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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Ramen Parlor



So last month, in a moment I should file under "what was I thinking," I made a new year's resolution to eat less carbs. It lasted all of 2 1/2, maybe 3 weeks, until I heard about about Ramen Parlor, the newest member of the uber-popular ramen family that includes the crazy crowd-drawing Santa Ramen and Ramen Dojo.

Driving up to the busy San Mateo spot for lunch, I liked it better already, since RD already had a line about 25 people deep. RP is located just down the block and while it was bustling, the wait wasn’t nearly as long.

The menu is a bit limited at lunchtime, especially for our friends with kids who weren’t able to order dinner-only items like miso soup (come on, really?) or chicken karage. But I guess that's what happens when you're very, very focused. Ramen is definitely the draw here, boasting rich, complex broths and chewy, toothsome noodles. Oh, and did I mention lobster oil?

At RP you have your choice of three broths: miso, pork or soy. Each bowl comes standard with roast pork, diced onion, shrimp, a quail egg, mushrooms, lettuce and ground chicken, as well as a generous drizzle of lobster oil.

I choose the regular ramen with the soy sauce-flavored broth, which was a salty, savory and unctuous (without feeling heavy) delight. The noodles were flavorful and chewy, and the lobster oil added a subtle seafood-y luxuriousness (plus, it just sounds super fancy!)

There were a few specials that day, including a spicy tan men that included soft shell crab which MFM raved about, while others at our table added a variety of the extra toppings, which included corn, mushrooms, and spicy cod roe.

If I compare it to its siblings, I have to say I liked it more than RD (which was wasted on me since I couldn't handle the spicy, "stamina" style ramen) but slightly less than SR, which to me is a bit simpler and purer (plus they have that yummy stewed pork belly).

But I'd have to go back at least once or twice to be sure. At least.

SAMIWICH'S TASTE RATING


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