Mr. Ramen - Cheap Dining During LA Dodgers Baseball World Series

How about 35 cents for a senior LA Metro rail trip* to Downtown's Little Tokyo to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers playoffs? 

With 3 Japanese players on the team, I wanted to watch a few games in Little Tokyo with the locals. 

                                          Click on any photo to see larger.

So, hang out with me and I'll show you a few great meals and drink deals in a cool, historic Los Angeles neighborhood.

The 700-million-dollar man, Dodger pitching and hitting ace, #17 jersey-wearing Shohei Ohtani (originally from Japan), has led the team to its second consecutive World Series Playoffs. His image is plastered all over Little Tokyo on murals, posters, and bobbleheads. 

But I'm there for ramen, sake, and other food and drink specials during game days. 

Earlier in the baseball season, I happened to see a half-price ramen "Ohtani Special" advertised on Mr. Ramen's restaurant front window while shooting Shohei Ohtani murals downtown.

Mr. Ramen restaurant offers 17 half-price ramen bowls on the day after Shohei Ohtani hits a home run (since most 3-hour or longer games are played late-afternoon and into the evening near closing time). And, just the day before, Ohtani hit a home run, plus they still had a few of the ramen specials left when I ordered.

Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers jersey number is 17, and number 16 is the number of the 50% off ramen "Ohtani Special". It is a delicious Tonkotsu Ramen with sliced pork, boiled egg, seaweed, pickled red ginger, and green onion in a bone broth loaded with tender ramen noodles. 

I asked why the Ohtani Special ramen is number 16 instead of his jersey number 17, and the waitress said number 16 is a classic ramen recipe, while their number 17 is a vegetable ramen. 

They can't change the numbers since most menu items have been the same for decades. (Shohei Ohtani just joined the Dodgers last year.)

               Half-price is about $7.50

The ramen bone broth is milky and loaded with intense pork flavor. I can see why they offer #16 instead of #17. (I'm sure the #17 Vegetable Tonkotsu Ramen is just as delicious.)

Mr. Ramen is a small and colorful ramen restaurant on 1st Street in Little Tokyo, featuring Japanese manga illustrations on the walls. The service is quick and friendly. 

The waitress mentioned that her husband has taken over the restaurant from his father.

Mr. Ramen is located on 1st Street in the heart of Little Tokyo. There's even a Dodger memorabilia shop down the street that I browsed and picked up my own Shohei Ohtani bobblehead.

Walking around Little Tokyo, I spied other cheap$kate deals I'll share with you during the LA Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays Baseball World Series, so check back. 

Mr. Ramen

341 1/2 1st Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Phone: (213) 626-4252

Email: www.mrramendtla.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mr.ramen.dtla

Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/mr-ramen-los-angeles?osq=mr.+ramen

Hours

Monday    12PM - 11PM

Tuesday & Wednesday - Closed

Thursday to Sunday     12PM - 1AM

* LA Metro

Website: www.metro.net

Seniors 62+/ Medicare/ Customer with Disability: www.metro.net/riding/fares/seniors

When you are a senior (62 years old) with a senior-issued LA Metro TAP card, it only costs 35 cents during off-peak hours. The normal base fare is $1.75 per ride. 

Baseball World Series Recipes - L.A. Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays

It's jalapenos vs. cheese curds for a recipe battle between the LA Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 Baseball World Series. So, choose your sides!

First at-bat, Hot Dogs are the King of the ballpark. And boy does this Knight of the Round Dinner Table have royal recipes for you to try...all hail the Winners, I mean the Wieners!!

Mr. & Mrs. 99, plus our friend, Kathy.

Canucks have their own versions, too. Load up a regular hot dog and top it off with a creamy coleslaw sweetened with real Canadian maple syrup. Click here for my basic mayo version, but add a tablespoon of maple syrup. Canadian Coleslaw versions also include a little milk and vinegar. The hot dog animation below guilds the maple leaf with the addition of beef chili. 

I live in L.A., so you know who I'll be rooting for...Let's Go Dodgers!

Boy, are hot dog ingredients cheap. This year, I've been getting hot dogs, buns, mustard, and sweet pickle relish from my local Dollar Tree.

Last year, the Dodgers bought in phenom pitcher and home run hitter Shohei Ohtani. He is now the record holder of the most home runs and stolen bases in a single season. He created a new category of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases, the first baseball player to do so. All over L.A., there are murals and memorabilia featuring Shohei Ohtani to see and own.

I couldn't help but come up with my switch-hitter version of a Dodger Dog that I call an Ohtani Dodger Dog. It is a regular hot dog with 2 sheets of Dried Seaweed Snacks.

Check out my recipe video below and see how my Ohtani Dodger Dog stacks up!

In this World Series of Recipes,  it's a bacon battle of lean Canadian Bacon vs. American-style Bacon. 

In L.A., we add avocado to everything, including the traditional BLT. For my version of a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich. I switched hit lean Turkey Bacon and added sliced avocado from the dugout. It's a homerun sammie, with crispy bacon and creamy avocado.

