Happy Ramen

Tonight I had dinner with my friend Rachel--we've been friends since college so we're going on almost 17+ years now. We haven't seen each other in awhile, so it was nice to catch up over a steamy bowl of ramen. We went to Katanya in Albany--which is a bit of a shlep up San Pablo. It's worth the drive though (and thankfully my 20 year old car made it there AND back). I had a bowl of Chicken Teriyaki Ramen with egg and bok choy in a miso broth, while Rachel had a big bowl of ramen with little fried dumplings. It looked better than mine (ok, so I had ramen-envy)--anything fried has my undivided attention. But the dumplings were filled with pork, so I wasn't having any of it. We ordered a spicy tuna roll that didn't arrive until half way through our ramen. Rachel wouldn't have any part of it, so I was forced to eat the whole thing myself. I think my stomach is currently regretting the decision...as there are many grumblings going on. We ended up sitting there and blabbing until finally the restaurant was near empty and the waitstaff had cleared almost every table and was moving chairs around and bringing in the plants from out front. Ah, well...just proof a good friend and a good bowl of ramen can make you lose all track of time. Thanks Rachel...and Happy Birthday!