Kuidaore! (Eat till you drop!) goes the old maxim about Osaka. The imperative tone of this statement seems perfectly in tune with the brashness of the culture here. So as a newcomer to Kansai, after a life spent between Kanto and Britain, kuidaore is exactly what I and a couple of friends set out to do one evening. Osakan cuisine is characterized by big, bold dishes, often based on wheat flour. In fact, during the whole evening, we didn't consume one single grain of rice, unusual when eating Japanese.
Takahata
Takahata's been around a while, and at lunchtime you may have to queue, though at this early evening juncture, it's empty. It offers the usual suspects: kitsune udon (thick wheat-based noodles with deep-fried tofu pockets), kare udon (noodles in curry), etc. Also a few interesting ones: beef udon is named "Western," and there is also a miso udon. There are even Popeye and Olive udon: The former contains kimchee (spicy pickled cabbage), umeboshi (pickled plum) and wakame (kelp); the latter replaces kimchee with takana (leaf mustard).
Takahata makes its udon on the premises from dough brought in from its own prep kitchen. This is what sets any udon place apart from the herd. Look out for teuchiudon (handmade noodles) signs, which should guarantee a noodle better than the norm. Freshly made ones will almost certainly taste better, and have a better texture, than ones that arrive frozen or in a vacuum pack.