I never had Canadian Bacon until McDonald's pitched the Egg McMuffin to the world. For my homemade version, I couldn't find cheap Canadian Bacon, so I substituted a slice of ham. If you are a Blue Jays fan, then it's back bacon all the way to your home plate. Below is how I stole home with my homemade version - Oh Canada!

In Los Angeles, we invented the California Roll...hold it, Canada also has dibs on it, too. Read about the debate here. Any way you slice it, all baseball fans are the winners.

The ingredient lineup is rice, cucumber, avocado, and fake crab, or krab wrapped in a glove of seaweed.

I like imitation crab or krab as an ingredient because it is the cheapest seafood. Here in L.A., we get avocados all baseball season long.

I made a sushi roll in the video below, but it's easier to just wrap the ingredients loosely as a Hand Roll, if you are a minor league rookie. 

I'll confess, I prefer Canadian Maple Syrup on my Pancakes, so thank you Canucks! And when I make Pancakes, I always add fresh American fruit from California to the pancake batter. Can we get along, at least for breakfast? 

So dig deep into my bullpen and click on any of the tasty treat names above to watch an instant reply of recipes from my food blog. Your guest will be cheering you on -- from their cheap seats!

My High School Diet 8 During Coronavirus

Pop-Tarts and Tacos are on the menu of my latest High School Diet series. 

This is the eighth free meal I picked up from my local high school and it hits all the sweet spots, especially if you are a student. Hey, even an old-timer like me had a pretty tasty flashback experience inserting a couple of strawberry flavored Pop-Tarts into the toaster, and it's pretty hard to mess up a Beef and 2 Cheese Taco.

And since when did Goldfish Crackers become healthy? I guess listing whole wheat as an ingredient gives junk food a passing grade! 

For this new Food Series, I gave myself the assignment to find out what High School kids are being fed during Covid-19. We here in Los Angeles care about the nutrition needs of young people.

I'll be sharing a different Breakfast and Lunch meal every few days. I think you'll be as surprised as I am of the good, the bad, and the ugly...oh boy.

These meals are Grab & Go from my local High School. I'm sure regular school cafeteria fare is different (better?) than the ones I am getting carryout at the drive-thru lane. You can click here to see the first meal I had at my neighborhood Grab & Go.

The GIF above is a Grab & Go walk up at Susan Miller Dorsey High School. 

There seem to be plenty of meal bags laid out on the tables and once I asked if they ever run out and the attendant replied emphatically "Never!"

Breakfast: Pop-Tarts, Apple, Orange and Milk

It's been quite a while since I had Pop-Tarts, and boy do they hold up as a cheap breakfast pastry. Since I tried Pop-Tarts again I've purchased off-brand ones called  Toast 'em from my local Dollar Tree and 99c only Store. While not officially Pop-Tarts, they are close enough.

You get 2 Pop-Tarts in a package. They are a bit smaller than a slice of toast. And the best way to heat them up is in a toaster, of course.

 Pop-Tarts were filled with strawberry jam. The thin smear of fruity filling is quite tasty if a bit over-sweet like typical grocery shelf fruit jam. It works with the soft cookie-like pastry. 

And there is that hard sugar frosting shell on top that softens when toasted. It's super sweet of course, just the way I remember them. When Pop-Tarts originally appeared on grocery selves in 1964, and we first had them it was a memorable day, indeed. They were a favorite at my breakfast table, and so convenient for late-running student sleepy-heads.

They used to be pure sugar and white flour, but now it's whole wheat flour and sugar.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Fresh fruit is needed after these sugary pastries. The school supplied apple and orange does the trick

Lunch: Beef and 2 Cheese Taco, Carrots, Goldfish Crackers, Apple, and Milk (always Milk.)

Let's dive into my High School Lunch bag and start with an appetizer of Goldfish Crackers. Can't say I've ever had many Goldfish Crackers before, I guess I missed that boat, but I could learn to like them after trying a bag. 

They are salty like a regular cracker, but with cheddar cheese as extra flavor. I can see how kids could become addicted to them.

I've seen different flavors of Goldfish in my local Dollar Tree, too. 

I do play with my food and Goldfish Crackers are another product in need of a personality like The Lego Movie.

Included in my High School Lunch is a small bag of baby carrots. Peeled and bite-sized they are a welcome raw veggie addition. No need to describe them, right? 

For the main course, the following high school Mexican treat is a Frankenstein Taco, halfway between a Jack-n-Box and  Taco Bell taco. But don't get me wrong, I actually liked it better than the Jack-n-Box two tacos for 99 cents. 

There is more cheese than ground meat. Again with no label, I could not tell if the meat is beef or fowl or a soy/meat mixture...hmmm

The corn tortilla is a swimming pool of molten cheese when microwaved. Cheese tastes of mild Jack cheese with a sprinkling of yellow cheese (American?) Since there is no ingredients label I am guessing specifically what's in the Beef and 2 Cheese Taco. 

The ground meat is mushy more than chunky. I couldn't tell what kind of meat it was. The seasoning has a welcome, but mild, chili flavor - this is a taco meant to please all palates. 

