This post doesn’t have any food photos I took, but it’s about shoyu ramen and let’s just say it looks something like this.
I ate it at Octopus Bar after the Outkast concert Saturday night which looked like this (I did take this photo.)
The show was everything I wanted it to be, and they played just about every great song, bass bumping me down memory lane. ATLiens was the first album I wore out in my little Nissan the first time I ever purchased a “system”, and as the whole audience and I sang out nearly every word with 3000 and Big Boi, I realized we all had a lot in common.
After the show ended near midnight, I was revved up and hungry, and considered Waffle House or Octopus Bar, arriving to the latter along with a number of post-concert revelers.
The Sichuan pig ears (braised, not crispy) in chili oil with cilantro is a really nice, pleasingly slimy dish with subtle heat. I’d order it, or share it with a friend, as a few bites of ears is all I really need.
But my favorite at Octopus Bar lately is their current iteration of ramen – shoyu, or soy sauce based. There are many styles of ramen of course, tonkotsu being the current darling. In the “artisan” ramen scene, I think shoyu and shio are likely the least represented, as they tend do be the lightest texture and least gluttonous, perhaps labeled as boring or one dimensional. But like many great things, balance is key, and version exhibits both power and balance.
A deep, bitter black, it’s a broth that jars the taste buds and rewards those who spend time learning to love the seafoody flavors, which are further enhanced by the sheet of nori attached to the side of the bowl at the last minute. The strong flavor of soy is balanced by a fantastic dashi which shines through and is not overpowered by the typical salty nature of shoyu. The noodles are chewy and plentiful, accompanied by pickly menma, a half soy marinated egg, and a couple pieces of chashu for $11.
Eat it, and throw your hands in the aiiiyerrr