Evanston Lunch Group - Torino Ramen April 26 12:00

The Evanston Lunch Group will meet at Torino Ramen in Wilmette on April 26th. This two month old restaurant serves traditional Ramen as well as Bao, rice dishes and small bites. I did my due diligence today, and meeting there with a friend on a day in the high 30s, it was the perfect lunch. I ordered the Yuzu and my dining companion chose the Tantan. Both were delicious but join us and decide for yourself.
They do not usually take reservations but agreed to hold places for us as long as it is for earlier rather than later so I hope 12:00 works for everyone.

Torino Ramen
1162 Wilmette Avenue
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-920-5075
www.torinoramen.com

Cya there.

I'll be there.

See you at Noon!

I'm in for lunch!

I will be there before noon to snag a table for us as they do not "officially" take reservations. Room for more if you reply before 11:30 tomorrow.
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at 12:00.

I'm hoping someone posts some pictures from the lunch, but I will briefly say that Torino exceeded my expectations. I'm not a ramen expert, but the place was hopping, and the various bowls of ramen we tried were very good. The noodles themselves were good--not mushy--and the different broths were each quite tasty and not too salty, as they sometimes can be. The chashu was very nice, although the eggs maybe were a little too cooked. Service was friendly, and they cheerfully accommodated our requests for extra bowls and spoons for sharing. Worth checking out if you are in Wilmette or nearby, I think.

Evy has a nicely subtle way of encouraging others to share their reactions to Evanston Lunch Group™ outings. So, here goes.

Although billed as a ramen shop, Torino’s menu has many of other options, which served as our starters.

The Gyoza were better than average versions of this Asian mainstay.

But probably my favorite starter was the Takoyaki - fried octopus puffs. These were light, almost fluffy, balls topped with a bit of mayonnaise (maybe Kewpie?), and (IIRC) parsley.

The menu also offers an assortment of bao … we shared Pork Chashu, Chicken Chashu, and Karaage (fried chicken), the last with a bit of siracha mayonnaise. The Karaage was my favorite … it wasn’t quite as spicy as the siracha description would suggest. However, the bao itself was very lightly cooked, a bit springy, yet delicate, but a bit undercooked for my tastes (as compared to the bao that comes with the duck at Sun Wah BBQ, for example, which has a bit more structure).





The menu offers seven different ramens, with options to customize each. We didn’t take the customization route, though; settling on three of the ramens to share among our group of five:

Tantan … sesame seed and chicken broth, sweet and spicy ground pork, soft boiled egg, bok choy, green onions and chili oil. This was the spiciest of the ramens, but not blisteringly hot. It was my favorite of the lunch.


Sammy … pork and chicken broth, marinated braised pork belly, soft boiled egg, bok choy, fermented bamboo shoots, green onions and blackened garlic oil. It reminded me of many other ramen dishes I've had in the past, albeit at an elevated level.

Yuzu Lover … chicken and yuzu broth, marinated chicken, soft boiled egg, bok choy, fermented bamboo shoots, green onions and lime. The citrus flavors worked well, and made this a refreshing alternative to the other ramens we had.

The place was very busy for a Wednesday lunch — we got there early enough to get a table, but later there were people waiting at the door for a fresh table to open up. And, the room is full of hard surfaces, making it noisy enough that conversation was a bit challenging.

And, they do serve alcohol. There were some interesting, unusual beer selections. I tried the Belgian-style witbier from Japan, Yo-Ho Suiyoubi No Neko. Unfortunately, it was unremarkable for the style, especially considering it was priced at $12 for an 11.3 oz. can.

Overall, though, the food was good, and I’d happily return. Evanston Lunch Group™ visited another ramen spot several months ago, and Torino was definitely superior. Wilmette is not exactly a foodie destination, but if you’re in the area, Torino is a worthwhile stop.

Finally...pictures.
This place would be on my list of favorites even if it weren't so close to home. Good food plus really accommodating and friendly service. During a fully packed lunch time they cheerfully accommodated our request for extra and smaller bowls for each of us so we could easily share the five big bowls of Ramen. When a friend brought her 100 year old aunt earlier last month, her aunt could not decide which Ramen she wanted and was curious about the Yuzu. They offered to sample her a small portion so she could taste it before deciding. She liked it, ordered it and cleaned her plate/bowl. Yes, I know how much the Japanese culture reveres age, but they were especially gracious about doing this.
In addition, while we ordered two of each three different Bao, we ordered only one Gyoza appetizer. We reminded our waitress of that when she brought us a second plate of Gyoza. She smiled and said yes she knew we only ordered one but they accidentally made two so she was bringing it to us and there would be no charge for the second plate.
They do not take reservations at lunch and are only open five days 11:30-2:00 and three evenings a week. They just added the third evening so check their web site to see current evening hours. Prices are reasonable, especially for the quality of the food.

And now it's on the Hot List!

nsxtasy wrote:And now it's on the Hot List!

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