Times Pub

After finishing up a project last night, my friend insisted we rush over here to partake in their happy hour specials. Not sure when it starts, but it ends at 8pm and beers are $ 4 and well drinks are $ 5.
Imagine my confusion when we approach this place and I see a place with an identity crisis. I completely expected an Irish pub and although it did have some of that aspect, there was also a Japanese restaurant vibe going on as well.
We sat down and ordered a drink, checked the time and with one minute to spare, ordered another. (Hey, when you’re unemployed, you need to partake in the happy hour specials and dive bars!)
Since it was approaching dinner time, we decided to order food. Now, here’s where it’s really unnerving. The entire menu is basically a Japanese restaurant menu. There is only a tiny, little section with bar menu items like chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks and whatnot (maybe 5 or 6 items total). And there were also a few Korean dishes thrown in as well.
My friend ordered a bowl of ramen and I went Korean with the gobdol bibimbap. I mean, how badly could one mess up a bowl of rice with meat and vegetables? Besides, I didn’t really trust to order bar food and wasn’t in the mood for Japanese.
The waitress brings out two bowls and as I was busy on the BlackBerry, so I didn’t notice the contents. I just figured we got some soup with our orders. I look down to find a bowl of miso, but when I look over at my friend’s bowl, it’s empty! I found that odd, because she put both bowls down quite gingerly. Why would she do that if my friend’s bowl contained nothing but a spoon? Weird! Regardless, I offered to share, but my friend declined. A good choice on her part because that one spoonful of miso was soooooo salty I almost choked on it.
We chatted while we waited for the food to arrive. The ramen came out first and my bibimbap came out shortly thereafter. The one thing I noticed — the stone bowl was sizzling hot! I *LOVE* that! My favorite thing about bibimbap in a sizzling bowl is the layer of crunchy rice that develops when the bowl is THAT hot. The only problems with my dish were that the rice was a bit too wet and the flavor was a bit too bland, even with the addition of the gochujang (hot pepper paste)! But, I still enjoyed it if not just for the crunchy rice layer alone!
So, decent priced drinks during happy hour and a decent bibimbap… Combine that with eh service and it’s just alright. Three stars.

Formerly the Times Gourmet Deli, the reincarnation of this expansive space looks great but falls way short of delivering what every restaurant should: edible food.
The menu has a nice variety of Japanese items including your standard apps with some more quality items such as yellowtail collar, your standard selection of rolls/​sashimi, lunch bento boxes, a surprising offering of ramen, and a few korean items such as galbi and bulgogi. For food allergy weirdos (i kid, i kid!), there is a chicken ramen on the menu made with chicken broth, something that isn’t offered too often. Here’s a take on what was ordered:
Fried octopus appetizer: I was picturing something like the delicious fried octopus tentacles at other Japanese izakayas, but instead got a large molded fried ball of mashed potato and ginger, with barely any taste of octopus. despite there only being 3 other tables being served, this dish arrived cold, with that congealed grease taste. ick!
Shumai app: typical frozen and then brought back to life little shumai, nothing interesting. like the octopus appetizer, served with a small side salad with carrot ginger dressing.
Tonkatsu ramen: the broth actually frightened me at first look! i was expecting the typical rich, pork bone broth and savory morsels of meat. what was served was this thin, watery looking white broth without a shade of color to indicate any cooked-​in flavor. the taste was a disgrace to what tonkatsu ramen should be. there was a most generous portion of thick-​sliced pork belly, although the lack of effort to flavor or prep the pork meant that the fat was rendered completely gelatinous in the soup. ew! the noodles were surprisingly exactly what ramen noodles should be, although they also became inedible in the stomach-​turning broth.
Chicken ramen: hi sodium chicken broth from a can. shredded low quality dark meat chicken. inedible to even the most excited chicken eater.
this was a rare, rare occasion where even this noodlehead left almost a full bowl of noodles go back to where it belonged: the garbage.
the only reason to go here is for the daily happy hour from 5−8pm. great special on beer and well drinks, and the space easily accommodates large groups.