Anger Burger

Whenever I’m not feeling well, my absolutely number one meal of choice is udon.  Nabeyaki udon, to be exact.  And, as I have discovered, it is easy to screw up.  It shouldn’t be, but it is. One time I ordered nabeyaki udon and it had cabbage in it – cabbage! Oh my god.

Nabeyaki udon is traditionally a — oh, who the fuck am I fooling.  I don’t know what it traditionally is.  I mean, I’m pretty sure that the “nabe” part just refers to how it is served (in a hot pot) but other than that it could have started out as a Albuquerque specialty for all I know; I’m a Scottish-Melungeon from Washington.

Anyway, finding a solid nabeyaki udon is high on my list of lifetime priorities, and what luck that there should be one within easy distance of where I live.  Some friends asked if I wanted to catch lunch with them on short notice, and we immediately agreed on Mishima¹.

Mishima is a noodle joint – they serve sushi, but what you’re going there for is either udon or soba.  At which they kick ass.  Above is a photo of Mike’s Curry Udon.  The curry ‘broth’ is a thin version of the same sort of curry gravy that gets ladled over fried pork chops and rice at other Japanese restaurants (a personal favorite of mine), but with a more-than-generous portion of udon, meat of choice and some vegetables.  It’s an excellent meal and at $7.95 is sort of unbelievably priced.

My own nabeyaki udon was a model of the form, though I have to admit I kind of don’t understand why it costs a full $2 more than the curry udon.  But que sera, it is delicious.  Our server was a little off on this last trip, an older Hispanic gentleman who is normally friendly but on that day seemed irritated that we had a baby with us.  Not a crying baby or anything, just a regular baby.  Who eats napkins.

I mean really?  That’s one great baby.

¹You’d have to live here to understand, but it’s very funny to me that their website claims they are in “Beverly Hills.”  Uh, no.  They are at best in West Hollywood, and probably are technically Mid Wilshire.  But such is the way of life in Los Angeles and if claiming one is dining in Beverly Hills gets them more customers, then great.