Tonkotsu Ramen in Chicago?

I just got back from a trip to LA and had out-of-control-tasty ramen (and delicious made to order at the table tofu, which I had never seen before either) at Robata JINYA. I had never had anything like it -- it was like ramen in a milky pork gravy instead of broth like I've always had. So awesome. I've been thinking about it ever since and would love to find some in the city. A google search suggested Ginza Fish House has it, perhaps. Is there anywhere else? I can't wait to eat it again (though probably on a limited basis given how delightfully fatty it is!).

In Logan square, Wasabi Restaurant:

http://www.wasabichicago.com/Ramen.html
Phone 773. 227. 8180
2539 North Milwaukee avenue
Chicago, Illinois, 60647

The storefront is hard to find, but is right next to the Rocking Horse.

I can only speak for the miso ramen, which were excellent, with a thick rich broth and nicely chewy noodles. However, I plan to try the tonkotsu ramen next time. Other opinions here:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=36523

Cheers, Jen

There's Santouka in Arlington Heights. Best of a poor bunch in my opinion. I believe Slurping Turtle in River North does a Tonkotsu (misspelled on their menu last time I was there) also.

Pie-love wrote:In Logan square, Wasabi Restaurant:

http://www.wasabichicago.com/Ramen.html
Phone 773. 227. 8180
2539 North Milwaukee avenue
Chicago, Illinois, 60647

The storefront is hard to find, but is right next to the Rocking Horse.

I can only speak for the miso ramen, which were excellent, with a thick rich broth and nicely chewy noodles. However, I plan to try the tonkotsu ramen next time. Other opinions here:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=36523

Cheers, Jen

I had a very bad bowl of miso ramen at Wasabi last Saturday. Besides the service being horrendously bad, my bowl of ramen arrived barely luke warm and anything added to it (pork, wood ears, veggies, etc.) was ice box cold. The broth itself was very one note. I'd consider it to be one of the poorer examples of ramen I've had in Chicago. You can do much better almost anywhere else.

stevez wrote: ...You can do much better almost anywhere else...

I'm sorry you had a bad meal there-- I only tried it once and it was very good.

As for "anywhere else", please specify.

Cheers, Jen

i had terrific tonkotsu ramen at wasabi last week. i havent tried the miso ramen. the place was crowded at 6:30 on a weeknight, but the vibe is very friendly with lots of families. and the service was friendly and efficient. my accupuncturist and his wife own wasabi which is why i tried the place but it doesn't prejudice me to like it. tonkotsu clearly is their specialty as all of their ramen dishes, even the miso, are pork bone broth based. all the people slurping broth with one hand and picking up noodles with chopsticks in their other hand are a good sign the place is satisfying the hungry hordes. alas, they don't take reservations and they are BYOB.

Please try the search function, because there is a wealth of great stuff about Chicago's relatively limited ramen scene. I love Ginza, and the ramen is traditional and just fine, nothing special (which in Chicago makes is relatively great). Very good things have been written by people who know more about ramen than I (and I'm a big fan who seeks it out when traveling) regarding the rare crab ramen at Katsu. The untraditional "Logan Poser" ramen at Yusho gets good press. I really enjoyed Arami's ramen on more than one visit. You could do worse than what Takashi sells on the 7th Floor of Macy's on State or Slurping Turtle, though neither is transcendant. Also, since JINYA apparently is not particularly traditional (or well-received by ramen nerds), don't get hung up by purists who pan all the stuff here. I personally prefer the very traditional stuff served at more Japanese expat-focused spots in LA, NY etc., but there's nothing inherently bad about the stuff at any of these places.

Last, it's been pretty well established that Santouka is a hyper-traditional mini-empire narrowly focused on japanese diners where every aspect of the dish is closely controlled by company HQ in Japan. The ramen nuts in California rank Santouka in the SoCal Mitsuwa markets very highly, and the stuff at Arlington Heights is generally very consistent and of the same very high quality. Go to Santouka to set your meter. Jobst's comment that Santouka is "best of a poor bunch" seems to be intended as damnation by faint praise, but in my experience and that of many others, Santouka is playing in a completely different, major league form just about any ramen place between Midtown Manhattan and Torrence. You will be eating in the food court of a (Japanese) big box store, but that's OK.

stevez wrote:
I had a very bad bowl of miso ramen at Wasabi last Saturday. Besides the service being horrendously bad, my bowl of ramen arrived barely luke warm and anything added to it (pork, wood ears, veggies, etc.) was ice box cold. The broth itself was very one note. I'd consider it to be one of the poorer examples of ramen I've had in Chicago. You can do much better almost anywhere else.

