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One of the last things in the world I want to hear before walking into a restaurant is the phrase “Have you been here before?” This implies that the menu is overly complicated. It lets the customer know that this is not going to be a regular dining experience.
I like to think that I’m a somewhat adventurous guy when it comes to food. Trying new things is fun for me, and I’ll gladly pony up some extra dough when I know that the food I’ll be eating is going to be unlike anything I’ve ever had before.
But when I heard the hostess sidle up to me and say those fateful words, I knew my chances of having a normal meal at this particular place were not very good.
I was in the mood for spicy last night, so as I perused the menu I noticed a few of the items had little flaming hot peppers next to them. Within five minutes, I had chosen a ramen bowl which would come with garlic, an egg, some red chili peppers, and a broth that promised to bring the heat.
Ramen shops are all the rage right now and I can’t seem to wrap my head around it. I gave in after reading a review about one particular restaurant near my apartment that was generating a lot of buzz.
This inane craze appears to have been brought on by more pretentious cities than mine on the west and east coasts (I’m looking at you San Francisco and NYC) although I won’t be so daft as to say that the only reason ramen shops are everywhere now is because of coastal cities.
I think the main reason wee see these ramen restaurants popping up all over the place is pretty simple – the ingredients are cheap. With broths of varying thickness and flavor, pork, chicken, and then a shit load of veggies (obviously accompanied by ramen noodles) are the only ingredients in a standard bowl of ramen. Food costs are low, and you can charge as much as you want for a bowl of this stuff because people love trends.
So I guess my biggest problem with ramen is that you can obviously make something comparable at home for less than half the price of a large bowl that you would get at a restaurant.
I had trouble getting that out of my head last night as I slurped down an admittedly hearty broth and ramen noodles. Was the broth good? Hell yeah, but I paid twelve dollars for that and the privilege of sitting inside a restaurant where they were blaring rap music and I could hardly hear myself think.
What is your argument for a ramen shop? Yeah, you probably won’t be able to make as good a broth as some of these restaurants where they meticulously tend to it for hours, but at the end of the day, you have to realize that you’re just eating salted pork and fucking ramen noodles. You know, those same noodles that you used to shovel down your fat face after drinking fourteen Busch Lights at a less than stellar fraternity party? Most of the time you wouldn’t even wait to sit down, either.
You’d dump that chicken flavored packet of salt and MSG into a bowl and stand in front of the microwave to eat your meal. Now I’m paying out the ass at a sit-down, fast-casual restaurant for what? Broth? Get the fuck outta here with that.
Ramen is also often described as a slurping food. If you can’t guess what that means, I’ll go ahead and tell you. Every time you want a bite, you’ve first got to get those chopsticks placed correctly in your hand. Then, you take this little ladle/spoon and with both hands, raise chopsticks full of ramen noodle and ladle of broth and veggies into your mouth.
In short, an entire restaurant doing this is not a pretty sight to see. Slurps, groans of enjoyment, and quips from annoying hipsters like “Oooohhhhhh yeah this pork bone broth is divine tonight!” surround you.
If I could rid my city of two kinds of restaurants right now, I’d probably choose anything that serves small plates and these overly-hyped, fad-tastic ramen shops. They’re both for the birds, and the next time I want some ramen noodles I’ll go to my local grocery store and buy a Cup O’ Noodles for sixty cents. Foodies and the trends that they latch onto are truly unbelievable sometimes. .
Image via Unsplash
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jduda@grandex.co
The rest ramen/pho places are the places where you don’t spend more than ten bucks. Elizabeth Street in Austin is $17+ per bowl of pho and it doesn’t taste anywhere near as good Pho Please which is $8 to $9 per bowl. Makes no sense.
But this is still somewhat of a trash take because anything you make at home is going to taste like shit.
Learn to cook, Will.
Came here to say the same thing. The cheap Ramen place in KC is awesome and the more expensive one sucks. The cheap one is my go to date spot too, you know for all the times I go on dates….
Sup?
DM’s are always open.
Columbus Park?
Yes sir. I went more when I lived in the river market, but I do love that place.
This is usually true for anywhere that isn’t traditional American dining. Burgers, steaks, etc, spend a little more for a quality product. Mexican food, ramen/pho, middle-eastern food are all better when you don’t have to spend much at all.
Well, now I know what I’m having for lunch.
She really had ramen because of this article.
Duda, I’m not going to lie to you man, you need more nuances in your takes. Continually declaring shit “the worst” or “dead in the water” article after article becomes a little numbing to the senses after a while.
I’ll probably get some hate for this comment, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with holding the PGP culture influencers accountable for their content.
He’s not a culture influencer.
Disagree, I saw my 60y/o neighbor getting the paper in wool socks and flip flops the other day, 90% sure it was due to Dog-u-d-a.
Lol believe me it hurt to type that, but unfortunately his content on post grad culture is published on a platform that for better or worse, influences.
The only influence this site has on me is how I live up to my wedding announcement.
Use a ramen packet as a base and just add your own fancy stuff. Throw some peppers and sprouts in with your broth when you’re boiling it to get them nice and soft and add a slab of chicken and an egg. You’ve just done that same recipe for a dollar vs. the $17 you’ll pay at a shop.
No, you really have not
you poor fool
The pork belly alone is so good at the local ramen place that its worth the $10 pirce tag. Not to mention how good the broth, egg, and noodles are. No way I could make it that good at home. Lame take here John
A new hole in the wall ramen place recently opened a few blocks away from my apartment. It’s an Asian fusion place and among their many options, they have ramen with fried chicken covered in some sort of Asian aoli sauce. It’s absolutely incredible and the best $13 I can spend on dinner.
You should hit High Five Ramen or Slurping Turtle. Both great spots you’d enjoy.
But a 3 hour wait at High Five Ramen is in no way worth it
True for 99% of the world’s restaurants. Yes, it sucks they don’t take reservations but the wait is rarely as long as you say. Try going during the week and putting your name in early, duh. Waiting a half hour is well worth it.
Well, when most of the real estate in US cities is owned by Chinese/foreign investors to house poor American Millennials and enterprises alike, you can put whatever type of native food store in your buildings as you like, no matter how shitty the food is. Pretty soon, this entire country is going to become one giant noodle sweatshop and no one is gonna even notice it
(ramen is japanese)
Hence the /foreign part. Gotta cover for diversity and such
The cost comes from the labor it takes to make noodles in house.
Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba is the shit, Duda.
That place blows dogs for quarters.
That is possibly the best obscure reference I’ve ever read Duda.
Wife hated it when she went. I’ve never been. Sister in law loves it but she’s the foodie among my in-laws and family. She goes to Girl and The Goat every chance she gets.