Ramen Misoya - Mount Prospect via Japan

Those of us that follow the excellent stuff Mike Sula does in the Reader know that there's a new big boy in the Chicagoland ramen game, and of course it's out in da burbs. Ramen Misoya comes to Mount Prospect via Japan. It joins a list of cities with locations outside Japan that would make an excellent travel itinerary before one bites the dust. New York, California, Bangkok, Montreal, Sao Paulo and now Mount Prospect?!?!? Yep as Sula said "sometimes the Suburbs are superior" and when it comes to Asian noodles I couldn't agree more.


Suburban Strip Mall Dining gets stronger

Misoya is a pretty small space but they have a room next door with waiting seats and some magazines should there be a wait. Inside there's an L shaped dining counter that can seat maybe 16 and then there's about 7 tables for groups of three or more. No wait tonight but it was a Monday in August and the business was still steady. I have no doubt there's going to be lines at prime time as the weather cools down.


a view from the counter seats

Mike's much more polished with ramen than I am so I suggest you read the linked article to get a better idea of what they're doing here. It's different than Santouka and all other imported Japanese ramen chains I've visited. First off no authentic Tonkotsu style ramen here. They serve three different regional varieties. All are made with miso paste as a base. There's signs explaining it's benefits on your bowels (no not what your sipping on, what its going to go thru) and reasons it's healthy for you. Misoya score points over Santouka for a few things. One is the fact they serve beer (Sapporo) and also have a few appetizers on offer. The Japanese fried chicken made with thigh meat was really good bar food. I hope we can start to get some izakaya chains from Japan that specialize in this sort of fare. I visited a spot in Toronto that would be packed around the cities Northwest Suburbs.


Chicken Karaage served with a Japanese Mayo

Ramen is what they do here. The menu offers you three different styles and Mike was high on the Kome Ramen so that's what I got. Boy was it deep in flavor. Bowls come with ground pork, bean sprouts, green onions, bamboo shoots, fried potato wedges, and yellow corn and the noodles are spot on. There's all sorts of other options you can add into your bowl. "Cha Su" style comes with some wonderful pork loin that's cooked and then grilled to give it more flavor depth. Add the hard boiled egg like Sula said.


Kome Ramen Cha Su

WOW! This bowl wasn't cheap. Its actually around the same price point of the popular city spots but it was also on an entire different level. I'm not going to say I liked it more than Santouka but I'll say it was sensational. It was also a belly buster. My friend said he felt high afterwards. More bonus points scored for the fact they're open until 10p and have that izakaya atmosphere when you enter and leave, employees acknowledge it. It's really a matter of preference as far as which chain is superior. Whats not a question is chains in Japan are so much better than they are over here. I don't see how you wont like this place if you like ramen.


This is a hype I can ride behind...

Ramen Misoya
1584 Busse Rd
Mt Prospect, Illinois 60056
(847) 437-4590

If you're done drooling on your keyboard and thinking of visiting today - they're closed on Tuesday.

Besides being closed on Tuesday, Ramen Misoya isn't open during the afternoon. I've stopped by twice but have yet to taste their ramen.



Ramen Misoya
1584 S Busse Rd
Mt Prospect IL
847-437-4590
http://www.misoya.net/
Wed-Mon 11:30am-2pm and 5pm-10pm

You have no idea how exciting this makes me!

Hi- first post here, but I did want to say that Misoya does (at least occasionally) have tonkatsu ramen...I had it there about 2 weeks back on a Saturday, I think this is perhaps just as a weekend special. It was not included on the main menu but was on a specials insert. It was served with the same add-ins as their normal menu ramens (ground pork, scallions, fishcake, I added in an egg and the grilled Cha Su pork, as well as a dollop of extra spicy miso). It was different in many ways to the Santouka tonkatsu ramen so it is hard to make a comparison between the two, I found this one quite salty (which may be a result of the extra spicy miso addin) but I do think that where Misoya shines is with their standard menu miso based bowls. I also enjoyed the gyoza which are handmade in shop, the woman who was manning the grill for the Cha Su said she was in charge of making them as well as doing pork grilling.

It is definately a big hearty bowl of noodles- go hungry!

This is a welcome addition to the northwest suburbs and its working its way steadily into my lunch rotation.

Thanks for the additional intel edithpiaf! And welcome

we just finished having lunch, and it's every bit as fabulous as everyone said here. we got there at a little before noon and left after one. there was a wait the entire time. the little waiting room was full, and people were waiting outside. the tonkatsu was the special.

who'da thunk!! a great restaurant in the burbs! and in a strip mall!!