That does sound bad, but if it was your only time there, please give it another shot, and get the TONKOTSU. Many are enticed by the miso, or "better yet" the Spicy Garlic Miso, but the Tonkotsu should be the baseline for judgment...especially here in the Tonkotsu thread.

I've been to Wasabi nearing a dozen times, and haven't had any inconsistency issues yet. The ramen has always been hot, rich, and complex.

As for other places, Santouka is excellent; like many have mentioned already. I had the Poser Ramen at Yusho three weeks ago, and would not recommend it. Thin and incredibly underdeveloped.

Pie-love wrote:

stevez wrote: ...You can do much better almost anywhere else...

I'm sorry you had a bad meal there-- I only tried it once and it was very good.

As for "anywhere else", please specify.

Cheers, Jen

JeffB's post slightly upthread pretty much mirrors what I would say in answer to your question.

Against all odds and after skimming through lots of conflicting/troubling reviews, I decided to take my husband and two boys to Wasabi this past Friday night to celebrate their father's and my SO's birthday. We are very big Ramen fans and have been to Takashi on Sunday for his Noodle Brunch and we happily go to Arlington Heights for the joint in the Food Court. That said, on Friday night I was literally driving down Ashland saying, "Well, if it sucks we're going to have to be good sports." I have never gone into such an eating experience with such trepidation. At one point my lovely husband said, "It's going to be just fine, really, and I adore ramen." He's a good egg, isn't he?

Maybe our good vibes and attitudes worked in our favor, I don't know, but we had a lovely, quiet, amazing experience at Wasabi.
Our waitress was attentive and very thoughtful when it came to the boys. We ordered two bowls of the Tonkotstu Ramen to share with all four of us, but we also asked them to bring them Miso Soup and a bowl of rice while we waited as they were "starving". They did and the boys were able to enjoy that while we waited for the ramen. When it came, we all enjoyed it like nobody's business. Even my ten year-old who doesn't like bits and bobs "in his ramen" totally slurped it up.

He liked the soup so much that he asked if we could take the leftover broth home. I didn't know how the staff at Wasabi would respond, but they packaged it up so nicely and tonight, my son had Soba noodles with the super rich, silky and I might add intense broth from Wasabi's Tontoktsu Ramen.

He totally dug it. His comment that I adored was: "I heard you saying that the owner cooked this broth for 20 hours to make it taste so good. It really does taste so good."

bjt

Judging from previous responses, I guess there are conflicting opinions regarding Wasabi's ramen. I personally think Wasabi's tonkotsu ramen has the best broth in Chicagoland. It is milky white, rich, and has the umami you'd expect from long hours of cooking and extraction. Santouka's shio ramen and miso ramen are also good (although both the salt and the miso are a bit too dominant).

I haven't come across a ramen place in Chicago that focuses on the craft of making the actual noodle.

That said, I look forward to the opening of Kotsu, which is supposed to model after Totto Ramen in New York, my favorite ramen joint in the US.

My family's favorite tonkotsu ramen in Chicagoland is at Izakaya Sankyu:

Izakaya Sankyu
1176 S Elmhurst Road
Mt. Prospect, IL 60056
(847) 228-5539

I'd be very curious to hear which of the suggestions you liked most, so please post back!

asami

windyfoodie, have you ever had the ramen at Takashi on Damen? I recall being told or reading (sorry, can't remember which) that he makes his own noodles using special flour he imports from Japan. I've only been twice to Takashi but I did appreciate the quality of the noodles as they had a little more "bite" to them.

bjt

bjt wrote:windyfoodie, have you ever had the ramen at Takashi on Damen? I recall being told or reading (sorry, can't remember which) that he makes his own noodles using special flour he imports from Japan.

I mentioned in a post somewhere a long time ago that I listened to a radio interview with Takashi Yagihashi, at around the time his book "Takashi's Noodles" came out, in which he discussed making noodles in great detail. Made me want to at least get the book, if not try my own hand at the art of noodle-making. I was sorry to hear he (personally, even if the Chicago restaurants remain) is relocating to Ann Arbor.

Katie wrote:

bjt wrote:windyfoodie, have you ever had the ramen at Takashi on Damen? I recall being told or reading (sorry, can't remember which) that he makes his own noodles using special flour he imports from Japan.

