Daikaya Ramen Shop

Last week got started with a bang, when Tom and I made a last-minute decision to hit up Daikaya Ramen Shop for dinner on Monday night.
Despite the fact that we live three blocks away from Daikaya, this was shamefully our first visit. We’ve walked by the ramen shop dozens of times to see a long line of folks snaked out the door waiting for a table and a bowl of noodles. Being that patience is not my strong suit, this sort of scared us away, until now.

We hoped for a shorter wait on a Monday, and sort of succeeded, depending on your definition of shorter. In this case, it was a little under an hour.

But good things come to those who wait!
Tom and I both got the Shio ramen, made with the traditional stock that Daikaya is famous for, with a Bakudan Spice Bomb and Nitamago, a soy and ramen stock marinated soft-boiled egg. Tom topped his ramen with pork belly, one of the day’s specials, while I went with Chashu, or roast pork.

We also had an order of gyoza with ponzu sauce.
I’m far from a ramen expert, but I thought it was outstanding. I loved the rich flavor of the broth and building spice that was challenging, but never unbearable. So did Tom.
He could not stop raving about how much he loved it, in between slurps that is. When I return, I doubt I will add a protein to my ramen again, as I didn’t think it was necessary – the noodles and broth were very filling on their own.

The gyoza were crispy and flavorful, and offset the spice of the ramen beautifully. I worried about getting too much sodium, which can often give me a migraine, but I chugged water throughout the meal and didn’t have the slightest hint of a headache – a major plus!

The fun outing on Monday made the rest of the week fly by, even with the snow storm passing through on Thursday.