I hope you all have been doing wonderfully since my last post, and enjoying all the food the world has to offer! I apologize for the delay; April was pretty much a doozey. I got sick right at the beginning of the month (on my BIRTHDAY!) and the rest of April was all downhill from there. I'm hoping that May goes more smoothly, and that I have more time to post as well.
Today I want to write about this amazing new place I discovered called Futo Buta. A friend at work told me about it - it's in Charlotte and specializes in real, authentic Japanese-style ramen. Ramen has always been one of my favorite things, ever since I was a baby, and now that there are so many variations, I'm in heaven. I had never been to a ramen house (they're still a fairly new trend, and Wilmington didn't have one) so I was extremely excited to go, and I chose my birthday to be the first time we tried it.
The restaurant itself is small, one of those places tucked back where you have to know where it is to be able to find it. It probably seats only about 40-50 people, and I imagine that's how they like it. The interior is rustic, with wood paneling and Japanese art on the walls, metal bar stools and Sailor Moon characters painted on the bathroom doors. The staff is young and gives the place a very hipster-esque vibe, with their tattoos and dyed hair. Chris described it best: a real chef's restaurant. It's one of those places that has a limited number of items on their menu, but everything they make, they make it really well. We were definitely not disappointed by anything that we ordered. I'll start with the appetizer.
Futo Buta has several different homemade buns, but when we saw the one with duck in them, we knew those were the ones (I've told you all how much I love duck!). The only Asian-style buns I've had were either frozen or ones that I've made, and, while both of those were decent, I was excited to have fresh, authentic steamed buns. These had duck confit, pickled carrots, arugula, leeks, honey, five spice and sancho (which is Sichuan pepper). We loved everything about these buns. The duck was flawless - moist, super tender and juicy, and had amazing flavor. The pickled carrots and arugula were the perfect complements to the richness of the duck. I'm not usually a big fan of pickled veggies, as they tend too often to have too much vinegar and acidity, but these were amazing - still crunchy and sweet but with just the right amount of tang. These buns definitely proved to be a promising start to the rest of the meal, and it only got better...
I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen - the description sounded too decadent to pass up, and I was definitely not disappointed! It was a pork broth with pecan smoked pork belly, scallions, organic mushrooms, onsen egg (where the egg has a soft white and firm yet creamy yolk), pickled ginger, seaweed, sesame and black garlic. (Tell me that that doesn't sound like the most amazing bowl of ramen ever!) I was blown away by the flavors in this bowl - between the broth and the pork belly, it had the most amazingly rich pork flavor (if I'm being 100% honest, it was almost too rich for me). I immediately broke the yolk in the egg and mixed it into the broth, which gave it a creamier texture and flavor, complementing the other ingredients. The pickled ginger added both a brightness and crispness to the richness of the broth, and the mushrooms and seaweed added an earthiness that was most enjoyable. The pork belly was tender and extremely flavorful. However, the noodles were definitely the star of the bowl. They were cooked perfectly so they were still chewy, and, while they definitely soaked up the flavor of the broth, not too much so that they broke down at all. (I hope I explained that well enough; basically they were cooked until they reached the ideal al dente texture.) I couldn't even eat the entire bowl in one sitting, but when we heated it up later that night everything was still amazing. Moving on to Chris' choice of ramen...
The Miso (Hungry) was appropriately named, as it was a miso-based broth. For those of you who don't know, miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning made by fermenting soybeans with salt - the result it a very unique, earthy flavor. Also in the bowl was sweet white corn, pecan smoked pork belly, scallion, bean sprout, cabbage, onsen egg and sesame. I only tried his a few times, as I was more immersed in my own ramen, but it was also very enjoyable. The miso flavor was perfect, not too overwhelming (miso can sometimes be too salty, but this one was just right), and the veggies and pork belly created a nice contrast to the umami aspect of the miso. Chris is a bigger fan of miso than I am and I know he thoroughly enjoyed it!
We both had leftovers and both reheated extremely well. The noodles remained chewy, the broth didn't separate, and the flavor was as intense as when we first got our bowls. I am definitely looking forward to the next time we have a reason to go to Futo Buta, I give them major props for the food - definitely the best authentic ramen I could have hoped to have. Thanks to everyone there for a great experience, and we will be back!
Here is my ramen-related quote for the day, and it's not by anyone official (but is relavant): "Life is like a bowl of ramen. The noodles are the events that come and go and the broth is your friends. Don't slurp too quickly!"
Enjoy your weekend!
