As I was strolling along Kavanaugh Boulevard through the Heights this past weekend, I happened to notice something unusual in the space of a promising-sounding restaurant: an OPEN sign beckoning from the front window. I’d heard no formal announcements of the opening of That Ramen Place other than whispers of “soon”; the place has a Facebook page with zero activity and the local food blogs haven’t jumped on it yet, so this OPEN sign came as something of a surprise.
Today, with room in my stomach and curiosity in my brain, I wandered in to give That Ramen Place a try. The decor sure wasn’t much (more on that in a bit), so it was going to have to get by on the strength of its food.
Pleased to say, I think it’s going to do just fine.
UPDATE JANUARY 24, 2020: Well, that prediction didn’t exactly work out, did it? That Ramen Place is now gone for good.
I stand by my review of the ramen. I must have eaten there a dozen times since That Ramen Place opened up, and the soup, while not exactly consistent, was always top-notch. The pork tonkotsu broth was a creamy delight. The pork belly was to die for. And I miss it.
So what went wrong?
As far as I can judge, poor ownership and management killed this promising little place.
The first hint of trouble was consistency. Sometimes the Underbelly bowl had the egg in it, sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes you could get it with the tonkotsu broth, sometimes it was shia only.
Next clue was the staff turnover. In the dozen times I ate at TRP, I only saw the same serving and prep team twice. Twice. If people are signing on to work and then quitting the next week, your work environment sucks.
About three months in, I overheard a server (who made it maybe all of a month) complaining that the ownership was introducing new menu items before staff could implement them, that the ramen was changing too frequently, and that one of the owners “only cares about money”. Yikes.
The last time I tried to eat at That Ramen Place was after this year’s Arkansas Comic-Con. Picture, if you will, a group of six hungry teenagers obsessed with anime and ramen, entering a ramen noodle joint. Picture, if you will, the single employee telling them that she was the only one on shift and probably couldn’t serve all of them without taking forever. (This was around 5:45 on a Saturday. Seriously? This is one of the busiest dining nights of the week.) Picture, if you will, a single employee a few doors down at Poke Hula who was able to feed every single one of them in mere minutes.
I feel sad that this experiment failed, but I’m also angry. This should have been a win-win for the Heights. Someone let his or her ego get in the way of good restaurant management, and we all lost out in the process.
Well. This is an experience!
I won’t lie, walking in was a bit … weird. The place was empty save for one lone diner scanning a menu at one of the side tables. No indication of whether I’m supposed to “Please Seat Yourself”, or if I’m supposed to “Please Wait To Be Seated”. With no staff in sight I wandered up to the food prep / cashier counter at the back and out popped the woman whom I assume is the proprietor. She greeted me warmly (as she did with everyone who came in) and handed me the menu. I opted to sit at the counter and get a first-hand look.
The menu at That Ramen Place is short and it is simple, which is a plus in my opinion. That Ramen Place gives you two options for your meat-based broth: tonkotsu, which is creamy and pork-based; and shio, typically made from sea salt and soy. Today I opted for the Underbelly Bowl with the Shio broth, and I ordered a kimchi salad to go along with it. The Woman In Charge apologized for any delay, but honestly there was no unreasonable wait for my meal, nor did I notice other diners getting impatient. All told That Ramen Place scored perfectly fine on service.
Time to eat! Don’t let this disappointing photo fool ya; this was nice-looking in person. The kimchi salad was a delight, with crunchy, sweet cabbage and crisp cucumber coated in a wonderful kimchi paste. The paste wasn’t as strong or as spicy as I’ve had in the past, but it had an agreeable tang that was well-balanced. As the weather gets warmer, I predict this side dish will be quite welcome for Heights denizens.
The Ramen was excellent, which one would hope given that’s why I was there. It was very low-frills bowl; nothing but broth, noodles, pork, green onion, a few shreds of lettuce, and sliced bamboo.
The shio broth was nicely salty, delicious, and fresh-tasting. Every spoonful of this broth felt like an explosion of flavor. I couldn’t stop saying “Mmm!” the entire time.
The noodles were more tender than I expected. For me this is a plus — I’m one of those who likes to cook my 3-minute Ramen package for 5 or 6 minutes. And some of the noodles were clumped together in a way that makes me think there might be some kinks to work out in the prep. But they sure were good, and absorbent of that exquisite broth.
The pork belly was absolutely melt-in-my mouth stellar. I like it tender and fatty, and suffice it to say, I was pleased.
My biggest surprise was the strips of bamboo, which I mistook for large-ish mushrooms of some kind. The strips had been subject to a seasoned marinade, which gave them a texture very much like a mushroom. They were pleasantly sweet, and a great addition to the bowl.
Scattered along the counter were small plastic jars of two kinds of condiments. One was a crunchy, flavorful pickled ginger, while the other was a strongly spicy paste of some kind. It reminded me a bit of horseradish. I didn’t ask what was in it, but I can still feel a slight sting on my tongue as I write this. I didn’t put either in my ramen bowl, as I felt it stood proudly on its own without needing any adjustment, but I’m glad I tried them on the side so I know what’s when next time I go.
Oh yes, there will definitely be a next time. That Ramen Place sure nailed its first impression on the food. I’m looking forward to eating more of it!
Still Got The Factory Sticker On It
It’s obvious from the moment you walk in that That Ramen Place is still a work in progress. Strings of lights along the ceiling create a good funky vibe. Everything else is black. Seating in scattered around the dining room, booth seats alternating with silver and black chairs. The walls are painted matte black. The floor is polished black textured concrete. The tabletops are painted black. As of this writing there are no decorations or adornments on the walls of any kind. I kind of felt like I’d wandered into Darth Vader’s castle on Mustafar. It’s like they asked the question from Spinal Tap: “How much more black could this be, and the answer is none… none more black.”
Other signs of growing pains included a missing wastebasket in the restroom, no restroom signage, no soda fountain (yet), no take-out service, water glasses that are on the smallish side, and an awkwardly-interfacing Point Of Sale terminal. There’s what looks like a wet bar on one side of the room, just standing there, wanting to be used and loved. Why is it there? We need answers.
I overheard the proprietor(?) assuring customers that they’d be getting more equipment and more resources in the near future, so I assume this spot will get some of the TLC it needs. In the meantime, she was so charming, and happy, and bubbling warmly at everyone. She answered generously when customers had questions about items or ingredients. She was obviously passionate about what she’s doing. I don’t know who she is, I only know I want her to succeed.
Thank you, That Ramen Place, for a splendid lunch!