Tajima, San Diego’s go-to spot for authentic ramen, is becoming a triple threat at its Mercury location: ramen, sushi, and a full bar. The Convoy-area location is the biggest of their seven restaurants, the only one to offer a full bar, and now offers an expanded sushi menu.
Recently voted Best Ramen of 2018 by San Diego Magazine (both Readers’ Choice and Critic’s Choice), Tajima is known for their made from scratch ramen. Their original Tonkotsu (pork) broth takes them 12 hours to cook and results in a rich & creamy broth. They keep any other info about their special ramen a kitchen secret. They recently re-examined their ramen offerings, simplifying some dishes and removing excess toppings. They share that the move was not initially a popular one (people love their toppings!) but held strong to the belief that ramen should focus on the broth and the noodles.
Don’t worry, there are still plenty of toppings, even after the simplification! Ther original Tajima Ramen, for examples, tops the tonkotsu soup with fried garlic, green onions, ½ ramen egg, pork or chicken chashu, bean sprouts, green pea sprouts, sesame seeds, and Japanese seaweed. My favorite was the Spicy Sesame Ramen – spicy tonkotsu soup base mixed with special sesame paste, ground pork, bean sprouts, fried garlic chips, ½ ramen egg, baby bok choy, green onions, and Japanese seaweed.
So now, after simplifying their ramen, Tajima is expanding their sushi menu to offer some more creative and complex rolls. We tried the 163 roll, created by Tajima owner Sam Morikizono. The citrus-y roll contains spicy tuna, fresh onion, cucumber, and avocado; topped with seared yuzu-marinated yellowtail, micro cilantro, thinly sliced jalapeño and sesame seeds, served with spicy mayo.The yuzu-marinated yellowtail is the highlight of the roll, popping with fresh citrus.
They also added a new Wagyu roll to the menu, served with kanikama (imitation crab meat) and asparagus, wrapped in soy paper and panko-fried; topped with seared American Kobe beef, thinly sliced jalapeno, sesame seeds and eel sauce.
