Hinodeya Downtown

Hinodeya Downtown is, you guessed it, the "downtown" location of Hinodeya, a Ramen Bar.  The main (US) location is in Japantown in SF, but both SF locations are the first US based sites of a very long running ramen family from Japan.

"I LOVE “DASHI”

 Their tagline, simple, and to the point.  The key component of their ramen: quality dashi.

“DASHI” is a traditional stock of bonito skipjack tuna (katsuo) and konbu seaweed, making a broth brimming with umami, the savory fifth taste sensation. Enjoy a cultural taste of Japan through Ramen."

I'm not a ramen fan really, but this restaurant gets such stellar reviews, and was open with takeout during the COVID days, so, I finally went to check it out.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

I ordered via Seamless (e.g. Grubhub), and the first time, my order was ready, literally, *exactly* at the time I specified.  I literally watched it come from kitchen to window, at 1:29pm, it was packaged up, and ready at 1:30pm.  Wowzer.  And the staff?  Really friendly, even a nod from the kitchen.  My second visit was no different, order ready promptly, friendly staff.  Same thing the third time.  This establishment has nailed takeout.

Setting

I don't know anything about the Japantown location, but the "downtown" location is indeed downtown, on the edge of Chinatown.  Open every day, lunch and dinner.

Storefront.

The street really was a bit sad during early COVID shelter in place, with most businesses closed (it *was* also Sunday), but Hinodeya had a nice curb appeal, the actual light up sign in Japanese, and more signage down on the street to draw you in.  

Since indoor seating was closed, I cannot comment on that, but, the takeout setup was well managed, a table to get your order from, etc.

Outdoor Seating.

The first time I visited, outdoor dining was also still closed.  I took my food literally across the street, to Washington Square park, to sit in the sun and enjoy the glorious afternoon.

The second time however, outdoor dining was open, and they had tables set up on the sidewalk.

Outdoor Tables.

Tables all had a QR code on them to scan to order, contactless.

I ordered in advance via Grubhub, as I was expecting to just go back over to the park, but since the tables were all vacant, I was offered a seat there, which I gladly accepted.  My order was packaged togo, but had I ordered there (via QR code or register) it would have been served normal dine-in style.

Decor was cute, the little lamps on each table.  They are making the outdoor dining thing work.

Food

The main attraction at Hinodeya is the ramen, definitely the signature dish, although the menu is rounded out by curry & rice dishes, sides (mostly deep fried items, like fried oysters, fried calamari, veggie or shrimp tempura, crispy chicken kara-age, different gyoza), plus "small bites", items like edamame (regular or spicy), takoyaki, marinated octopus, and more.

It is the small bites menu that drew me in.

Shishito Peppers. $5.

"Lightly fried and tossed in a savory soy glaze. 1 in 10 shishito can be extra spicy! Vagan." (sic)

The peppers were clearly extremely freshly prepared.  Hot and fresh.  Lightly fried and blistered.  Perfectly executed.

The glaze wasn't too sweet, but it had a sweetness to compliment the peppers (and, likely, would go well if any were spicy!), and not too much soy.  Balanced quite nicely.  Loaded with sesame seeds, and I loved the nutty notes and crunch they added.

Overall, just a really, really well executed dish, one of the best preps of fried shishitos I've ever had actually.

Since it was just me eating them, I got a touch sick of them and split into a second serving, but I can see munching on these with friends, while drinking sake and waiting for ramen, being the ideal eating experience.

***+.

Agadashi Tofu. $5.

"Age Dashi Tofu is a dish of tofu lightly dusted with starch, then deep fried , and served in Dashi -based sauce seasoning with soy sauce. It is one of the side dishes that has long been popular in japan."

I may not be a ramen girl in general, but I do appreciate good dashi (I do love sauces and flavor complexity after all!), and, actually, sometimes love agadashi tofu ... even though I generally don't care for tofu, either.  I'm glad that a chef I really respect made me try it once, and introduced me to it.  Deep fried, flavorful starchy shell, creamy smooth tofu in delicious broth?  Now that I can get behind (and soft tofu is really the only kind I like, it is basically ... savory pudding after all, and you know how I feel about pudding ...).

My order came loaded up with goodies: plentiful bonito flakes dancing on top, a nice handful of sliced green onions, and, a sole shishito pepper, which I was thrilled to see.  Beneath all this was the tofu. The dashi was packaged separate for takeout.

The toppings were great.  Fresh harsh green onion, standard bonito, and the shishito was even juicier than when I had them as a side dish before.  They certainly completed the dish.

And the tofu?  Quite good.  It was really lightly coated and fried, less of a shell on it that I am used to, but still nice.  The tofu was soooo smooth and creamy, it really is a shame that tofu gets such a bad rep (even by me!) as the other styles just don't compare.

Basically, all nicely done, ***+, a well executed and composed dish.  But of course, the dashi is key ...

Dashi.

I really appreciated that the dashi was packaged up separately, as it most certainly would have gotten the rest of the dish soggy pretty immediately.

I had high hopes for the dashi, given the restaurant's seeming focus on dashi perfection, and, well, it delivered.  It was complex, flavorful, and completed the dish perfectly.

My only complaint?  Not really enough of it.  I wanted to slurp up more of that incredible flavor!  Maybe I really *should* get ramen sometime ... hmmm ...

**** dish overall.  I'd get it again.

Spicy Edamame. $5.

"Tossed in hot sauce with garlic and dashi sauce,spicy and savory."

This was a fairly random order on my part.  I'm not quite sure what I was expecting since I don't really like edamame that much (not sure why, I used to ...), but the allure of the sauce, and every positive Yelp reviews of this dish in particular, drew me in.

I also grabbed an extra crispy garlic topping "just in case", as they were stocked at the pickup area.

The edamame was, well, edamame?   Steamed, warm, fine.  But I wasn't really there for that, after all.

I did really like the sauce, it was complex, and yes, sorta spicy, and it coated the edamame well.  Intense garlic too.  It made sucking on the pods that much more fun.    That sauce ... I think it could do great things on other dishes too.

***+, as I am rarely going to want edamame, but the sauce was interesting to try.