Ramen California Restaurant (Torrance, California)

I keep reading about Ramen California.
Oishii Eats.
Go Ramen.
Rameniac.
Exile Kiss.
Los Angeles Times Food Section.

Finally, it was time to experience this new place for myself! I met Jun, Yvonne, and Courtney tonight at Ramen California in Torrance, California (Southern California's "cool ocean breeze" South Bay community).

Please, please put aside any ideas you have about Ramen. Especially the 10 cent stuff you had in college. And even set aside the pork ramen in your local Japanese ramen restaurant. When I heard about fresh veggies in ramen, I was a bit skeptical. I'm used to a piece of fatty pork in a rich broth, but after eating here, I'm so converted!

Ramen California is light, filled with fresh farmer's market vegetables and is, simply put, delicious.

Californian Ramen
Check out all those fresh veggies! The broth is light and as you eat it, it gets colored by the red beets.

If you want to read about the background of the chef, his philosophy, and the farmer's market ingredients he purchases...please read the above reviews. Because this is our conversation (verbatim):

Yvonne: Oooh. This is so good.
Jun: This is soooo good.
Courtney: That's my favorite.
Mary: Oh, smell this!
Yvonne: Yummmmm.
Courtney: Delicious!
Jun: Mmmmmmm.
All: [Hands clapping]: Yeah! More bread! Food of the Gods!
Jun: You done with that? Can I have the rest?
Yvonne: When are we coming back?

The noodles are organic and have a lovely texture. I slurped them up!

Bread. Bread. Bread. Rosemary Kasha Bread. It's basically a bao with rosemary and lovely sea salt. And it is my new best friend.

Reggiano Cheese Tofu ramen with seasonal vegetables. The ramen comes in three sizes and we all got the small size ramen.

California Vegetable Mix (Onyasai) with Crispy Anchovy Powder
Oh my goodness. This was my favorite. It was delicious!!!

Masala ramen made with curry. Smelled and tasted great!

Alpine Sausage with Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce
This was good, but it was our least favorite item.

Oysters. Yum.

The peeled, fresh tomatoes were delicious!!!

For drinks, Courtney and Jun ordered the small "taster" wine...and they got a big glass! Our final bill was very reasonable...4 people: $52

If you are boiling in the valley or IE, take a trip to the South Bay and enjoy the cool ocean breezes as well as some delicious ramen and small plates.

Ramen California
24231 Crenshaw Blvd. Unit C
It's in the Torrance Crossroads Plaza (with an In N Out, Home Depot and Vons. Ramen California is located next to Office Depot on the side closest to Lomita Blvd.)
Torrance, CA 90505
tel: (310) 530-2749
fax: (310) 530-4318
Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays
Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm to 10:00pm

May 2010 Note: I had to close comments on this post because Every Single Day I was getting SPAM comments coming from Japan (strange, huh?) After rejecting what seems like hundreds of comments, I realized I can close comments on a single post. - mary the food librarian