I mentioned in a post somewhere a long time ago that I listened to a radio interview with Takashi Yagihashi, at around the time his book "Takashi's Noodles" came out, in which he discussed making noodles in great detail. Made me want to at least get the book, if not try my own hand at the art of noodle-making. I was sorry to hear he (personally, even if the Chicago restaurants remain) is relocating to Ann Arbor.

Everything I've read said he's opening a place there--nothing about him abandoning Chicago. He's a "celebrity" chef with multiple restaurants at this point so not sure how much he's actually in the kitchen these days but no reason to think he's not going to be around as often as he is now, other than that he will have an additional restaurant to tend to amongst his other engagements.

Didn't he start out in Detroit or AA?

windyfoodie wrote:I haven't come across a ramen place in Chicago that focuses on the craft of making the actual noodle.

For what it's worth, I understand that Oiistar makes their noodles in house.

JeffB wrote:Didn't he start out in Detroit or AA?

Farmington I think.

bjt wrote:windyfoodie, have you ever had the ramen at Takashi on Damen? I recall being told or reading (sorry, can't remember which) that he makes his own noodles using special flour he imports from Japan. I've only been twice to Takashi but I did appreciate the quality of the noodles as they had a little more "bite" to them.

bjt

I have tried the ramen at his ramen place in Macy's and The Slurping Turtle, and I didn't find the ramen noodle at either place particularly good. That said, I have not tried the ramen at Takashi per se. I suppose I've never considered it a ramen restaurant (I've only had stuffs from its contemporary French menu). I might just give it a try in the near future. Thanks for the rec.

deesher wrote:For what it's worth, I understand that Oiistar makes their noodles in house.

According to this Hungry Hound segment Oiistar has a $65,000 machine that makes noodles in-house.

G Wiv wrote:

deesher wrote:For what it's worth, I understand that Oiistar makes their noodles in house.

According to this Hungry Hound segment Oiistar has a $65,000 machine that makes noodles in-house.

This is correct. However, I was not a fan of the soups there. I'm no expert but I thought the broths were seriously over-wrought.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

deesher wrote:For what it's worth, I understand that Oiistar makes their noodles in house.

According to this Hungry Hound segment Oiistar has a $65,000 machine that makes noodles in-house.

This is correct. However, I was not a fan of the soups there. I'm no expert but I thought the broths were seriously over-wrought.

=R=

I've only visited Oiistar once, and I had anything but your typical ramen (pozolmen - pozole + ramen) . . . also tasted the spicy vegetable ramen, but all I can say is that I really enjoyed it. And the noodles were some of the best I've had. Of course, I probably wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for a traditional bowl of ramen.

Arami told me they make their own noodles. I didn't care for their broth though- it was fairly bland. Oiistar is the opposite, the broth is very overspiced. My current rankings here in Chicago are:

1. Santouka Ramen @ Mitsuwa
2. Ramen that the Aviary served when Next Kyotos was going on (they also made their own noodles), was excellent, but sadly no longer available. I'd be thrilled if they opened up a ramen bar.
3. Oiistar
4. Slurping Turtle
5. Arami

I need to re-try #4 though since I had it when they first opened.

JeffB wrote:Didn't he start out in Detroit or AA?

He had a restaurant named "Tribute" in Farmington Hills that I wasn't fortunate enough to try before it closed.
It's funny - there's not too much for upscale dining in the area, so when I was driving by the closed-down restaurant I glanced over and could tell it was a gem just by the decor and the typography. I didn't find out until later that it was Takashi's.



Back to the ramen... I too am no expert, but I couldn't help but love Urbanbelly's.
In particular I cannot stop thinking about the powerfully delicious sauce on their eggplant (I believe it was in the "Asian Egg Noodles").
I haven't been to Wasabi, I'll be sure to try their Tonkotsu soon.

For those in the NW 'burbs that want something different than Santouka, try out Izakaya Sankyu Restaurant in Mt. Prospect. Not a bad bowl of noodles last I had it.

maxbrown wrote:

JeffB wrote:Didn't he start out in Detroit or AA?

He had a restaurant named "Tribute" in Farmington Hills that I wasn't fortunate enough to try before it closed.
It's funny - there's not too much for upscale dining in the area, so when I was driving by the closed-down restaurant I glanced over and could tell it was a gem just by the decor and the typography. I didn't find out until later that it was Takashi's.



Back to the ramen... I too am no expert, but I couldn't help but love Urbanbelly's.
In particular I cannot stop thinking about the powerfully delicious sauce on their eggplant (I believe it was in the "Asian Egg Noodles").
I haven't been to Wasabi, I'll be sure to try their Tonkotsu soon.

