Ask any Bay Area ramen connoisseur where to find a proper bowl in San Francisco, and you’ll likely be met with a disappointing answer: one must venture outside the city to enjoy real ramen. Earlier this year Blowfish Executive Chef Ritsu Tsuchida proved this widely held belief wrong with the now-legendary ramen recipe he unveiled at the Iza Ramen popup shop.
Even after receiving enthusiastic feedback from the SF foodie community, Ritsu-san was not completely satisfied with his recipe. As a result he traveled back to Japan post-popup and spent the entire summer improving upon his little bowl of heaven. When he returned and treated the Blowfish staff to a sneak preview of his updated recipe, we all agreed that a second installment of the Iza popup was most definitely in order.
Iza ramen is comprised of painstakingly slow-cooked, impossibly tender BBQ pork belly, fatty triple-stock broth, perfectly chewy noodles, a soy-marinated 6-minute egg, and a variety of other tasty topping options including bamboo shoots and homemade kimchi. Ritsu-san is also offering Tsukemen for those who prefer dipping their noodles to letting them soak.
The Iza Ramen pop-up shop will be open from 11:30am-3pm every Saturday and Sunday through the end of 2013. A limited number of bowls will be available each day, as well as a selection of Japanese Izakaya appetizers such as Marinated Organic Fried Chicken with Anchovy Aioli, and Wasabi Octopus. A variety of libations will be available as well including a wide selection of sakes, local draught beers, and Japanese craft beer.
After 15 years of serving the freshest sushi this side of the Pacific, we are very excited to bring another taste of Japan to the Mission. We hope to see you there.
**Please note that since Iza is currently a pop-up, the kitchen we use is not ideal for creating ramen. It does not allow us to work at the speed & volume we would like. In addition, the dining space we are borrowing is far too large. You may see seats available & still be asked to wait, but this is because we only seat as many people as we are able to serve at that time. We appreciate your patience as we grow & apologize for any long waits you may experience.**