Eat Great Cheap 2013 Good Drinks |
Some bowls of ramen show an almost Marie Kondo–like restraint, with clear, delicate broths and sparing applications of pork and egg and scallion—they inspire sipping, not shirt-staining slurps. This is not that kind of ramen. Take the broth for this kitchen’s Toki Classic bowl—it’s hefty, porky, almost creamy, the result of a daylong simmer of pork bones, which is mixed with chicken stock and a dashi broth. The base soup alone is worth standing in line for, even without the chewy noodles and smart accessories like slow-poached egg, pickled ginger, and greens. The dining room’s 28-stool setup—most face the wall—isn’t exactly made for lingering, but the excellent cocktails and fabulous chocolate-chip cookies will likely convince you otherwise.
Also good: Pan-fried or steamed pork dumplings; red-miso ramen; kimchee ramen; tsukumen (noodles with pork-fat dipping broth); dan-dan noodles.
See what other restaurants made our 2016 Cheap Eats list. This article appears in our May 2016 issue of Washingtonian.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
