Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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SLURP-WORTHY RAMEN BARS Dig into some of the best bowls across the country at these noodle hot spots, where you'll find everything from traditional shio broth to vegetarian-friendly bowls. Cheu Noodle Bar, Philadelphia, PA Must try: Brisket–matzo ball ramen cheunoodlebar.com Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop, New York, NY Must try: Tokyo shio ramen with chicken broth and rye noodles ivanramen.com Noodle & Pie, New Orleans, LA Must try: House ramen bowl with chicken broth and slow-cooked pork shoulder noodleandpie.com Ramen Lab, New York, NY Must try: Seasonal house ramen (featuring Sun Noodles) ramen-lab.com Ramen Shop, Oakland, CA Must try: Veggie shoyu ramen with meyer lemon and salt-cured egg ramenshop.com Ramen Tatsu-Ya, Austin, TX Must try: "Ol'Skool" Tokyo-style shoyu with chicken broth and soy-braised pork belly ramen-tatsuya.com Slurping Turtle, Chicago, IL Must try: Red miso ramen with housemade noodles, roasted chicken, and corn slurpingturtle.com Tsujita, Los Angeles, CA Must try: Tonkotsu ramen with pork broth and sliced roasted pork tsujita-la.com Uncle, Denver, CO Must try: Kimchi ramen with chile broth, shredded pork, and soft egg uncleramen.com Yume Wo Katare, Cambridge, MA Must try: Ramen bowl with pork broth and sliced roasted pork yumewokatare.com Perhaps no Westerner understands the global phenomenon better than Orkin, an American expat and owner of the revered Ivan Ramen in Tokyo. Last year, the native New Yorker brought his soup to Manhattan's already bustling ramen scene, to rave reviews. His well-developed palate delivers on authenticity while pleasing on the creative front—a defining element of American ramen—with toppings like roasted tomato and shredded chicken confit. Orkin's signature shio (sea salt) and shoyu (soy sauce) soup styles find harmony between the dish's elements, creating a salty, silky, balanced dish. "It's more of an artisan product than people realize," he says. "In a good bowl, everything comes together." The U.S. haute ramen craze known and loved today is widely credited to New York City chef David Chang, who opened Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2004, honoring its namesake by trans- forming the dish from simple diner food to a steaming pot of liquid gold that commanded hour-long waits. Chang's deluxe take on the blue-collar favorite set off a stateside frenzy of modern ramen shops, complete with open kitchens, counter seating, and dinner- time crowds excitedly cramped into tight dining quarters, many of which serve up fresh noodles from Sun Noodle, a specialty noodle maker with factories in Honolulu, Los Angeles, and New York. Chefs are drawn to the versatility of a dish that teeters so delicately on tradition and culinary inventiveness. "On the chef side," explains Tommy Lee, chef-owner of ramen shop Uncle in Denver, "ramen is a great vehicle for experimentation. You can be creative with it, and it takes a lot of work to get to a finished bowl of ramen," he says. "It's a labor of love." The Art of Preparation At its core, ramen starts with the broth (chicken, fish, dashi, pork, or a combination), which simmers for up to 24 hours. The broth's density, or body, is perhaps the most defining characteristic of the various styles of ramen, along with the seasoning, usually shio, shoyu, or miso. The broth spectrum ranges from the light-bodied chicken-based shio, to the substantial pork-bone tonkotsu. Next come the noodles. Chewy, soft, yellow, alkaline-rich wheat noodles range from thin and straight to thick and wavy, each suited to various broth styles and chef 's preference. Finally, the toppings. While there's some tradition around combinations, toppings run the gamut, from pork shoulder and fish cakes to pickled bamboo shoots and boiled eggs. Authenticity remains a buzzword in the ramen world that, like the best of American regional barbecue, invokes strong opin- ions. "Ramen is not this fixed bowl of noodles," Lee says. "There are over 20 distinct styles in Japan alone, and for Americans to say something is or is not 'authentic' is short-sighted." That's exactly what's so seductive about ramen, according to Lee. There's always the next bowl.—A.K. SPRING 2015 67