I am particular about ramen. I don't believe Japan does everything best, but I have had some pretty darn good ramen there, and also an Izakaya themed place in Atlanta. I am open to anything that looks good, though.
Unfortunately, seeing the name on the first Ur Bowl on Tennessee turned me off (Is it bad text speak, "your"? "Ur", like the ancient city? I hoped the latter, but doubted!). However, when I saw one in Kerry Forest, and that reviews showed assembly looking a little better than Midtown's, I decided my husband and I had to try. We haven't tried theirs yet, though.
We chose this location because we don't care for the college area, but it ended up being surprisingly dirty outside with litter falling out of a trashcan. The interior felt nice, though very informal. I really liked the wood tables and beams, and little glass windchimes chiming in the fan, very nice for summer!
It's been a month, so my impression of the food is not as fresh. We ordered veggie spring rolls, and they were good and nicely fried. We made our own ramen. I ordered mine with spicy miso, straight noodles, fried tofu (can't recall all of the veggies). I was surprised when learning the tofu is fried with shrimp. I'm not terribly picky about oil sharing with some meats, and I might be weird, but shrimp is one of the worst things to have shared oil with. But, I don't care for tofu soft, either. Fine! I did taste the foul ocean bugs a little, but I tried to not think on it. Definitely need to improve this, though, as some are very allergic (thank goodness I was warned. Hopefully this is always done). The noodles were alright, and the soup even more heavy on the miso than expected. I'd try another soup next time. My husband got a tonkotsu soup, and he liked it alright. I took a sample and, while I'm not a fan of meat, obviously, it was too porky in a way I found a little amateur. I'm sorry to the one who designed it! But some soups soften this. I think I liked his wavy noodles better than mine. My husband always hopes for a lot of green onions on top with a decent amount of other vegetables, but this was a little light. Aesthetic/assembly was alright. It sounds silly, but a good looking bowl feels much more appetizing.
My husband had a melon boba. He liked it, but probably wouldn't go there just for one.
The employees were nice, and the guy with dark, curly hair was especially helpful.
I am not sure I'm looking as forward to the competition, but I am a little curious now about who will win the battle for best Tallahassee ramen. Probably mine at home. XD read more