Daikokuya Little Tokyo

"Daikokuya is the mother of LA ramen and the main reason we transitioned from that sad, microwaveable version in our dorm room to the real thing. With five locations across the city, Daikokuya is definitely a bit of a chain these days, but a visit to the original Little Tokyo shop for one of their traditional bowls is a pilgrimage every ramen disciple must take. The lines can get long, but the old-school, no-frills space is the exact setting where you want to be housing a bowl of noodles." - brant cox, sylvio martins, nikko duren, garrett snyder