Yogurtsoda Gratuitous food and travel.

Good ramen is hard to come by in San Francisco. There are a few glimmers of light (*cough* Tanpopo *cough*), but I’ve longed for something downtown, closer to work. When Ramen Underground opened up in the Financial District last fall, I was overjoyed.

Ramen Undergound has become my go-to spot when I’m craving ramen but can’t get to Japantown (or better yet, the South Bay). The broth is umami-laden, the noodles are chewy and full of bite, and the ambiance is fun. I usually order the shoyu ramen with a gyoza topping. Outside of the standard pork-based broth, Ramen Undergound also has chicken and vegetarian broth options on their menu.

I’ve never gone for lunch, but around dinnertime, it’s always busy, and there is nearly always a wait. And oh, it’s BYOB, in case you like your ramen with a cold beer. Ramen Underground is minimalist in its approach, which works just fine. The emphasis is on quality, and at the end of the day, I’m happy that when the craving hits, good ramen is just a short walk away.

Union Square isn’t the first place I think of when I eat out in San Francisco, especially if I’m craving sushi. But when my cousin recommended Akiko’s for a meal one evening, I thought, why not?

Akiko’s stays busy, so we’d made reservations for our weeknight dinner. We were quickly seated inside the small restaurant, and ordered from both their standard and special nama menu, featuring nigiri and sashimi flown in from Japan.

Our agedashi tofu arrived first, arranged artfully and topped with grated daikon radish. Agedashi tofu is silken tofu, lightly dusted with potato or cornstarch, deep-fried until golden brown, and served in a sauce of dashi, mirin and soy sauce. This version was crispier than the standard version, and more minimalist (the dish usually includes green onion and shaved bonito flakes), but still delicious.

Next came our selection from the nama menu: suzuki, shiro maguro, and smoked uni nigiri. This was my first time trying uni in smoked form, and the flavor was much stronger than I expected. I prefer the untouched version, but uni fans should still try this anyway, just to experience it. The shiro maguro, or white tuna, was mild and clean-tasting — just the way it should be. The suzuki, or sea bass, was my favorite: super fresh, and served with a light ponzu sauce.

Our volcano roll arrived last, and was essentially the opposite of our nigiri plate: rich, fried, and over the top. Made up of spicy salmon, salmon skin, crab, avocado, crunchy tempura, green onions, sesame, masago roe, and drizzled with a garlicy sauce, the volcano roll made the sushi purist in me cringe, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t delicious.

Service can be slow at Akiko’s, but it’s thorough and attentive. Just be sure to make reservations, even if you’re dropping by on a weeknight. Akiko’s may not be the most traditional sushi restaurant in the city, but I’m happy to know I can find a good roll or nigiri downtown, should I get the urge.

If San Francisco’s Chinatown had an official hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Hon’s Wun-Tun House would be it. Homely, bare-bones, and crowded, Hon’s is where I go when I need a comforting bowl of noodle soup, and fast.

I’m not sure when the seemingly-dated menu was last updated at Hon’s, but I usually get the first item: wun-tun and noodle in soup. After I add my requisite garnish of chili oil, I’m in comfort food heaven. The noodles have a good bite, the wontons (or wun-tuns) are full of shrimp and meat, and the broth is flavorful without being greasy. My only complaint is that the serving size is small (a bowl costs under four dollars), so sometimes I explore the menu and order a second dish to share with my dining companions. Curry beef or offal with sauce, anyone?

Speaking of dining companions, some staff at Hon’s speak English, but it’s helpful to go with folks who speak Cantonese. Service can be slow when Hon’s is busy (which is often), but once you’ve ordered, food arrives quickly. Stick to the noodle soups here and you’ll understand why there’s nearly always a crowd at Hon’s.

I’ll be honest. Dining out at a vegetarian, let alone vegan, restaurant is rarely at the top of my list. Don’t get me wrong — I appreciate produce as much as the next health-conscious Bay Area girl, but I like meat. When my friend Natasha suggested we try vegan Japanese cuisine at Berkeley’s Cha-Ya, I was a little skeptical.

We sat down for lunch on a sunny afternoon and per Natasha’s recommendation, ordered the summer green roll as an appetizer. Any judgement I had over vegan fare quickly went out the door once our rolls arrived. We were served four large pieces of a reverse roll with avocado, cucumber and kaiware, topped with sea vegetable salad. (The sea vegetable salad, available as a separate menu item, is mostly seasoned hijiki seaweed, which I love.)

For my entree, I ordered the sansai hot soba noodles, served with ferns, nori, bamboo shoots, carrots, and enoki and wood ear mushrooms. This was my first time sampling edible ferns, and they were delicious. For a meatless dish, the mushrooms and noodles were filling enough that I couldn’t finish my bowl. I admit that I missed the umami-laden flavor of the traditional dashi broth (which contains fish) that’s typically found in soba, but I was satisfied.

I’m not sure I’ll be quitting steak any time soon, but my idea of vegan cuisine was indeed misplaced. And oh, Cha-Ya has an outpost in San Francisco’s Mission District too, for all the vegan hispsters.

I love seaweed in nearly any shape or form, and I’m always looking for recipes that go beyond the usual nori roll or wakame salad. This super-healthy hijiki salad is exactly what I’ve been looking for: fortifying, tasty, and just a little bit unique. Best of all, it’s easy to make and reheats well. Don’t be put off by hijiki’s appearance — it may look out of the ordinary, but it’s full of iron, calcium, and magnesium.

Ingredients:

2 ounces dried hijiki seaweed
1/2 carrot
1 cake abura-age deep-fried tofu
1 1/2 cups frozen edamame in pods
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup dashi stock
1 tablespoon sake
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place the hijiki seaweed in a sieve, immerse in cold water, and wash while shaking the sieve. Transfer to a large bowl and soak in cold water to soften, about 20 minutes. Drain hijiki in the sieve and set aside.

2. Peel the carrot and julienne into 1 1/2-inch long matchsticks. Thinly cut abura-age tofu into 1 1/2-inch lengths. Boil the frozen edamame briefly, drain, and shell.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a pot, add the carrot, hijiki, and abura-age and saute. Add the stock, sake, sugar, soy sauce, and salt, and simmer over medium heat. When the simmering liquid is almost completely gone, add the edamame and mix. Turn off the heat and arrange in a bowl. Serve at room temperature.