Brunching on Ramen + Ramos Fizz @ Orson Restaurant Bar + Lounge in San Francisco

[Melanie Wong]

At last summer’s Eat Real Festival in Oakland, I had a chance to try ramen by “Where’s Buta”, produced by Sous Chef Elgin Espiritu of Orson Restaurant and his wife June Lee and served from a truck. Notable for the “pig face roll”, made from every part of the head, this was a pleasant bowl but for the mushy, cooked-in-advance noodles. Even so, the pork part was good enough that I wished I could revisit it under better cooking conditions.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniewong/3868989930/
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Then two months ago Orson announced the start of weekend brunch service. Spotting ramen on the menu gave my noodle-loving heart a little lift. I finally got in there on Sunday to give it a try. Espiritu is no longer identified on the website or menu as a sous chef but ramen’s still there.

On an overcast day, the front dining area was too dark and gloomy. Instead I took a seat at the bar. I ordered the ramen and asked the bartender to choose a complementary cocktail for me. He pointed out the extensive list of Marys, the bottomless mimosa (made with Cristalino Cava and fresh O. J.), but then said the Ramos Fizz was his favorite even if it didn’t match up with ramen. Made with fresh cream, vanilla bean sugar, and citrus, this long-shaken and well-emulsified fizz tasted like a very adult frappé.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and these photos were taken with my phone. The ramen featured wide, handcut noodles, pork, nori and a soft-cooked egg, $13. The pair of silvery chopsticks and a white porcelain spoon were presented on a black cloth-lined tray.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniewong/4618036342/

The steamy bowl had an overwhelmingly smoky aroma from an excess of katsuobushi (dried smoked bonito shavings) and a bit of garlic savoriness from toasted bits floating on the surface. Red chili pepper and black sesame seeds had already been added. The leanish stock tasted mostly of bonito dashi and was low on meaty intensity. The spicy heat grew stronger as the sprinkling of red chili steeped in the stock, turning harsh and leaving an astringent and slightly bitter aftertaste.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniewong/4618036338/

The soft-cooked egg had a liquid yolk and a very tender, jiggly white. The fluid yolk, once pierced, enriched the lean stock and sweetened it a bit. But I still found the soup out of balance and not that enjoyable to sip on its own. The dense mat of shredded nori dispersed with a touch of the chopsticks, swirled through the bowl and the fine filaments intertwined in each bite of noodles. I loved the effect created both visually and for the palate.

The rosy pork looked like a beautifully marbled slice from the loin with a thin layer of fat around the edge. Tender and succulent but not falling apart, the browned crust was slightly sweet and the perfectly salted meat had a bit of cured tanginess to it. The pieces had not been separated or fanned for presentation and turned out to be four generous slices of meaty heaven. The two slices submerged below the surface lost some of their goodness and juices to the broth changing to a drier, coarser mouthfeel. Still, the deep and complex flavor of this pampered pork was superb.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniew...

The handcut noodles were special too. Cooked a little softer than I prefer, they were still dense and elastic to the bite. A larger portion of the noodles would be in order, as the elements in this ramen bowl were a bit top heavy, meaning that I ran out of noodles before consuming all the toppings. More noodles would prop up the roast pork above the surface saving all its wonderfulness.

Orson’s ramen was hard for me to rank since I didn’t care for the stock. Rather than uniting and harmonizing the ingredients, the soup stock seemed to be seasoned and sculpted to provide contrast to the richness of the egg and sweetness of the pork. It did that very well at the same time making it jarring to the palate and my personal taste. Luckily the cream and sugar of the Ramos Fizz aided in balancing out the ramen’s spice and bitter elements.

Yet I want to recognize the excellence of the toppings and housemade noodles. Orson weighs in at #8 in the rankings. This is the highest rating of any ramen I’ve tried yet in San Francisco.