Add me and my little ramen-lovin' crew to the list of happy customers of Misoya. We got there pretty early this morning and only had to wait about 20 minutes (probably was around 11:30ish when we arrived, give or take a few). By the time we were seated though, the waiting area had filled to capacity and folks were lining up outside. For good reason.

We tried the Tonkotsu with no add-ins and the Kome with both the Cha Su and the Egg add-ins. We later stopped at Santouka for a final bowl of the Shio Toroniku. Of the 3 bowls, the Kome was definitely my favorite. Springy, flavorful noodles; rich, complex broth, the chargrilled pork--I may not have loved it as much if I hadn't purposely only eaten a small amount of it--I could see this being almost too much of a great thing. But it was a terrific start to a fun day (see additional info here: here)

Come winter time, this place is going to be VERY hard to stay away from...

The most exciting thing about Misoya is that it is the first totally dedicated ramen-ya in the Greater Chicago area. Yes, there are other restaurants that claim to specialize in ramen, and food stalls like Santouka that do and do it well. But I don’t know of another stand alone restaurant that dedicates themselves solely to the craft of ramen.

Unlike most neophyte ramen producers around town, Misoya’s ramen-making roots are derived directly from Japan. A truly great bowl of ramen isn’t something that can be created from somebody who decided yesterday that it’s time to hit the ramen dance floor. Though there’s a limited number of moving parts that go into a bowl of ramen – chashu, noodles, toppings, and of course, the broth, each component takes time to master and only a minute to fuck up, thus ruining your whole bowl.

One of the things I love about Misoya is its simple yet authentically Japanese touch of greeting all customers with a sincere "Irasshaimase” The entire (mostly Japanese) staff shouts it in unison as you enter. It’s as though you’re entering someone’s home and not a restaurant. As far as I'm aware, not receiving this proper greeting when entering any Japanese restaurant or shop is considered unseemly. Being in Mount Prospect where much of their clientele is Japanese (at least so far), this type of thing is to be expected, unlike ramen-serving establishments in Chicago who do not routinely cater to the Japanese. They usually feel no obligation in executing this ritual with their largely unknowing customer base who typically have no expectations for such formalities.

Misoya makes a good bowl of ramen, great really for Chicago with its unique grilled chashu, pliant noodles, and perfectly pre-cooked honjuku eggs. This place should be seen as a game-changer-- not so much for their stellar ramen but because they are a Japanese-owned ramen shop completely dedicated to the pursuit of delivering a good bowl of ramen in a traditional, classic ramen-ya setting for its largely Japanese clientele.

PIGMON wrote:Unlike most neophyte ramen producers around town, Misoya’s ramen-making roots are derived directly from Japan. A truly great bowl of ramen isn’t something that can be created from somebody who decided yesterday that it’s time to hit the ramen dance floor. Though there’s a limited number of moving parts that go into a bowl of ramen – chashu, noodles, toppings, and of course, the broth, each component takes time to master and only a minute to fuck up, thus ruining your whole bowl.

One of the things I love about Misoya is its simple yet authentically Japanese touch of greeting all customers with a sincere "Irasshaimase” The entire (mostly Japanese) staff shouts it in unison as you enter.

These are interesting comments. On my one visit so far, few of the staff were Japanese. Actually it was like an ethnic rainbow in there (lunchtime visit on a Tuesday). Although my bowl of ramen was noteworthy, it was served with a couple pieces of chewy, undercooked chasu that should have never left the kitchen (and one piece that was exquisite). I chalked it up to a bad day, but maybe I should look more carefully at who is working before committing to my next visit.

stevez wrote:On my one visit so far, few of the staff were Japanese. Actually it was like an ethnic rainbow in there (lunchtime visit on a Tuesday).

Had lunch here today and directly asked our server how many of the employees working today were Japanese. His response: "All but two." (out of at least 8 that I saw working).
Also got a group "goodbye" when leaving.

Tried their special "Spicy" tonkotsu ramen today. What an unmitigated disaster of a bowl! Ground seasoned pork coupled with clams, scallion/sprouts/nori. No chashu. The broth was definitely muted...boring, really. The added honjuku egg was cold in the center but, in all fairness to Misoya, we were the first guys through the door.

The weirdest thing about the bowl, though, was how they added a dollop of spice paste which was a dead ringer for Korean Gochujang. This was a completely disjointed assemblage, to say the least. Decent noodle, though.

I say stick with the Kome ramen.

I don't like cold center eggs. They do that @ Oiistar as well (precook and hold in fridge).

They were featured in the August 28, 2013 issue of the Mount Prospect Journal.

My second visit to Ramen Misoya was even better than my first. This time, the majority (though not all) of the staff were Japanese/Japanese American, rather then the multi-ethnic mix of my first visit.

