3 posts tagged “restaurants”
I realize the last entry was crying out for a photo, and I was tempted to steal this one from the P-I article I'd linked, but thought better of it. Sadly, my photography has been as absent as my writing, so I've none of my own to share. From Samurai, that is. Here's a little something from another pretty good ramen restaurant in Bellevue, Mamasan:
Their tonkotsu is decidedly less rich, and a little more complex. Definitely ginger, probably sake as well. I've also heard, from multiple friends, that the Nagasaki champon is where it's at, but I haven't tried it myself. A warning: there's a bit of a sketchy vibe if you go there after dinnertime -- they're open late, and the place is filled with Japanese businessmen and eager-to-please waitresses hanging off their sides as they sing karaoke. Eww! And if you decide to brave it anyways (and you're a woman dining alone), prepare to get a good dose of stinkeye.*
On the other hand, lunchtime has always felt pretty safe.
* I've no idea if this colorful illustration is still the way things are there -- this was several years ago, and I decided once was enough!
I have over eight thousand unread posts in bloglines right now -- kidding you not, love. I hesitate to overuse the word wagon, but... have you seen it anywhere?
I'd meant to write about this at the beginning of 2007, when my period of being incommunicado qualified as Claire-Danes-goes-to-college instead of the J. D. Salinger it's become, and when it might have actually done some good, but somehow Seattle finally got a decent ramen place: Samurai Noodle, in Uwajimaya Village (though last week's Weekly claims that two more quality ramen joints have opened up in the city since). I love ramen -- real ramen, not the stuff you buy at the supermarket -- and this is the good stuff: soft but substantial noodles, maitake mushrooms, spring onions, bamboo shoots and a soy sauce-steeped hard-boiled egg. Thick slices of fall-apart-in-your-mouth tender roast pork. The tonkotsu broth is -- oh god -- so umami that it might make you nauseous if you're not up for the experience. Pure liquid pig. If you're faint of heart, the shoyu-tonkotsu broth is a measure lighter and may give you some breathing room.
Anyway, I digress. The reason I wanted to write, and the sadly time-limited aspect of it, was that somewhere in the wintry months early in 2007 there was a yuzu-shoyu ramen on the menu, and it was glorious. Citrus in soup is a good thing (cf. avgolemono or pho, and I always like to squeeze a lime or two into the pot when I make posole), and this hit all the right notes -- the tartness of juice, sweet-bitterness of zest and salt-umami of the base broth. Perfect for a winter morning and sorely missed. I'd hoped that with a year having passed it would slip onto the menu again and I'd have a reason to share this with you, but alas, all you get is a sad tale of lost love. Sorry!
p.s. -- tips for dining at Samurai:
- You don't get some of the extra goodies unless you order the "Samurai Armor Bowl" version of a particular ramen flavor. Especially egg: egg is key.
- Tonkotsu broth comes with thin noodles. This may be because the soup stands up pretty strongly for itself (and probably would literally do so if allowed to chill). If you like doughy noodles in your ramen, you can ask for these al dente, and they'll feel a little more substantial. On the other hand, all other flavors come with a significantly thicker noodle, one that's a bit much at full firmness, so you might stick with the default doneness there.
- The tsukemen fish broth, along with its spicier variants, the evocatively named "Tetsu Hell Fire" and "Tetsu Hell Fire Max," are dipping broths. You get your noodles to the side, "dry," and dip them into a small bowl of sauce. Not my thing, really. If I want something like ten zaru soba, I'll order ten zaru soba, thank you very much.
- Apparently they have takoyaki, but I keep forgetting this when I'm there.
- YMMV, despite my best intentions!
apparently, fork restaurant in capitol hill will be closing this friday, due to scott simpson's health problems. which is a real shame, because fork is one of the best restaurants i've ever been to in seattle, and still largely unknown barely five months after opening. enjoyed a wonderful prix fixe dinner there on valentine's day amidst the shkurkin murals of russian fairytales*, and having heard from friends of some of the "new american" a la carte fare, such as lobster corn dogs and risotto poppers, i've really been looking forward to going back. unfortunately, it looks like it's this week or bust; alas, sic transit gloria.
* fork is in the old bacchus space but retained its beautiful, historic decor.
