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| - Iron Chef Baldwin Street
In Kitchen Stadium, we now unveil the secret ingredient: RAMEN!!!
The Chairman: "So now Baldwin Street, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of my uncle: 'Allez cuisine!' "
It's a proper battle here on Baldwin between Ryus Noodle Bar and Kinton Ramen. The newcomer here is posing a proper competition; however, it has not quite stood up to the talents of Kinton.
The FOOD: A decent ramen offering in the very traditional shio (salt), shoyu (soy), and miso ramen. Sometimes some extra options. It's fairly flavorful, but I didn't find the depth of the flavor approaches what is done in the traditional Japanese ramen shops or their competitor down the street. It's definitely a lighter ramen broth, but maybe not to my taste, especially during the winter months. I found it a little complicated to try to order and choose among the additional "secret sauces". Noodles were decent, but perhaps a bit tough.
They've attempted to get a bit fancy, for example using sous vide cooking on the chicken. What they fail to do is to either pan fry it afterwards or blowtorch it, or something to properly warm it before adding it from fridge temperature, so it tastes a bit gross.
The SERVICE: Generally good...some difficulty extracting recommendations. Quieter than the neighboring Kinton, which is a welcome relief. This isn't Japan...let's save all the trendy Japanese yelling for Guu and its imitators.
The ATMOSPHERE: It's either "simple and clean" or "spartan" as your interior tastes may dictate. I really disliked having so many of their seats face the wall. It felt very odd....much less comfortable than the traditional style of sitting at a counter facing the kitchen.
OVERALL, the value is decent, the food is decent, and it's a good experience. I give the iron chef title of Baldwin street to Kinton.
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