Suzu

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting a close friend in San Francisco, his name is Simon and he lives in the Richmond district which I have to say, I absolutely love.  San Francisco is a charming city by far and so I was heavily charmed all weekend.  After a 6.5 hr drive and getting there past midnight, the next day Tummy and Mr. Borscht were very hungry indeed and Friend Simon took us to his favorite Japanese restaurant located in SF's Japan Town, Suzu, it was here that the real charming began for Tummy.

A small restaurant inside a smallish two-story Japanese mall, the atmosphere was casual and comfortable, and the only thing I can possibly complain about was the lack of tables though we didn't have to wait for one, but I would hate to be the one who did.

We did what we always do when eating out, we sat, we looked at the menu, and the Japanese restaurant did what they always do during this 'menu-perusing' time, served hot tea.  Here, it was not green-tea that they served but what tasted much like barley-tea.

This is a Ramen specialty restaurant and so Friend Simon ordered his usual the Ramen with chicken, Large chunks of crispy chicken floated around the broth.

I ordered the regular ramen combo which came with regular ramen and a side Tonkatsu over rice, Tonkatsu is breaded and fried pork-cutlet topped with dark sweet sauce.  I've been to other Ramen houses before where the broth is a cloudy, flavorful pork broth, here at Suzu the broth was a clear pork broth, still flavorful and I have to say more delish.  The only difference that I can make out between the cloudy pork broth at other ramen houses and the clear pork broth here at Suzu is that the cloudy pork broth seems to taste a bit richer and fattier while the clear pork broth not much so, thus I'm inclined to say that I actually prefer the taste, texture and experience of the clear pork broth of Suzu's Ramen.

The tonkatsu side that came with the ramen combo

Mr. Borscht is a big fan of Unagi (fresh water eel) and so he opted to order the Unagi-Don, large pieces of Unagi on top of rice with a side of pickled radish and pickled ginger, the Don also came with a small side of salad and miso-soup.  It wasn't the best Unagi I've tasted, I've had softer and fresher Unagi before but Unagi-Don is one of those simple dishes that even if not the best is still very tasty... Mr. Borscht ate the whole Don.

Suzu makes sure you don't leave hungry but doesn't make you feel as if you've wasted your money on food you didn't have room for, in this way they gauge the human stomach-stretchability very well.  The ramen bowls are large but not too much so, the tonkatsu side I had with my combo was a smaller bowl and so made it quite do-able to finish, while Friend Simon had the Ramen chicken with large chunks of chicken and a boiled egg which made it the perfect amount for him as well.  Mr. Borscht's Unagi Don with a side of salad and miso soup also was the perfect amount.

As you probably well know by now, Tummy loved the food as well did Friend Simon and Mr. Borscht.  It was nearly a perfect meal and the perfect meal to start off our long weekend in San Francisco.

Friend Simon doing his 'Oh! SOOO full!' impression

1 Chicken Ramen

1 Regular ramen combo (w/tonkatsu)

1 Unagi Don

1 Cola

1 side of rice

The Damage:  $42.00

Suzu Japanese Restaurant
1825 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 346.5083