I went to Tribute before it closed. One of the best meals of my life. Had no idea Takashi was the chef at the time until a couple of weeks ago. Now it all makes sense. The ramen at Slurping Turtle is somewhat disappointing, but the noodle Sundays at his namesake restaurant are great.

Since it's initial post I've been to Santouka as many times as I've been anywhere else to eat. This is the spot that turned me onto ramen. As more and more shops popup of late I've tried a few others to see how they compare with one of my favorite bowls of anything in the vicinity.
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Slurping Turtle

When they were set to open shop the hype for here was high. With that came some big expectations. Since I'm not an expert I didn't know what to expect but was hoping for something as good or better than Santouka. Nope. The biggest plus from here was the sheer size of the portion which at $15 should get you full. I thought the noodles were pretty good and they gave plenty but the broth tasted more like Pho than Tonkotsu to me. The biggest downer of this bowl was the pork. It was resistant which I like when it comes to ribs but not so much in my soup having to fight with it to break it down into bite size pieces. Good not great.


Tonkotsu Ramen from Slurping Turtle
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Wasabi

It's hard to compare and contrast exact notes when the tasting is being done on different days in different but this was the "as close to bowl" as there was for my partner in crime. I liked it just fine as well. The broth, meat and noodles were all comparable to Santouka but not quite there. Easily the 2nd best of the broths in this round up. It cost more than Santouka ($13 to $11 w/ cheek meat) but on my visit they had the option to switch the regular option pork to cheek meat free of charge. This place is much closer to me than Arlington Heights so when you figure gas costs etc its close in price. There's been reviews all over the board on them. Maybe consistency is an issue.


Tonkotsu Ramen from Wasabi
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Oiistar

I tried this spot last week but wasn't as impressed as others especially given the price ($15). So they have a machine that makes their own noodles but I didn't notice any difference that separated them from the rest except they were a little softer than all others. The up-charge to pork belly ($1.50) made a meal for two with a drink each just over $50 with tip. But the inside of the place has that trendy vibe going so welcome to Bucktown. It fits right in. The broth was weaker than the rest. Though I do wonder if quality at ramen shops can vary like BBQ. But would also wonder why. But people seem to be all over the place on who has the goods.


Tonkotsu Ramen from Oiistar
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Izakaya Sankyu

Thanks to those that mentioned this cool little Izakaya in Mt Prospect. Your rec's put this place on my radar. Not far from Santouka I normally would never be able to try this place when my standard is so close. However Santouka is done for the day by 7:30p and this place is a bar with food open later. This was the cheapest bowl at $8.50. It was was good and hit the spot on a cold winter night but I wouldn't say it was great. Nothing really stood out except the steaming sweet smelling plate of yaki soba someone next to us ordered. I liked the little bottle of hot sesame oil at the table to boost up the spice in your bowl. All places should have those as an option at your side.


Tonkotsu Ramen from Sankyu
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Santouka

Still the standard as far as Chicagoland goes. I've never actually had ramen outside of the cityscape but will seek out legendary places when the chance comes. So really I'm just a sharp shooting 6 foot tall white dude from Indiana aka an amateur. I'm no Lebron but as of now Santouka is tops and it's not really close. Well worth the ride in my eyes. Best meat, best broth, best noodles and I love getting a cup of white rice topped with green onions and dumping it in the soup when the noodles are done. The rice soaks up all the milky pork broth, food court dining at it's finest.


Torinuku Meat Tonkotsu Shia Ramen from Santouka
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Slurping Turtle
116 W Hubbard St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 464-0466

Wasabi
2539 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 227-8180

Oiistar
1385 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 360-8791

Izakaya Sankyu
1176 S Elmhurst Rd
Mt Prospect, IL 60056
(847) 228-5539

Santouka (Inside the Mitsuwa Market)
100 E Algonquin Rd
Arlington Hts, IL 60005
(847) 956-6699

Thanks for the review. I just moved to Chicagoland and actually came across this website while searching the web for decent ramen. My daughter and I tried out Santouka when we were in the area and I checked Yelp for a place for lunch. I am both delighted and sad that this seems to be the best place in the area for ramen. Delighted that we had the chance to eat there, and sad that there isn't better yet to come. We moved from Ann Arbor, MI and used to go to Matsuchan in Canton, MI. We miss it dearly.

Welcome Lazyhead. I'm with you. I wish there was better to be had in town, but ramen shops seem to be sprouting up like mushrooms lately, so there's still hope. I think Santouka is on my agenda for lunch today.

I was thinking I might need to take a drive to Mt. Prospect.