Ebisu

     Let's be honest, is the Unites States, ramen gets a pretty bad rep. There are two kinds of ramen: good ramen, and bad ramen. If you're American, then I'm willing to bet that you're very well acquainted with bad ramen. You know, that cellophane-wrapped noodle brick and sodium packet that you get for 40 cents at your local super market. Well here's something to think about: the amount of blandness and cheapness you'll find in the flavor of bad ramen is about equal to the amount of deliciousness and complexity which you will find in the flavors of a well prepared ramen dish. They say that when ramen is good, it is one of the best things you'll ever taste, and that's a statement that I certainly can't argue with. Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish, made with wheat-noodles which are boiled in either meat or fish broth, sometimes flavored with dashi or miso, garnished with all kinds of delicious goodies, often including vegetables, pork, chicken, seafood, seaweed, and much more.
     In New England, restaurants that serve real ramen are few and far between, but it seems that there is no such thing as a cuisine which can't be found somewhere in Rhode Island, and ramen is no exception. In Providence, Ebisu serves Japanese food and noodle dishes that exceeded all of my expectations. Named after an ancient mythological Japanese god, thought to bring luck and good fortune to fishermen, Ebisu features high quality Japanese cuisine at fair prices.

     The décor is modern and simplistic. The lighting was pretty low, which gave it a nice sense of intimacy. Inside, it looked very clean, which is always a good sign. It was pretty late when Adriana and I arrived at Ebisu, about 10pm, so it was relatively empty. Although, throughout our meal, business did pick up which is a good sign. A restaurant that still draws customers late at night usually has a well established following. A following which I am now a part of.

 

     Our server was soft spoken and seemed a bit shy, but that fit the gentle feeling of the décor, and he definitely wasn't intrusive to our experience, like some overly spunky servers can be. He was also the only server on this shift, so he was pretty busy, but he still managed to do a good job while managing four tables alone.

     The menu at Ebisu was nicely sized. There was an entire section for noodle dishes, which was pretty extensive and covered just about every style of ramen from every region of Japan. I'll be returning regularly until I've tried them all. But ramen wasn't the only thing on the menu. They also had many rice dishes, and a traditional Japanese dish called Shabu-Shabu. According to the menu description, "Shabu Shabu is a Japanese variety of hot pot. The dish is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling dashi (broth) and swishing it back and forth several times. (The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to “swish-swish”.) Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or “goma” (sesame seeds) sauce."

     As delicious as all of the noodle dishes sounded on this menu, I was faced with the unfortunate reality that I could not order every single one, and so after a long and arduous decision-making process, we placed our order. For an appetizer, we got the Spicy Tuna Tostada which was a fried cracker made from layers of seaweed and rice, topped with spicy tuna and a spicy mayo. As my entrée, I got the Tokyo Miso Ramen, which was thin noodles in pork broth, flavored with miso, topped with roasted pork, seaweed, a soft boiled egg, and Kamaboko (fish cake). Adriana had already eaten dinner, and just had a bowl of miso soup as her entrée.

     When our spicy tuna arrived, it was presented very well. The contrast between the warm, crunchy, fried seaweed-rice cracker and the cold, fresh tuna was absolutely delightful. The spicy mayo added a tang to the smoothness of the tuna as well which completed the flavor perfectly.

     After we finished our appetizer, our entrees came, and my ramen looked mesmerizing. A soft, fluffy bed of noodles, piled with a cornucopia of tasty morsels, all bathing leisurely in a savory, rich pork broth, billowing warm steam. Just the smell had my mouth watering.

      The flavors in this ramen were absolutely incredible. The broth was salty and umami; the pork was almost impossibly tender and robust; the noodles had a soft-yet-firm texture; but my favorite part was the soft boiled egg. The egg was soft, smooth, and had absorbed the flavors of the broth. The flavor of the runny yolk combined with the rich broth was unique and delicious.

     So how exactly can you tell if a ramen is good or bad? A good ramen should look something like this when you're finished:

 

      As far as ramen goes, Ebisu is some of the best you'll find in Rhode Island. The selection of noodle dishes is big enough to try something new every time you visit. Although this was my first experience with real ramen, I'll be returning regularly until I'm well acquainted. With modern décor, friendly service, awesome food, and fair prices, this would be a great place to take a date, or just to hang out with friends.

 

Update: Since my first visit to Ebisu, I've been back and also tried the Nagasaki Chanpon, and the Okinawa Soba. They were both equally delicious to the Tokyo Miso Ramen. I would highly suggest any of the three.

Okinawa Soba