Misoya So Horny

6 Posted by - April 11, 2014 - Things We've Eaten

When most people hear the word “Ramen” they think of dehydrated bricks of noodles and powder for people with sub 600 credit ratings.   I’ve been known to get raw with those economic salt bombs on occasion. But Maruchan is to real ramen what Taco Bell is to Mexican Food. Deliciously suspect and not remotely the same food group.  Regardless of incarnation,  I kill all that shit.

tumblr_n06mxf6WSK1sm62xgo1_4003 Minutes to cook, aint nobody got time for that.

I’ve had some ‘real’ ramen in my life, but this piece-of-shit winter had me wanting a culinary tummy-rub.  I needed the ultimate ramen in the Chicagoland area. I wasn’t going to settle. I got down with Slurping Turtle, Oiistar even Tokyo Marina, all of which were rock solid but not mind blowing.  That’s when a good friend put me on to a little joint in Mount Prospect called Misoya. Where the fuck is Mount Prospect?

mount_prospectOminous.

Now just a heads up, this place doesn’t look like much and it’s in the middle of freaking nowhere.  Plus, you gotta make a semi-dangerous left across two lanes of traffic. If you fuck up and don’t make it, die knowing you were doing the right thing.

stripmall

THE TOPPINGS:
Before we talk about broth, let me give you a little run down on the toppings available.  Remember, Ramen isn’t really ‘soup’, it’s more like a full meal that happens to be placed atop a bowl of broth.  You eat this primarily with chop sticks and fall back to the spoon when it’s broth-time.  This aint slimfast, you’re not drinking your lunch.  The ‘must have’ toppings are the Cha Shu (fatty ass pork), the spicy paste, either shrimp tempura or the fried chicken, and last and obviously not least . . .MOTHER-FUCKIN’ BUTTER.  There’s something magical about watching the your soup refract the colors of the rainbow between slurps.

breakdown

 

THE BROTH:
The ramen at Misoya comes in 3 main varieties of broth:

1. Hokkaido Style – This is ‘classic ramen’, with the broth made from pork bones (tonkotsu.)  It’s a dark brown and has a rich meaty / miso flavor.

Hokkaido_1

 

2. Kyoto Style – a “kotteri” (thick) light colored broth, generally made with chicken bones instead of tonkotsu.  It looks like it wouldn’t have as much flavor as Hokkaido, but the miso and butter make it pack an equally strong punch.

Kyoto_Style_1

 

 

3. Nagoya Style – This is my favorite style, made with pork bone (great nickname idea) and a dark ass miso paste.  This one has the most flavor and is a little sweet at the end.  This shit hits you deep, you need this.

nagoya_style_2

 

THE NOODLES:
Like Brett Farve’s cock piece, these noodles are perfectly al dente.  Imported from California, these shits aren’t even visible until you mow down some of the toppings.  It’s like a carby carby buried treasure . . . down here it’s our time.  

noodle_brett

So listen, regardless of distance you really need to go here.  It takes me 30 minutes with no traffic to get from my house on the north side and I’ve gone 5 times in 4 weeks.  That means something.  If you don’t have a car, sign up for iGo or some shit, commandeer a PT cruiser. Whatever you have to do, I don’t give a shit, just make it there.  Trust me, you will be back.

 

1 Comment

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    A10 - Chicago Gluttons May 6, 2014 - 10:52 pm Reply

    […] travel to the brink of the drink, tirelessly searching for bites that shine.  Much like Ramen Misoya, A10 undoubtedly deserves your undivided attention and that gas money.  Dine […]

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