momofuku’s version) and their ramen is greatly helped by the extra scallions which cut the porkiness just enough to make it totally enjoyable first bite to last.

CLASHING BEAK TO BEAK: COCKTALE FOR THE AGES!!!!
Pdt v Hungry Cat

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself through all of this, it’s that I like an unfair fight. Or to put it more precisely, I’m on vacation! I’m gonna go where I want and pit that place against a death match with whoever I darnit well please and thank you! Hungry Cat has my favorite cocktails in LA. Is it a bar? No. Are they the best match up in our fair city against that juggernaut of drink and milk and honey called “please don’t tell”? No. But damnit I like them! And actually, the drinks at pdt reminded me very much of hungry cat drinks.

PDT
So damn fun to walk into and in a way that just can’t really be done in LA. You go into a hotdog joint on the lower east side and walk through a PHONE BOOTH into the bar. It’s dark and sexy and old fashioned inside and damned if it doesn’t make you want to have a cocktail.
First drink was a “dewey d”: Overholt, Sherry, Aperol and bitters. It was like a very very grown up Manhattan (how appropriate. enchante). Part of wanting to try this was hubris on my part. By way of my friend Bza I had learned to make a mean mean Manhattan—one that I think is better than any variety I have ever ordered at a bar. About the time the bartender started hitting perfect cubes of ice with his stirrer I knew I might be in trouble. When he expertly squeezed a tiny round disc of orange over the drink and rubbed the outside of the class just enough to give it the perfect aromatic zesty overtone, I got down on my knees and apologized for ever having made a Manhattan to begin with. It was pretty embarrassing actually since this was a pretty cool bar and probably people don’t usually genuflect before they’ve gotten their first drink. It was out of this world good and beautiful and great to watch get made. There is a spectacle to nightlife in NYC that makes our flashy shenanigans seem like nickelodeon to their HBO. Or should I say Cinemax…
Second drink was less successful in taste—it was called The Mariner and consisted of blended scotch, cardamom syrup and some other stuff I can’t remember. Again, the preparation and presentation were exquisite, but the cardamom taste was bitter and overwhelmed everything else. Which brings us to…

HUNGRY CAT
St. Andrews is also a drink that blends scotch, lemon juice and other stuff. The whole time I was drinking The Mariner, I was wishing it had ginger simple syrup and candied ginger instead of cardamom in it. Hungry cat wins the drink v drink sprint off here.
I also often get the Pimlico. Like a julep but better. All their drinks are so fresh and the bartenders are so awesome.

ADVANTAGE: pdt. No question. We just can’t hold a candle to exciting bars in NYC. Because of our cars, because of our culture. LA is having a fancy drink renaissance right now, but even with it I highly doubt we can do what pdt does: by affordable, not overly exclusive, exciting, and delicious all in the same little spot. Prove me wrong LA! Make me a drink to forget pdt. My little caveat here is that just because Hungry Cat lost, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go there. In fact, if you’re in LA and reading this and haven’t been there you should feel a little embarrassed and then go take pride in the kind of place we do have in LA and the kind of place we should be proud of.

A draw! A draw! Today we have a draw! It was a good eating day, or rather night. Also, I saw my first play. I mention this because I deeply love the theater and while I’ve tried to carry my excitement for it to LA, it hasn’t worked. I fear I may give NYC extra points just for having plays like “Body Awareness”, which I saw at the Atlantic Second Stage sitting on a pillow. If you know of great exciting new theater in LA, tell me about it so I can go. Otherwise, eat your face off world!