Tanoshii Ramen Awards

Tanoshii Ramen Restaurant Review:

Dallas finally hops on the Japanese noodle soup bandwagon that’s already swept Austin and Houston with the arrival of this modern Deep Ellum ramen house where even the bathrooms are hip, playing a constant stream of Korean pop videos via built-in TVs. An order of tender, fluffy steamed buns makes an ideal starter, stuffed with small slabs of braised pork belly and accented with a drizzle of spicy mayo and shreds of iceberg and cucumber for a welcome crunch. But the main event, of course, is the generously portioned steaming bowls of ramen. Tonkotsu is the pièce de résistance, a silky, unctuous pork broth that holds tangles of toothsome house-made noodles for slurping, plus more of that braised pork belly and a softly boiled egg. Fans of seafood and spice will happily devour the curry ramen with mussels and crisp tempura shrimp. For a place that holds pork in such high regard, there’s a surprising number of options for the vegan and vegetarian sects, including shoyu ramen with panko-fried tofu and kimchi-and-sweet-potato-stuffed dumplings. Wash it all down with an icy cold Sapporo draft, a craft cocktail like the gingery, vodka-spiked Tokyo Disco, or one of the many varieties of saké.