Santouka Ramen

This Japanese chain has several stateside locations, including an L.A. outpost located in a Mitsuwa food court—prompting some to refer to Santouka as the McDonald’s of ramen joints. But the analogy does a disservice to the noodle spot: This certainly is fast-food ramen, but a bowl of Santouka’s shio ramen is far superior to any old box of mechanically separated chicken nuggets. The broth is a blend of pork stock—pork bones simmered for over 20 hours—and seafood, seasoned crucially with a bit of salt to create a mild, almost creamy base. Ultra-chewy noodles and a pickled Japanese plum complete every old-school bowl, and even after all these years (Santouka first opened in 2006), the ramen here still hits the spot.