Nudo House, the noodle shop from Mai Lee‘s Qui Tran and Marie-Anne Velasco, was years in the making. When instant gratification is the norm – we want what we want, and we want it yesterday – it’s nice to be reminded that some things are worth the wait.
Unlike the voluminous menus found at many Asian restaurants, Nudo keeps things simple with a handful of cold apps like spring rolls and kimchi, vegetables sides and two bahn mi variations. Four versions of pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup Tran’s Mai Lee is famous for, are also on the menu.
But the star of the show at Nudo is the ramen, the traditional Japanese noodle dish that inspires untold obsessive devotion in so many diners. In those seeming eons of R&D, Tran and Velasco delved headfirst into the world of ramen, sampling versions from across the country and hosting pop-ups around town to keep up interest.
At Nudo, there are four different versions that build on the basics, melding tradition with a distinctive creative bent. Standouts include the vegetarian Shroomed Out ramen, which deploys meaty, earthy king oyster mushrooms to delicious effect, and perhaps the ultimate in cross-cultural comfort cuisine, the Hebrew Hammer, a rich and creamy combo of tender ramen noodles and chicken schmaltz. Tuck in with a bowl and take your time.
Matt Sorrell is staff writer at Sauce Magazine.
This article appears in December 2017.