Flavor Boulevard

Kaze, Berkeley:  tonkotsu ramen with a side of gyoza. ($10.99)

This little shop opens sometime last winter, it looked unassuming then, but now it is packed every time I come, so I think it’s safe to assume that it’s packed almost everyday if not always.

People on the East Bay think of The Ramen Shop when they think of ramen, simply because until now there has been no other shop that really specializes in ramen. There’s ramen at sushi places, izakaya places, and some random places that should have nothing to do with ramen. Hence, the consistently ridiculous 2-plus-hour wait at The Ramen Shop. Now, let’s do a check-and-compare list between Kaze and The Ramen Shop (TRS):

1. Taste: Kaze/TRS = 8/10. TRS is 10 only for comparison purposes between the two, not because it is the best I’ve ever had in my life (there are many better, just not in the area). Kaze is 8 because on certain days it comes close to TRS, on other days the soy-sauced egg is a little too soy-saucy, but it has the right creamy gooeyness of soft-boiled eggs, the chashu is meaty (it sounds obvious but not enough places get this right), and the tonkotsu soup is rich and satisfying.

2. Location: Kaze/TRS = 10/5. I’m biased. I live in Berkeley, Kaze is in Berkeley, TRS is a 30-minute bus ride away plus the time to wait for the bus, which is indefinite.

3. Wait time to be seated: Kaze/TRS = 10/1. Kaze is busy too, and it’s half the size of TRS, but it doesn’t have the bar and the hipsters lingering after dessert without thinking of other customers in line (a table of 4 at TRS, sitting right next to the people in line, was taking their sweet time after coffee). Naturally, the wait at Kaze is 15 minutes at most.

4. Cost: Kaze: 8.99 for normal ramen (shio, shoyu, miso, tonkotsu), 9.99 for black garlic oil ramen (basically a spicy tonkotsu ramen). TRS: 16.5 if you want veggie ramen, 17.5 for ramen with meat. TRS, thank you for adding stuff like innovation and atmosphere to the ramen, we wouldn’t know what to do without them.

5. Atmosphere: who cares about atmosphere when you eat ramen?!

It is not to say that I don’t like TRS. It’s a great place, and they use sustainably grown ingredients. But with Kaze’s opening, my ramen craving is satisfied for so much less time and effort.

Address: Kaze Ramen
1956 Shattuck Ave (2 minute walk north from downtown Berkeley)
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 883-1388