PERSONAL RAMEN RANKING
1. Ramen Halu, 375 Saratoga Ave Ste M, San Jose
2. Santouka @ Mitsuwa Hokkaido Festival, 675 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
3. Himawari, 202 2nd Ave, San Mateo
4. Orenchi Ramen, 3540 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara
5. Maru Ichi, 368 Castro St, Mountain View
6. Izakaya Mai, 212 2nd Avenue, San Mateo
7. Ajisen Noodle, 47890 Warm Springs Blvd, Fremont
8. Orson Restaurant Bar + Lounge, 508 4th St, San Francisco
9. Ramen Dojo, 805 South B St, San Mateo
10. Ryowa, 859 Villa St, Mountain View
11. Tanto, 1063 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale
12. Santa, 1944 South El Camino Real, San Mateo (post-move)
13. Do-Henkotsu House of Tokushima Ramen, 4330 Moorpark Ave, San Jose (closed)
14. Sumiya, 2634 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara
15.Gen Ramen, 47890 Warm Springs Blvd, Fremont (closed)
16.Hana Japanese Restaurant, 101 Golf Course Dr, Rohnert Park
17.Izakaya Restaurant, 1335 N 1st St, San Jose
18.BY Grill, 3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco (closed)
19.Norikonoko, 2556 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley
20.Hana, 4320 Moorpark, San Jose
21.Ozumo, 2251 Broadway, Oakland
22.Muracci’s, 244 State St, Los Altos
23.Dohatsuten, 799 San Antonio Rd, Palo Alto
24.Katanaya, 430 Geary Blvd., San Francisco
25.Masa's Sushi, 400 San Antonio Road, Mountain View
26.Nombe, 2491 Mission St, San Francisco
27.Gochi, 19980 Homestead Rd, Cupertino
28.Oyaji, 3123 Clement St, San Francisco
29.Halu Restaurant, 312 8th Ave, San Francisco
30.Sanmi, 3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco
31.Maru Ichi, 530 Barber Lane, Milpitas
32.Hatcho, 1271 Franklin Mall, Santa Clara
33.Kahoo, 4330 Moorpark Ave, San Jose
34.Tomoe, 810 3rd St, San Rafael (closed)
35.Ringer Hut, 1072 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
36.Noodle Theory, 3242 Scott St, San Francisco
37.Watami Shabu Shabu and Ramen, 5344 Geary Blvd, San Francisco (closed)
38.Where’s Buta by Elgin Espiritu and June Lee, Eat Real Festival, Oakland
39.Kumako, 211 E. Jackson Street, San Jose
40.Japanese Restaurant Hoshi, 246 Saratoga Avenue, Santa Clara
41.Ramen Club, 723 California Dr, Burlingame
42.Ryowa, 2068 University Ave, Berkeley (after ownership change)
43.King Won Ton, 1936 Irving St, San Francisco
44.Tazaki Sushi, 3420 Judah St, San Francisco
45.Ramen Rama, 19774 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino (closed)
46.Ogi-San Ramen, 10789 Blaney Ave, Cupertino (closed)
47.Kaimuki Grill, 104 S El Camino Real, San Mateo (closed)
48.Tanto, 1306 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
49.Okazu Ya SF (Noriega), 2445 Noriega St, San Francisco
50.King's Garden Ramen, 39055 Cedar Blvd, Newark (closed)
51.Sushi Bistro, 445 Balboa St, San Francisco
52.Genki Ramen, 3944 Geary Blvd, San Francisco
53.Mitsuwa Hokkaido festival booth, 675 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
54.Lakuni, 325 E 4th Ave, San Mateo
55.100% Healthy Desserts, 1155 Taraval St., San Francisco
56.Mifune, 1737 Post St, San Francisco
57.H2A Noodle, 42318 Fremont Blvd., Fremont (closed)
58.Iroha, 1728 Buchanan St, San Francisco
59.Miraku Noodles, 2131 N Broadway, Walnut Creek
60.Manpuku, 2977 College Ave, Berkeley
61.Tanpopo, 1740 Buchanan Street, San Francisco
62.Sushi Yoshi, 39261 Cedar Blvd, Newark
63.La Shang Niang Ramen (OEC), 42 Dixon Rd, Milpitas
64.Oidon, 71 E. 4th Avenue, San Mateo
65.Taraval Okazu Ya, 1735 Taraval St., San Francisco
66.Suzu Noodle House, 1581 Webster Street, San Francisco
67.Bushido Izakaya, 156 Castro St, Mountain View
68.Fresh Taste, 2107 El Camino Real, Palo Alto
69.Asuka Ramen, 883 Bush St, San Francisco
70.Sapporo-ya, 1581 Webster St, San Francisco
71.Tokyo Ramen, 678 Barber Lane, Milpitas (closed)
72.Kamakura, 2549 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda
73.Mama-san!, 312 8th Ave, San Francisco (closed)
74.Katana-ya Ramen, 10546 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito
75.Hotei, 1290 9th Ave, San Francisco
76.Bear's Ramen House, 2521 Durant, Berkeley

