Noah Galuten of Bludso's Bar & Que Gets Fired Up for Ichimiann in Torrance

Los Angeles is home to a lot of restaurants, and among them are hidden gems some Angelenos just aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's many food luminaries to share with us their under the radar recommendations for Dining Confidential.

Former LA Weekly food writer Noah Galuten has taken the road less traveled, putting down the pen to join the kitchen crew at modern La Brea barbecue pit Bludso's Bar & Que, an offshoot of the famed Compton dive. Galuten presently serves as pitmaster, manning Bludso's Ole Hickory smoker, but based on his prior vocation, it's safe to say he's probably got some great hole-in-the-wall dining suggests to dish. Here now Galuten shares one of his favorites:

I have an unnatural love of Ichimiann in Torrance. Although sometimes it's called Ichimi Ann, or Bamboo Garden, or Ichimi USA. I'm not totally clear on what's going on with the name. But it's a tiny little shop next to an old Foster's Freeze where they handmake excellent soba and udon noodles. I'm especially partial to getting the noodles cold as opposed to in a hot soup, since they maintain a perfect al dente. My favorite is probably the cold soba with ume shiso (salty, sour, bright). After you finish the noodles, you can go up and get some of the hot cooking water from the soba, add it to your condensed sauce, and turn it into a warm, satisfying broth. Oh, and if you like slimy texture, the cold udon with mountain yam and raw quail egg is fucking awesome. Can I say fucking? Oh well. Too late.