Two things

[firstfrost]

If I were a vast moving van driving the wrong way down a one way street, I think I would be going slower than that one was.

My new Restaurant of Decadence is Snappy Ramen, which used to be Snappy Sushi. It's not as pricey as most of my restaurants of decadence are, though I suppose if you compare the cost of a bowl of ramen there to the 50 cents that a grocery store package of ramen costs, then maybe it's up there. The Kyoto tonkotsu ramen is thick and fat and full of tasty umami and mostly requires that I eat a salad for lunch if I want some for dinner. Also, marinated pork belly and soy-marinated egg, so so tasty. The dashi ramen is lighter; next time I promise I will try the mushroom-based veggie ramen. I've been to Yume Wo Katare a couple of times, and that was also tasty - lighter broth but more of it, bigger pieces of pork, more garlic, and no choices - but Snappy is much more convenient, and doesn't requires standing in line for half an hour first. I should really try Sapporo Ramen to be a completist at this point. But I really want Snappy to be successful in its sudden conversion from sushi to ramen, except not quite so successful that it is always full and I have to stand in line. :) )

(Two notes if you haven't gone but are considering it. First, the Spicy Miso tonkotsu comes with pork belly and marinated egg, but for all the other soups, make sure to order meat and whatnot because it doesn't come with. The menu is a little confusing there. Second, if thinking "is this broth or gravy" sounds nasty to you, you probably want to try the dashi ramen first, not the tonkotsu.)

Comments

[twitch124.livejournal.com]

Nice. If you're being completist, the Uni Midnight Ramen is apparently pretty awesome too, but I haven't had it yet. (Uni, the very expensive sushi bar under Clio in the back bay, turns into a late-night ramen joint with an inexpensive-ish ramen and bar food menu at 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.)

[kelkyag]

Snappy sounds worth trying. Thank you for the review!

[jofish22.livejournal.com]

I went to Sapporo Ramen once with a bunch of really serious chefs - Ken Oringer from Clio, Jose Andreas from DC, Jean-Louis Palladin, because Ken was all excited by their broth, which it turns out is made with American cheese to give it a richness and depth. So a) I wonder if that's one of the things going on with that broth or gravy question, and b) might be worth checking out Sapporo at some point.

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Huh. Cheese surprises me as an ingredient - I had been thinking of the Porter Exchange Japanese restaurants as traditionalish, not fusionish like Uni. I had no idea! But for Snappy, I think the thickness is collagen and pork fat. The waiter was talking to us last night about the difference between the dashi broth and the tonkotsu broth, and he did not mention cheese. :)

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Also, I am jealous of your anecdote. :)

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Me too!

[merastra.livejournal.com]

I read a recipe once for super-rich tonkotsu broth and among all the boiling of bones and fat and things, it included topping the final dish with even more very finely chopped pure fat. I guess that's a bit like a final swirl of cream in french dishes.

[rifmeister.livejournal.com]

I think that professional ramen and 50 cent grocery store packaged ramen are in no real sense the same food?

[merastra.livejournal.com]

Yes, good restaurant ramen is a thing of joy. Amazingly rich and amazing comfort food. Around here the good places are packed because the price is about $20, even with goodies added.