Kinton Ramen

Nothing beats a hot bowl of ramen on a cold day. Especially if that ramen came with slabs of buttery soft pork belly and cheek and came from the kitchen of Guu owners, Kinton Ramen.

A tiny narrow noodle bar in Baldwin Village, it fills up quickly but turns people over quickly too so I imagine the wait to not be too crazy. Although when we arrived at 4:50 for their 5pm dinner service, there was already about 10 people in line.

 
The hubs had he cheese ramen with extra pork belly. The ramen was $11 and extra pork belly $2 and so worth it. The ramen came with a heaping mound of grated cheese on top and looked delicious. I'm off dairy (not by choice!) so didn't try any but he said that it was definitely better than Sansotei. Also he said eating ramen with cheese was kind of like having cheese in French onion soup. Hmm?

I had the extra pork spicy garlic ramen ($12.80). Spicy AND garlic! While I love me some garlic, the large mound of minced raw garlic was a tiny bit too much. Next time I would just skim a third off before mixing into broth. The broth itself was tasty with the perfect bite of spice for me but a tad salty. A warning that I love spicy foods. The hubs found it really spicy. The noodles were a good consistency of softness and chewiness.

Would I go back to Kinton? Definitely. I'd get the same extra pork spicy garlic ramen but with a large glass of water and a little less garlic. 

Guu Izakaya

First off thank you Adam and Alice for taking me to Guu for my birthday :)

I think I've been to Guu at least 7 times in 4 months and never been disappointed. Hit the time limit a few times and only had to line up once. Guu is about having a good time. The best way to enjoy Guu is order in waves. If you order all the food at once it's overwhelming. The staff is very attentive and ordering a few dishes at a time allows you to savor each bite. I've eaten 16 dishes within the 2 hour time limit with the assistance of my fellow "porker."

The loud atmosphere isn't for everyone but I love the shouting, face stuffing and beer drinking crowd. This is not a first date type place but the girl will enjoy the food. Maybe if you stuff her enough she'll surrender. If she likes cheese the Deep Fried Brie will give her a euphoric head rush. Make sure she soaks up the mango and blueberry sauces.

Finish her off with the infamous Black Cod. "It's like butter baby"

Now that I got the important date information. This restaurant has tons of options for everyone. I personally indulge in the deep fried items. Deep Fried Soy Chicken with garlic mayo... OMG!

Other personal favorites...

I would recommend Guu to everyone. It's a great place to go as a small group and have a great time. Not a first date environment but a good place for a casual date. Deep Fried Oysters, Grilled Oyster, Deep Fried Brie and the Black Cod. Those are the keys to her pants. Questions about the menu? Post a comment I've tried pretty much everything there.