Udon, anyone?

It is always hard to write about something you neither loathe nor love.  Kotohira Noodles is like that.  Their specialty is udon, and their noodles are homemade.  But what can I say about them?  Are they delicious?  Sure.  Very delicious?  Sorry, but no.  

The homemade udon noodles are indeed very good.  They are thick, firm and just a bit chewy.  I had their kake udon combination, which included a side plate of tempura.

Dinner was visually pleasing.  And if the noodles were lovely both in texture and flavor (an appropriate just-enough-wheatiness), then why the tepid review?  Well, in short, it was the broth.  A clear udon broth should be relatively light in flavor, but never bland, and this was a darnright bland broth.  It was uninteresting and did not offer any unexpected goodies from its brothy layers.  Really, the problem may have been that the broth didn't actually contain any notable layers, at least none that were discernable to the tastes of the modern Asian Couple.

The tempura though, was enjoyable and the restaurant's atmosphere was pleasant.  The service was excellent, but of course my primary concern is the delectable-ness of the nooodle soup.  And even though Kotohira is one of those awesome places where you can label your own sake bottle with a picture of your face, I can't say I'd be excited to go back.