1) Nombe, (2491 Mission St.)

This two-year-old Mission izakaya recently brought in a ramen master as executive chef. Bucking the trend in pork-based broth, Nori Sugie uses beef bones and less fat than is customary, creating a remarkably light, yet flavorful broth. Each bowl’s meaty flavor is cut with briny pillows of emulsified uni. We order falling-from-the-bone oxtail or velvety beef tongue and always add a willowy soy-steeped egg.

3) Chotto (3317 Steiner St.)

Another addition to the fancy ramen camp, Chotto’s chef Armando Justo gets his own proprietary noodles made with a touch of egg in San Jose. The broth is a tonkotsu-miso blend, which gains interest from two slices of house-marinated chasu (pork loin), nuggets of ground pork, chives, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and sheets of nori.

(Source: 7x7.com)