I attended a wedding at Gonpachi in Los Angeles recently and was blown away by the handmade soba noodles. Hardly revolutionary, but here the tasty buckwheat noodles are freshly made in a tiny glassed-in room. At Gonpachi, the resident soba master is measures the blue-grayish buckwheat flour into a huge red lacquer bowl. (This may be the only place in Southern California that grinds its own buckwheat flour.) The soba master vigorously kneads the stiff dough and rolls it into a giant thin rectangle with a long wooden rolling stick, he then artfully folds the dough with the rolling pin creating perfect layers of dough. The soba master cuts the dough with a wide-bladed knife — and then, almost tenderly, laying hanks of the fine noodles onto a bamboo tray. It's worth a trip to Gonpachi just to see, and taste, the soba.
The soba is impressive for its texture and flavor. The square-cut buckwheat noodles are about the size of spaghetti alla chitarra and cooked so they still have some bounce. Though you can order them hot or cold, I like them best, especially at this season, served chilled on a bamboo tray. A classic soy-based dipping sauce comes with it, and some sliced scallions and a dab of wasabi. When you're finished eating the noodles, the server brings out a lacquer teapot filled with the cooking water. Pour it into what remains of your dipping sauce to make a delicious soup.
Gonpachi134 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 659-8887
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