this shop is widely known as one of the top, if not the top, ramen spots in chicago. did not realize that, tbh, until gabi and i went on a saturday afternoon. they open 5-9 everyday, and we were there by 5:15. by then, despite over half of the tables typically reserved for walk-ins, there was a large queue which took us 2 hours to overcome. i was starving, but i honestly wanted to get ramen and we were already there.

but, soon enough, we were sitting down in a long bench and quickly got our food. i ordered the standard Akahoshi Miso ramen. to be honest, im no ramen connoisseur by any means. i just really like ramen without much understanding about its complexities. i don’t know exactly what kinds of ramen i like and what kinds i don’t, but this new #category is what im here to discover for myself.

so, back to the miso ramen. honestly, it was the best ramen i’ve had in months. the noodles were bouncy and had a good, squiggly texture. the chashu was absolutely amazing: tender, balanced, charred, wonderful. definitely one of my most memorable chashu place along with Ramenwell in SF I had years ago. the other toppings were great: bean sprouts kept a nice crunch and the green onion provided the needed freshness and balance. the broth, though, was a bit light—surprising for this mixed miso broth as i thought it’d be more heavy, fermented, strong. other than that, great!

overall, would definitely revisit and try a different tare ramen. i don’t think im a huge miso ramen guy but they did it well enough that i enjoyed it without any issue. the owner/chef seems like a great, helpful, and warm part of the ramen community (esp. on reddit as u/Ramen_Lord) and knows his craft well + has a soothing humbleness from what i can read.

  • noodle: 8
  • broth: 6
  • toppings: 9
  • balance: 7
  • satisfaction: 7.5
  • overall: 7.5

here’s my newly-started ramen review sheet