The Tuesday Ten Dolla Holla: Ramen Man

This ramen house's egg noodles and spicy miso broth are worth the wait.

By Seattle Mag December 9, 2014

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Not wanting to make the extended track to Aloha Ramen in Lake City (one of my favorites), a friend and myself took a suggestion from another ramen fan in hopes that a decent bowl of broth, noodles, and meat could be found in Wallingford.  We were not disappointed. As we came upon the storefront, people were waiting outside, the classic sign that this place has something good happening.  With time to check out the block, it became very apparent that this little strip of 45th is a mini-Japan-town of sorts with at least four other Far East restaurants represented (the ageless Musashi’s, Kozue, Shima, and Miyabi 45th).  Still, we stayed loyal to our mission and watched from outside Ramen Man through a steamed window as the cooks behind the counter prepped bowl after bowl of ramen with precision and care.

 When it was finally our turn to sit, we were led down a previously unseen staircase to a lower seating area with other believers.Spicy Miso Ramen from Ramen Man  The lighting and decorations were warm, which could only bode well for what was to come.  Not long after, a server swung round to get our order, and dropped off a round of boiled eggs that promised to be unlimited (we stuck with our two).

About fifteen minutes later the steaming bowls from the men upstairs finally made their way to our table.  Ramen Man operates with a chicken broth base that can be modified, so I was happy to throw down on the spicy miso version.  Due to its creaminess, this might be my favorite regular broth in the city.  The flavors all properly blended without one, even the spice, overriding any point, and created a sensation that the egg noodles and broth were one entity as I raised them from the bowl.  The sum of noodles, broth, pork, chicken, vegetable mix, and soft egg was wonderfully arid and not too salty, making it eat lighter that some other ramens I’ve had that left me feeling bloated and round as a salt lick – a testament to the skill and ingredients that went into the bowl.

 

Where Ramen Man might have lacked a bit was in the meat (char siu) department as their pieces of pork and chicken were a little stiffer than I’ve come to know, but that has surely improved since my visit due to recent experimentation with gifted honey from UW’s beekeeping club (it’s a thing!) on Ramen Man’s protiens. Still, as with Italian pasta it is with ramen: It’s not about the sauce (or broth), but about the noodle. Ramen Man’s egg noodle was cushy, light, and plentiful, making us ponder between shirt spotting slurps, “How’d they do this?” In Ramen Man’s case, I’m happy to live in the sweet unknown while trying to keep my button-up clean.

 

Ramen Man / 1616 N 45th St. / 206-258-2959 (closed Mondays)

 

 

   


 

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