Koreatown: Ivan Ramen at Pot Recap + Alex Stupak on October 30
Recently I checked out the Ivan Ramen popup at POT at the Line Hotel.
The $50 meal included three appetizers, a ramen and dessert plus a special gift which turned out to be a cool POT cap with the three popups listed on the side including the upcoming one with Alex Stupak (Empellon) on October 30. Alex Stupak is promoting his new Tacos book. His meal at POT includes a 3-tacos plate, carnitas platter, chocolate taco and swag. All the popups had beverage packages which went with the meal.
I opted for the sake sampler and my friend had the cocktails lineup.
One of his drinks was the Seoul Lovely, a soju based drink that was light and refreshing. It went well with the saltiness of his ramen.
Seoul Lovely – blackberry mint soju, lemon, lavender
The first appetizer was the ham and eggs. But not just any ham and eggs. Ivan Ramen has created what is essentially modern sushi with the ham (prosciutto) wrapped around rice and topped with uni (sea urchin).
My favorite appetizer was the tofu Coney Island. If you are vegetarian and miss chili cheese fries, then this is the dish for yo. I wanted to get a bowl of rice and scoop up all the sauce!
Another cocktail with dinner was the Pot’s Paloma. It was a revved up Paloma with a spicy kick.
Pot’s Paloma– grapefruit thyme tequila, agave, lime, serrano pepper
I can eat veggies any time and these Chinese greens with garlic also made me think “white rice time.”
I was pretty torn about which ramen to choose. I’m just glad my friend didn’t get the same thing as me. His shoyu noodles featured these interesting rye noodles. The broth was good. It was rather plain looking though. I am so used to bowls with EVERYTHING or at least some bean sprouts and bamboo. Possibly I would have added enoki mushrooms to this.
My triple pork mazemen didn’t indicate there would be tomato so I kind of felt silly it came with one and I got two. But that’s okay because I love roasted tomatoes. It was a blazing hot weekend so I couldn’t deal with hot soup just that second. Getting a dry noodles was the way to go. This was rich without being overwhelming. However, I toyed with the idea of getting the famous Ivan Ramen breakfast ramen which I could have added for another $17.
We were getting full though. But not so full we didn’t eat our POT ice cream sliders which are always welcome.
Now do I want to get some tacos?
Ivan Ramen at POT
Alex Stupak is coming October 30 – check to see if there are reservations left!
3515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010 — (213) 368-3030© The Minty 2015







