Kai Ramen – Sherman Oaks

Kai Ramen in Los Angeles serves ramen and dishes rooted in traditional Japanese flavors

There are some connection that are beautifully nurtured through creativity. My connection with Janisse began when I enrolled in her hand building class at Green and Bisque. While I was woefully out of my element in that class, I learned a lot about myself, clay and how awesome Janisse was as a teacher.

Over the years, especially with her helping me understand and run my kiln for the first time, our connection and appreciation for each other have gotten stronger. So, for our rather regular time together for lunch, I wanted to pick a restaurant that was new to the both of us – but with cuisine that we both would love. So, I picked a ramen spot with perhaps the worse parking in the San Fernando Valley: Kai Ramen.

Luckily, finding parking for myself was shockingly not horrible.

Once Janisse arrived, I felt a sense of kinship that simply made me happy. We settled in and browsed the menu, eager to eat and converse.

I ordered the MISO TONKOTSU RAMEN (Miso seasoned pork broth, thick noodle, garlic butter, scallion, corn, marinated egg, and spicy tan tan ground pork). I had the egg on the side, to give to Janisse.

With – of course – extra seaweed.

Ramen holds a special place in my heart. I still remember my birthday ramen in Japan at Ichiran Shimbashi. But, of course, that’s in Japan. Here, in Sherman Oaks, I have to say that the energy remained the same. There’s something so soul warming about a warm bowl of soup, no matter what culture it’s from.

Sharing this experience with Janisse was a delight. I led the conversation with a topic regarding the essence of creativity. In short, the concept I brought up related to Janisse’s creativity. In ceramics, we craft vessels from our hands. In short, they become and extension of ourselves – birthed from our creativity. In this conversation, I mentioned that she created the body, her collaborator decorated the vessel and through this, they created life, independently of each of them, as the expression of creativity that was born from their creative expression.

I’ve been diving deeply into the concept of creativity recently. Perhaps it’s directly due to my upcoming Holiday Artist Market – in which I’ve been focused on throwing on the wheel with a defined purpose.

In expressing that creativity, I create something apart from me. That is birthed from my hands and given life beyond me. As an artist, I am struck with the fact that I have to let my creations go.

With art, once an artist creates a piece – it’s fascinating to think about how that will live on, beyond the artist. Over slurps and dashes of seasoning on our bowls, we discussed this – and more.

That’s what I love about my life. I find connection in the most interesting of places. And discover more depths of being when I don’t expect it.

Good food serves as the base for incredible conversations. And at Kai Ramen, that was exactly what happened. And after we were done, I was better for it.

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