The tortilla is not a typical one, it seems like a rough cornmeal blend, it doesn't quite work like the corn tortillas you would normally get at a grocery or taco truck. But I can see how unformed palates would be okay with it, as it's really not bad, just inauthentic.

The Beef and 2 Cheese Taco reminded me of a Jack-n-box version with the mystery meat and off tortilla texture. Although I thought it better than Jack's.

 If you want to see what I really think of Jack-n-box tacos just watch my 99 Cent Chef Cheap$kate Dining Review below.

For reviews or info about the purveyors of these food items you can check out Fooducate, just enter a product food name and see what pops up about it: https://www.fooducate.com/

And you can learn about Los Angeles Unified School District's Cafe LA (which supplies a lot of the packaged food) here: https://achieve.lausd.net/cafela

And do check back for more of my latest food series High School Meals.

 Be safe & keep your distance!

My High School Diet 7 During Coronavirus

No meat in this day's High School Meals and that's okay, but there is plenty of dairy and with French Toast an egg is normally used to coat the bread.

The unusual part of this Meal is Ardella's Fun Pack for Lunch. It's just a couple of bread rounds with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.

And I can't remember when I had a frosty Slush, but what the heck I'll give it a taste test!

For this new Food Series, I gave myself the assignment to find out what High School kids are being fed during Covid-19. We here in Los Angeles care about the nutrition needs of young people.

I'll be sharing a different Breakfast and Lunch meal every few days. I think you'll be as surprised as I am of the good, the bad, and the ugly...oh boy.

These meals are Grab & Go from my local High School. I'm sure regular school cafeteria fare is different (better?) than the ones I am getting carryout at the drive-thru lane. You can click here to see the first meal I had at my neighborhood Grab & Go.

The GIF above is a Grab & Go walk up at Susan Miller Dorsey High School. 

There seem to be plenty of meal bags laid out on the tables and once I asked if they ever run out and the attendant replied emphatically "Never!"

Breakfast: French Toast, Blueberry Muffin, Apple, Juice, and Milk (always Milk.)

French Toast is a real kid-pleaser and this one is almost perfect except one part which I will talk about later. The bread is soft and the coating extra-eggy. Is it sweet too,  and with a dash of fragrant cinnamon spice.

French Toast is precooked so all you need to do is heat it for a few seconds until warm...or just go ahead and eat it at room temperature.

A very good French Toast, however, there is a strange slick coating, that I'm not sure of...hmmm, I think it is oil? I know it isn't syrup as it's neither sticky or sweet, just a neutral taste. Since the package has no labeling, I guess it will remain a mystery.

It's a 2fer of sweet bread with the addition of a Muffin. I don't know if this was supposed to go the lunch as these 2 meals come in one bag and it's up to me to guess what item goes with breakfast or lunch?

The cupcake is moist and sweet with cinnamon spice. There is no package label but once I broke it open I could see a couple of blueberries. It is a tasty Blueberry Muffin.

Lunch: Fun Pack (Bread Round, Pizza Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese), Carrots, Orange, Frozen Slush.

This is a very good Fun Pack, even when served at room temperature. I guess you could call it a vegan pizza, or an open-faced sandwich?

The bread round is very soft, so not really pizza dough or pita bread. It's a thick slice too and that's fine. I assume the bread is made of whole wheat, like most bread products I've tried so far.

The Marinara Sauce or Pizza Sauce is thick and loaded with herbs and spices, very satisfying in fresh tomato flavor. I liked it a lot and want the recipe!

The shredded Cheese is Mozzarella (I think as there is no ingredients list on the package.) It's very soft and a mild-flavored version -- quite tasty.

The most peculiar thing is the amount of Pizza sauce and Mozzarella cheese to too much for just 2 bread rounds - you would have to really pile it on to finish those toppings. So if you have any bread laying around then get out a slice!

I tasted the open-faced sandwiches at room temperature and grilled. Of course, grilled is better as a cracker bread crispness and flavor come to the fore, but either way works for me.

It was fun to have childhood visions when slurping on a Cool TropicsSlush packet.

Click on any photo to see larger.

It's a short ingredient list and I like that, a nod to healthier fare these days. 

Paradise Punch is lightly sweet and a mild fruit flavor like white grape juice. I liked that there was no lingering cane sugar extra-sweet flavor. 

I refroze the packet since it was lukewarm to the touch by the time I got home. After a half-hour or so I poured and squeezed out the icy parts into a glass. There is a spout to cut along, but next time I would cut lower across the wide part and pour it all out at once. This would enable the packet to be more frozen like a Slush should be.  

Finally, the Orange was sweet and seedless while the Carrots are crunchy and fresh tasting.

For reviews or info about the purveyors of these food items you can check out Fooducate, just enter a product food name and see what pops up about it: https://www.fooducate.com/

And you can learn about Los Angeles Unified School District's Cafe LA (which supplies a lot of the packaged food) here: https://achieve.lausd.net/cafela

And do check back in a few days for more of my latest food series High School Meals.

 Be safe & keep your distance!