It was a chilly afternoon in October, when I was leaving the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, that hunger struck. Bundled up in my jacket, waiting to escape the cold, I took out my wonderful smartphone and went to my favorite app — foodspotting. As I scrolled through the photos of what dishes were near, I kept seeing recommendations for ramen, at this little hole in the wall called Totto Ramen. So we stumbled to the location, peeked inside and found a tiny dark restaurant with seating at the bar and a few surrounding tables, enough for maybe 20 seats — this would surely warm me up. There was a line outside, so the question was do we wait? — and I’m glad we did, as this was the beginning of my love affair with ramen noodles.
Returning to Florida, I was now on a quest to find the best bowl of ramen so I could relive my Tutto Ramen experience and I’ve tried many local versions. Has it happened, not quite yet (though Nori in Boca offers a pretty tasty version)– and I’m still on the hunt.
When the James Beard nominees were announced earlier this year, I took a look at the chefs from Wisconsin, as that is where I was raised, and noticed that Ardent in Milwaukee, was nominated for Best New Restaurant, and I had to do a little research for my curious mind. During the evening hours, Ardent is an intimate chef-driven restaurant where Chef Justin Carlisle offers a rustic, native-to-Wisconsin ingredients and transforms them into something modern and sophisticated. While the restaurant closes at 10:00 p.m., it reopens as an underground ramen bar starting at 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, until the ramen runs out. Could this top them all?
Being on my list for places to try, I found Ardent’s Red Light Ramen Restaurant intriguing and I was going to find a way to experience it on my next trip to Milwaukee — even if it was going to be after a full day of activity. After speaking about this place for weeks, I finally convinced my entire family to join me for my culinary rendezvous, which was quite a feat since they only knew ramen as a staple to the college diet. At 10:00 p.m., we jumped in the car, and took an hour drive to the restaurant. We walked by it a few times, before discovering that it was “the” place. Outside, there was a line of hungry patrons waiting to get in (maybe 20 or so) and inside the windows were covered up, making this even more intriguing.
As we waited for the 11:30 opening time, we met the “regulars,” many of whom had been there the night before and were reminiscing about the steamy, intense layers of flavor that they slurped up the night before. When the doors opened, we made our way with the crowd and found a table in the dark, mysterious room — yes, we needed our phones to guide us around. With ramen being the only thing on the menu, it was easy to order our food and couldn’t pass up on the drinks. Cans of PBR and Brandy Alexander slushies were house favorites.
Bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen were set before us and our eyes lit up. The intense aroma that surrounded the room gave us a feeling of comfort and excitement. Now was the time to taste Carlisle’s signature ramen, featuring a rich broth that takes 15 hours to make and the ever-famous Sun noodles, Layered with flavor, the ramen came with thin slices of pork, scallions and mushrooms .. and don’t forget the Soy Egg that had been marinated in sake, soy sauce and mirin.
Delicious? yes. Comforting? absolutely. Would I come back? Sure, if I was in the area. Now, did it compare to New York City? not quite. While the Red Light Ramen had layers of flavor, and it’s perfect for those new to the ramen noodle craze, I thought that it lacked the intensity, spice and richness that I experienced at Tutto Ramen. Once you experience a near perfect dish, there’s no going back — so I guess that just means a trip to New York — and that’s not such a bad idea.
Red Light Ramen Restaurant is located in the space also occupied by Ardent at 751 N Farwell Avenue in Milwaukee. (414) 897-7022.
