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NOW OPEN: Ramen Boy
It's hard for a restaurant to open quietly in Philly these days, especially when that spot specializes in something as universally lusted-after as Japanese noodle soup. Such was the case with the "soft-open" Ramen Boy (204 N. Ninth St.), filling brothy bowls for capacity houses since Friday night in C-Town.
NOW OPEN: Ramen Boy
It's hard for a restaurant to open quietly in Philly these days, especially when that spot specializes in something as universally lusted-after as Japanese noodle soup. Such is the case with the "soft-open" Ramen Boy (204 N. Ninth St.), filling brothy bowls for capacity houses since Friday night in C-Town.
"Ramen is so common and so popular in Japan," says owner Nelson Tam, who also has Yakitori Boy two blocks away. His popular karaoke joint does offer the stuff, but he "wanted to do a place and stand out only for ramen." He's got that here, with native-son chef Yuichi "Ben" Watanabe and his bandanna-rocking crew serving four varieties of soup — a traditional pork broth with chargrilled meat and naruto (pictured); a soy-and-miso with chicken; an spicy oxtail-based broth with sliced ribeye; and a vegan bowl featuring soy milk-based broth and a rotating lineup of 11 different vegetables. They're also doing gyoza (pork, chicken, shrimp and a cheesesteak-like beef/cheddar) fried on the flat-top, rice platters and a couple of sides. Full menu after the jump (click to enlarge).
Don't be discouraged if every seat's occupied when you swing by — people seem to come and go pretty quickly here, and your sidewalk-to-soup time can be considerably slashed if you grab a stool at the kitchen bar. Ramen Boy is open Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
This news is the best news.— aweiss- The early reviews on Yelp are absolutely scathing, with a high of 3 stars and a mode of 1. Very disappointing, but I'm still curious enough to give it a shot.— TV_Party
- Yelp is stupid, you should go there yourself and make an informed decision— ButtonButtonFace
- I agree that Yelp is often stupid -- the "average" score is usually irrelevant because so many reviews are written by people who either have never been to the place or haven't been there in years. One can discard the reviews that are unjustifiably praiseworthy/critical, but there are usually at least a few legit write-ups.
This place is getting savaged by every reviewer. Even considering Yelp's shortcomings, when a place is panned by every single person that writes about it, I think it tells you something. The most complimentary thing I've read is, "I've had worse."— TV_Party - Plus, I did write that I'm going to try it despite the reviews. They've just surprised me. There was such an appetite for a ramen place in Philly that I thought almost anything would be acclaimed.— TV_Party
- Observationally, TV_Party, I'm thinking that the dearth of local ramen options till now might have something to do with this tough response. People seemed to be looking forward to it for so long that anything not meeting/smashing expectations was construed as a grave disappointment. As someone who watches restaurants open, mature, evolve and unfortunately sometimes close, I'm of the mind that every place deserves a fair shake before final judgment. That's why our critic Adam Erace waits 6-8 weeks to formally review a place, for example. Sometimes it seems like the instantaneous nature of sites like Yelp and even Twitter or Facebook has rendered that grace period irrelevant. It's worth noting that Ramen Boy's been open only three days now. — Drew Lazor
- That makes sense, Drew. I also understand that most often, a person is probably more likely to write a negative review than a positive one. Still, I think there is some merit to both types of review -- the measured grace-period piece which allows for development and refinement, and the instantaneous impression.
(Incidentally, the former must heretofore be known as a 'bildungsRAMEN.')
Every new restaurant should enjoy some time to develop and grow. Time to work out the kinks and realize potential. On the other hand, there are times when I'm less concerned with what a new restaurant has become once it found its stride than I am in what it's going to offer me tonight, regardless of how long it's been open. I don't think anyone should totally write off this place, or any place, based on the early reviews, but they're certainly not encouraging.
I'll be looking forward to Adam's review.
Regarding your other point, I considered the 'dearth begets expectations' argument, but a one key idea made me reject it. A thread that is both implicit and explicit in some of the reviews is that the reviewers didn't just write that the food wasn't good. They wrote that it wasn't good *compared to places that are good*. I mean, I can dismiss someone who simply writes that the ramen wasn't any good. After all, maybe he doesn't like ramen. But I find it more credible when a reviewer wonders why the ramen wasn't good compared to the ramen at the owner's other restaurant, just blocks away.— TV_Party
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