Dining Dynasty

Dining Dynasty

LORI EANES

Hot Oakland newcomer elevates the humble noodle to gourmet heights.

Along the east side of College Avenue just north of the Rockridge BART station, a half dozen mall-like storefronts turn anonymous faces toward Trader Joe’s and Zachary’s Pizza across the street. This is the last place you’d expect to be transported to a completely different world when you step through one of those swinging plate glass doors. Indeed, from its exterior, Ramen Shop, a new kid on the block, offers few hints of the excitement within. Because the restaurant’s entrance space—with a bar, benches, a few small wooden booths, and ample standing room—accommodates everyone who has put their name on the daunting waiting list, rarely does the crowd spill out onto the sidewalk. But once you’ve crossed the threshold, you feel like you’ve stepped into a rustic noodle joint in Japan.

Chez Panisse alumni Sam White, Jerry Jaksich, and Rayneil De Guzman opened their labor of love in January, and it took about 10 minutes for it to become the East Bay’s hottest new restaurant this side of Duende. As meticulously created as a Mad Men set, the Ramen Shop draws a crowd—multigenerational and multicultural, with lots of youthful Asian-Americans—that looks summoned from Central Casting, Hipster Division.

During your first half hour inside—whether you spend it in the spacious foyer (during two visits, we waited only 25 or so minutes, although we were told we might have to wait as much as an hour) or you get seated immediately—you’re likely to become obsessed with the decor. A hand-painted fish banner swoops across the entrance to the dining room. A white Japanese lantern with red kanji hangs nearby. The 18-seat counter, constructed of blond Douglas fir, forms a beveled curve around the large open kitchen, echoed above by a laminated soffit. At the back of the restaurant is an intriguing nook, bordered by long drapes, with a big communal central table. Wood is the predominant construction material, from the rough posts and beams of the dining room to the small boxes that hold paper napkins, spoons, and chopsticks. The age-stressed metal of the scooped wall sconces, bell-shaped hanging lampshades, and rusted counter stools adds Wild Wild West steampunk accents that enhance your illusion of having been transported to another time and place.

But once you have the food in front of you, delivered by servers who are thoroughly versed in the intricacies of the dishes and who bring the bustling energy level down with their calm demeanor, your attention shifts. The menu is limited to four or five appetizers, three choices of ramen, and two or three desserts. But there’s enough going on within those narrow parameters to keep your eyes and taste buds focused and enthralled throughout your meal.

Of Chinese origin, ramen became indelibly identified with Japan during the 20th century, with the invention of the instant version in 1958 and the rise of iconic regional variations (Sapporo, Tokyo, Yokohama, Hakata, and others) in the 1980s. Ramen Shop applies the locavore principles of California cuisine to its market-driven gourmet versions. On two visits, my wife, Robin, and I tried three, each served in unique hand-crafted ceramic bowls: a shoyu (soy sauce) and Meyer lemon broth with a slice of spit-roasted chashu (pork), salt-cured egg, Mendocino nori (seaweed), and spring onions ($15); a veggie miso-based broth with maitake and king oyster mushrooms, salt-cured egg, and takana (mustard green) ($13); and a spicy miso broth with ground pork belly, shoyu-marinated egg, asparagus, and spring onions ($15). Other renditions appear, such as tantanmen ($15) with a spicy red chili broth.

Yes, $15 sounds steep for a bowl of noodles, but you are paying for the best ingredients available daily, impeccable attention to the subtle interplay and balance of flavors in the broth and among the toppings, and technical precision in the cooking that guarantees perfectly soft-chewy handmade noodles, tender pork, slightly runny egg, and al dente vegetables. Similarly, $10 for a fried rice appetizer might be laughable if Ramen Shop’s take on it—squid or shrimp with chunks of crisp, succulent pork belly—weren’t so crazily addictive, thanks largely to the house-made spicy chili paste. One night, when I slipped in by myself and immediately secured a seat at the counter, a bowl of that rice and a Belafonte Goes South cocktail (Buffalo Trace bourbon, Averna, lemon juice, pineapple gum, and angostura bitters, $10) made for an ideal light supper.

Speaking of cocktails, the question of what to drink here is answered by a rotating menu of about a dozen beers ($5 to $30 for various sized cans and bottles, from extra light lagers to super hopped ales), a similar range of wines, and a full bar that puts out specialty punches (the Oaxacan Kinkan combines tequila, mescal, kumquat syrup, St. Germain, and bitters, $10) and cocktails, such as the Nee-Guy Spritz (gin, Campari, cranberry, lemon, mint, and cava, $10). I usually drink my whiskey straight or in Manhattans or Sazeracs, but I’m hooked on the Shop or Hokkaido Highball ($12), in which the nuances of 12-year Japanese whiskey whisper through a tall glass of icy cold soda.

The velvety ramen broths can be terrifically rich, so a wise course for couples or groups would be to sample as many appetizers as possible—a plate of zuke (pickled things, which could include radishes, turnips, carrots, cabbage, fennel, or leeks, $10); yellowtail tartar with little gems, Cara Cara oranges, and Meyer lemon soy vinaigrette ($12); tempura of smelt, fiddlehead fern, and mustard blossom ($12); pork donburi ($9)—then share some ramen and leave room for a black sesame ice cream sandwich or, if you’re lucky, an airy pistachio pudding or luscious jasmine tapioca
(all $6).

Ramen Shop may not be for everyone (Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife reportedly turned on their heels at the prospect of a two-hour wait). But, in keeping with recent trends in Oakland dining, it transcends its niche status through vision, imagination, and integrity that bring forth a welcoming, self-contained dining domain unlike any other.

Ramen Shop Japanese.
Hours: 5–10:30 p.m.  Mon., Wed., Thu.;   5 p.m.–12 a.m. Fri.; 4 p.m.–12 a.m. Sat.; 4–10:30 p.m.  Sun.
5812 College Ave., Oakland, 510-788-6370. www.ramenshop.com.

 

This article appears in the July-August 2013 issue of Alameda Magazine
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