Orochon Ramen in Los Angeles, California…

I went on a business trip in November with Joey Snackpants. What does that mean?  Why, more Man v. Food goodness of course!  Here’s the list so far:

• Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream in Indianapolis, Indiana
• Al’s #1 Italian Beef in Chicago, Illinois
• Edward’s Drive-In in Indianapolis, Indiana
• Big Pie in the Sky Pizzeria in Kennesaw, Georgia
• La Moon in Miami, Florida
• Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami, Florida
• The Old Salty Dog in Sarasota, Florida
• Hot N Juicy Crawfish in Las Vegas, Nevada
• The NASCAR Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Shula’s Steak House in Miami, Florida
• Gladys Knight And Ron Winans’ Chicken And Waffles in Atlanta, Georgia
• The Jack-N-Grill in Denver, Colorado
• The Buckhorn Exhange in Denver, Colorado
• The Vortex in Atlanta, Georgia

Let’s cut to the chase: No, I did not order or try to eat Special #2.  I was technically in town for a business dinner and dying of extreme spicy food didn’t seem like the prudent thing to do.

Joey and I met up with some of our friends from the Invader ZIM cast and crew to discuss the upcoming InvaderCON II: DOOMCON convention that we were going to host nearby in Los Angeles.  Joining us were Eric Trueheart, Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons and Tavisha Wolfgath-Simons.  Zaniness was guaranteed to ensue:

After we were seated, everyone started reading the menu.  Peer pressure started to bounce around the table and (at one point) we were all certain that Eric was going to try Special #2.  When the time came to order, though, he bailed on the challenge and opted to go for a normal level spicy ramen.  Someday, Eric.  Someday…

The misleading part about this story, though, is where I mentioned the “normal level spicy.”  There’s no such thing.  Check out the menu: http://www.orochon-ramen.com/menu/

Notice that Orochon 7 is the safe thing to order with Orochon 4 set to be neutral without being bland.  I ordered Orochon 3 which is four levels below ultimate spiciness.  I figured that should be safe enough, right? Maybe – except I was eating dinner with Richard sitting across from me and Richard (if you haven’t met him) tends to be a funny, funny guy.  See:

SO. At one point during the evening, Richard was telling a story about an angry older gentlemen (who will remain nameless) he dealt with at an audition. The result? I laughed and the broth from my ramen went back in my throat and up my nose. INSTANT PAIN.

See the tears in my eyes? Those are TEARS OF PAIN from the spicy flavor of Orochon 3. At that point, I didn’t even want to imagine the special oral hell endured by any human ever attempting Special #2.

(My eyes are watering this as I type this from the memories.  Seriously.)

All that said, it WAS a very tasty spicy.  As with all previous MvF locations – the food lived up to the hype.  The noodles and broth were both quality stuff.  Since we were there in November, the weather was chilly in Southern California, but not cold.  Thus the warm soup and the kick of spicy goodness really made for a quality meal.

One of the added perks to visiting may of the MvF restaurants is location.  Orochon Ramen is situated in the middle of the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles.  The result of which is that you experience an extra level of ambiance when having dinner there.  Right next to the restaurant was a hotel with a beautiful Japanese garden you could walk though.  From there, you are afforded a great view of the city:

Orochon Ramen was good meal in a wonderful location with some great people.

Epic. Food. WIN.