A View of the "Kitchen"


We started off this visit with a couple of items from the small appetizer selection, agadashi tofu and gyoza. The agadashi tofu was forgettable, lacking the usual dashi flavored broth and bonito topping. This was a really bland dish and not at all what I've come to expect from agadashi tofu. The gyoza, on the other hand, were pretty good and a great traditional accompaniment to our bowls of ramen.

Ramen Misoya Agadashi Tofu


Ramen Misoya Gyoza


Both of us ordered the Kome style ramen with chasu. Mine was ordered spicy, while my dining companion's was not. Sadly, we both forgot to order the soft boiled egg add on. These bowls of ramen were excellent. The chasu showed no signs of the toughness I encountered on my first visit, and the noodles had just the right amount of chew. Despite my initial misgivings, the fried potatoes served in the ramen really work well, as does the fresh sweet corn. These were both outstanding bowls of ramen. I still prefer a tonkatsu style broth, with it's rich and elegant mouthfeel, but that is splitting hairs. The ramen served at Ramen Misoya is world class and easily in the top two of the Chicago area. If you haven't been there yet, get there soon.

Ramen Misoya Spicy Kome Style Ramen


Ramen Misoya Mixed Up Kome Style Ramen

Why does anyone care if the staff/chef is of Japanese descent? I mean, there's Andy Ricker of Pok Pok, Ivan Orkin having extraordinary success in Tokyo with Ivan Ramen, and probably a number of other examples. To me, quality is what matters.

This is Chicago, not New York or L.A. You won't find a kitchen that is 100% Japanese. As long as the product is good, I don't see why it matters.

Habibi wrote:This is Chicago, not New York or L.A. You won't find a kitchen that is 100% Japanese. As long as the product is good, I don't see why it matters.

It shouldn't matter at all, but the lack of the Japanese ethnicity came into question when I was served substandard cha su on my first visit where the kitchen crew more closely resembled the crew of a McDonald's than of a Japanese Ramen-ya (and yes, there are kitchens that are 100% Japanese. GNR's Katsu and Renga-Tei come to mind). It is more properly the lack of the Japanese aesthetic, then the lack of Japanese blood that we are discussing here.

stevez wrote:

Habibi wrote:This is Chicago, not New York or L.A. You won't find a kitchen that is 100% Japanese. As long as the product is good, I don't see why it matters.

It shouldn't matter at all, but the lack of the Japanese ethnicity came into question when I was served substandard cha su on my first visit where the kitchen crew more closely resembled the crew of a McDonald's than of a Japanese Ramen-ya (and yes, there are kitchens that are 100% Japanese. GNR's Katsu and Renga-Tei come to mind). It is more properly the lack of the Japanese aesthetic, then the lack of Japanese blood that we are discussing here.

wow offensive on so many levels

sometimes you get tough pork, no need to blame nationality of the cook

From a Japanese restaurant in Seattle. Worth a read.

The funny thing is that our non-Japanese chefs know that they are being so overly scrutinized, and therefore they study and grow more than most chefs out there. Trust us – we’ve had many Japanese men working here that had to be fired because they relied on their gender and race instead of making amazing food.

mhill95149 wrote:
sometimes you get tough pork, no need to blame nationality of the cook

I'm not blaming the nationality of the cook. I'm blaming the lack of both training and understanding of the culture (see the movie Tampopo or the restaurant Mashiko, which Jestinf has linked to above) of the cook.

My coments were made to point out an experience that differed from what Pigmon had previously posted:

PIGMON wrote:One of the things I love about Misoya is its simple yet authentically Japanese touch of greeting all customers with a sincere "Irasshaimase” The entire (mostly Japanese) staff shouts it in unison as you enter.

and

PIGMON wrote:This place should be seen as a game-changer-- not so much for their stellar ramen but because they are a Japanese-owned ramen shop completely dedicated to the pursuit of delivering a good bowl of ramen in a traditional, classic ramen-ya setting for its largely Japanese clientele.

Also, lest this thread get derailed, this was a small problem on a single visit. Let's not lose sight of the fact that Ramen Misoya turns out some great ramen.

I think everyone here is getting their panties in a bunch over something pretty damn silly. The ethnic background shouldn't matter (for the most part*) and I dont think Steve implied it to mean that it cant be real if its not made by a Japanese guy. I think it was more along the lines of hopefully they didn't just hire some HS kid off the street who's only background in cooking is at Fuddruckers. For every Japanese restaurant in Seattle where they should take all people as long as they're skilled, there's a spot like Guu Izakaya in Vancouver, and Toronto where every employee is flown in from Japan. So whats the big deal?

*Call me racist, leave some one sentence link like you always do, I dont care, I think these places would suck bc it's Chinese people cooking Mexican. Not to say I wouldn't try one but I'm not going to have much hope. Am I a bigot? Back to the noodles at hand.

