Tatsu-ya...WT#?

[travisleroy]

Ate at Sunflower two nights ago and noticed a long line outside this place. 42 degrees out and the line was about 50 people long. Tatsu-ya does not allow take-out, so they were all waiting patiently for one of the half dozen tables, and freezing. Must be pretty good, I'll never know because the vegetarian husband would find nothing there and I don't eat pork, which seems to be the basis of everything. How is it?

Tried a couple new dishes at Sunflower: eggplant in garlic & flat noodles. Not impressed. Will stick to my favorites. (Spring rolls, salad, crepe, hot & sour soup, spicy string beans)

[bubbleboy79]

Ramen is killing it. Seating=32, avg dining time=15. Hence, 50 people is around 15 minutes. My average wait at Franklin is around an hour, which I don't mind. Austin had no good ramen until now, and that was my least favorite thing to tell to Californians; also at nine bucks a bowl, not a bad deal.

[Chicago Wine Geek]

Finally got the chance to go here. OMG, fantastic! I got the spicy edamame, gozya, and #1 ramen. Freaking wonderful. The broth was sublime, the pork belly fantastic, and the marinated egg perfectly cooked. I got the super spicy bomb and it was great. I want to eat this every day. Loved it. Hope something like this comes to Chicago.

[dinaofdoom]

it is basically the franklin bbq of ramen:
really good, great ingredients, nice people.
more demand than they can make and dish out.

[brentwood]

Tongue only partly in cheek; ramen is the current food trend (see: cupcakes, bacon, cake pops, etc.). The line also gives our new Californian émigrés a chance to convene and complain about breakfast tacos and BBQ.

In all honesty, it is a very tasty place. I'm also excited to see that Michi Ramen, who used to run a good trailer, have taken over the former Korean Garden/K G Sushi Train/Afin Tapas spot on N. Lamar.

Oh, and regarding Sunflower, I noticed that Le Soleil has changed names to Nhu Y Restaurant. I don't know if this reflects a change in ownership or management, but through the window it looked like a nice interior remodel.

[rudeboy]

FYI, the ownership at former La Soleil didn't change - they just changed the "concept" to Japanese. They told me that you could still order Viet off the menu, but I haven't tested that.....

[hlk]

It's amazing. The broth is incredibly rich and flavorful. They have some vegetarian and non-pork items, but yeah, it's really all about the pork broth ramen dishes.

[PappyAustin]

I thought all their broth was non-vegetarian.

[hlk]

Yes, that's the problem; there are some vegetarian items, but they aren't the ramen. They have a vegetable curry bowl, a salad, some appetizers, and desserts which are meatless. But it's really all about the ramen.

[ieathereforeiam]

It is incredible and worth every second of wait. I've been about a half dozen times times now and i've never waited more than 45 minutes.