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Orson Restaurant
508 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

[Tripeler]

Brilliant descriptions of the various aspects of the ramen. Rather than "Where's Buta?" (do many people in SF know that buta means pork?) my reaction was "Where's Focus?" since it seems like a lot of cooking talent and good ingredients were wasted because of a lack of focus. Still, improptu serving of time-sensitive dishes like ramen is very difficult. Better it had been made for years in the same shop to give the chef more control over the variables.

[Melanie Wong]

Thank you. Since the chef who developed the ramen seems to have exited, I think it lucky that this showed as well as it did. Orson started out with a focus on molecular gastronomy techniques and i was kind of hoping for some pop rocks or other tricks. I imagine that this kitchen has a lot of skills and equipment to bring to bear. E.g., the even level of doneness of the egg and pork point to sous vide. But as you point out, a little more focus could have gone a long way to elevate this example even more.

Ramen is more difficult to do well than meets the eye. When I was at Ramen Halu in San Jose this week, I asked why the anniversary lobster ramen only had a two-week run, which had just ended. I was told that the chef is working on his next summer special ramen and needs the time to develop, tweak, and practice making it over this next two weeks and he doesn't want to be distracted.

In the economic downturn some higher price tier restaurants are turning to barbecue, pizza, fried chicken, and other dishes that they can deliver at a lower price point. Ramen is starting to appear too, and I'm all for encouraging that trend!

I hope that 'hounds will give the ramen a try so that it stays on the brunch menu. It was fun and delicious to have a fancy cocktail with my noodles.

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Ramen Halu
375 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129

[monkutaro]

I just tried the brunch ramen at Orson... it was a huge disappointment.

The noodles looked and tasted more like Okinawan Soba than ramen noodles. The broth was weak and barely noticeable because it was overshadowed by the powerful taste of fried garlic chips, the soft boiled egg, and the slight gaminess of the pork. Interestingly, the way they placed the ingredients into the bowl seemed to prevent them from mixing, so one section would taste overwhelmingly of garlic, another like seaweed, and another like pork, etc, etc. To be brutally honest, it didn't taste like ramen at all. It tasted more like a good idea gone horribly awry. I ended up getting a drink after I left to get the taste out of my mouth.

On the positive side, they seem to have worked on their presentation 'cause my bowl looked a lot prettier than the one in your original post. Also, the individual ingredients themselves (pork, soft boiled egg, etc) seemed to be cooked perfectly although the pork seemed a bit bland. Maybe they did it and I couldn't tell, but the pork coulda used some flash searing or something... everyone loves them some maillard.

[Melanie Wong]

Okinawan soba was a new one to my noodle lexicon. I just noticed that Ramen Tenma in San Jose will be featuring it next month. Here's a photo from its FB page.
http://www.facebook.com/RamenTenma#!/...

[Tripeler]

That's a bowl of Okinawa Soba, for sure. The vibe is really entirely different from ramen, and the flavors are lighter and more restrained. It is really at the intersection of Chinese and Japanese, in a sense.

[Melanie Wong]

Thank you, here's my post on the Okinawa soba in the thread on Ramen Tenma.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7316...

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Ramen Tenma
487 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129