Da Beef wrote:*Call me racist, leave some one sentence link like you always do, I dont care, I think these places would suck bc it's Chinese people cooking Mexican. Not to say I wouldn't try one but I'm not going to have much hope. Am I a bigot? Back to the noodles at hand.

Those Chinese-owned Mexican places are awful even by NYC Mexican standards, which are already depressingly low. I seriously don't understand how it became a trend; I literally watched them blossom in my ten or so years living in NYC off and on.

1) First, everyone's a little bit racist (here's proof).

2) Steve, I understand your point . . . and I was merely explaining that I think there is an incorrect perception that certain ethnic foods can only be adequately prepared by someone of that ethnicity. And I would say the same can be said with respect to adherence to certain customs/techniques which may be critical to enjoying the experience.

All that said, still haven't been to Ramen Misoya and I look forward to it. Though I had a fantastic bowl of shoyu ramen at Mitsuwa yesterday, in fact, the best bowl of ramen I've ever had there.

Losing my appetite over this racist bs. It wasn't meant that way and the need to be p c only further makes me want to gag.

How was the soup? Very good, not certain it needed the ground pork, wish I'd have ordered the egg and missed the lipsmacking umami of a proper tonkatsu broth, but damn, very good indeed. The gyoza were nice as well w/a wonderful texture from crisp to soft. In all, well worth the trip.

To be fair to everyone here, it's a little bit ironic that the PC card is being played in reference to a Japanese ramen spot's staff, inasmuch as a particularly Japanese brand of "national pride," or, "xenophobia," or however you'd like to describe it, is quite well documented, particularly when it comes to traditional foods (sushi, ramen) and arts (judo, kabuki). Long time LTHers might remember the mirage-like Matsumoto's namesake chef not sending out the "authentic" stuff to non-Japanese patrons not because "they wouldn't like it" but because "they couldn't like it" in the relevant way. It's not a concept he came up with.

Obviously, this is not a sentiment shared by all, and many articles have noted the irony of Japanese strains of cultutral dogmatism as concerns traditional foods against a backdrop of shrimp and BBQ sauce "pizza," spaghetti with mayo and whatever. Many old-time Japanese folks (my in-laws included) would pre-game a ramen spot based on the ratio of Japanese people in the kitchen; that doesn't make it "right" or "wrong," and it's probably not an excuse for me or Steve to do it, but it's not an irrelevant point of discussion, either.

I decided to take the 1987 Chevrolet Sprint out one evening and get to a new ramen shack in Mount Prospect. I have been to Japan {nine times}, but have yet to visit a Ramen Misoya there.
When I got to Ramen Misoya's spot, I had a flashback. This address had previously been another Japanese restaurant I had been to in July 2009, on one of the last Yelp {northwest suburban} dining events I attended.
In fact, I took pictures:
That night, I sat in the western end of the restaurant, and mostly photographed easterly {toward the front entrance}.
This night, I sat at a new counter and mostly photographed westerly.
Let me get to the quality and taste of the ramen. I am not a ramen adept. I felt the bowl of ramen I had here had the best noodles, and the best broth I have had in the U.S.A. But, I also had a problem with the slabs of pork being too tough. Perhaps it was because I was one of (if not the) the night's first customers.

Because I finished here early, and the karaoke joint (also in Mount Prospect) which supposedly serves a superb bowl of ramen wouldn't open for hours, I decided to gauge myself by driving on to Santouka in Arlington Heights. I won't hijack this thread with images of that. I got there in time to get that venue's last bowl of the day. Its taste was not quite as intense as Misoya's, but its pork was much, much more tender and flavorful.
My foggy idea of a great bowl of ramen would combine Santouka's pork (or another meat) with Misoya's noodles & broth.

I then drove to the karaoke joint. It was open (It opens at 8:00 pm), but it was also ‘dead’. I got the impression this is a later-at-night venue (maybe it begins swinging at 10:00 pm).

You realize that someone's going to do that now, take Santouka pork to Misoya.

Maybe, but I bet Pudgy's the only one who'll be making that trip driving a classic, 48 hp ride. Props.

...a Japanese thoroughbred in gringo clothing, in a delicious dollop of irony...

Hell yes!

I had the spicy tonkotsu, added a piece of pork. Sue had the cha shu red miso, which was freaking enormous. The broth I had was rich and while not what I would call very spicy, very flavorful. The little clans went very well with the spicy, porky broth. I will definitely be back.

Only criticisms are that the pork piece is a bit hard to work with because it's so large, and the place was a bit of a steam bath. They had two portable air conditioners running, but it could not keep up with an 80 degree evening.