Shoyu with Spice Bomb, Courtesy of Haikan
And it was a very good day.
From a press release:
“With fall just around the corner and crisp weather already moving in ramping up serious ramen cravings, beginning today, Tuesday, September 12th, Haikan (805 V ST. NW. WASHINGTON, DC 20001; www.HaikanDC.com; (202) 299-1000; @HaikanDC) – the third Japanese ramen shop to open in Washington DC – and the second Sapporo-style ramen shop from the talented team behind the Daikaya Group – Yama Jewayni, Katsuya Fukushima, and Daisuke Utagawa – will officially launch their new ‘To Go Ramen’ service.
The new ‘To Go Ramen’ service will allow ramen lovers to place orders for Haikan’s signature Sapporo-style ramen over the phone (202-299-1000), then collect their orders in-person at the restaurant and take their ramen to go. Signature ramen selections available to order to-go at Haikan include: Shio, Shoyu, Spicy Shoyu, Miso, and Vegetable. Ramen will be available during all hours Haikan is open for business.
HAIKAN HOURS (more…)
817 7th Street, NW
“Dear PoPville,
I was walking by the former Mehak Indian restaurant on 7th Street NW when I overheard someone say the new Asian restaurant in its place was having its soft opening on Sunday at 11:30 am. So, I stopped by. I may have been the first customer. The restaurant is named “Reren Lamen & Bar.”
I recalled the earlier misspellings spotted on a job flyer in the window of the same space and thought about gently telling them how to spell “ramen,” but all the staff had matching shirts with the word “Lamen” embroidered on them, and I somehow didn’t have the heart to say anything. I did, however, echo the belated idea of one waitress to put a copy of the menu in the window!
The menu is focused on noodles and dumplings, and the owner is from China. The staff seemed uncertain but super friendly and eager to please. They offered me free dessert. Clearly, this is a group of rather inexperienced folks, but the food was perfectly decent and pretty fairly priced, I thought. The ramen noodles were definitely homemade and were a good texture — not limp and soggy. I’ll go back.
I wish them luck!”
From a press release:
“Mess Hall – Washington DC’s premiere food incubator based in Brookland, is pleased to present ‘Ramen World 2’, a collaborative and community-driven culinary event taking place on Sunday, February 28th, 2016 featuring some of the area’s most celebrated chefs, restaurants, live entertainers, artisans, and most importantly – ramen masters. Two timeslots will be offered this time around for the event, with the first round beginning at Noon and ending at 2:00PM. There will be a break for chefs to reset and restock, and the second round will begin promptly at 4:00PM and will end at 6:00PM.
Ramen World 2 will highlight the same local noodle powerhouses featured last year, with some new additions: Ramen World co-founder Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground is returning after a successful launch of his second H street restaurant, Maketto. Myo Htun of Chaplin’s is back as well, and will be joined by newcomers Jonah Kim & Mike Isabella’s shared Ballston eatery Yona. Patrice Cleary’s Purple Patch will also be included in this year’s line-up. (more…)
1336 14th Street, NW
Massive Ramen news for Logan Circle/14th Street – get ready for Jinya Ramen Bar. The liquor license placard says:
“A high-quality Japanese restaurant that serves authentic ”Tonkotsu Ramen”. No entertainment. Seating for 99 patrons. Total Occupancy Load of 120.”
Jinya’s website says:
“JINYA Ramen Bar serves “Tonkotsu Ramen”, rich and strong smelling noodle. Tonkotsu uses pork broth which is pumped up with industrial quantities of dashi and dried fish, a broth that seemed to be trying to establish the record for the most umami per milligram.
Simply put, tasting is believing. Only a handful Californian residents and lucky tourists could enjoy the fantastic taste of JINYA Ramen. Not anymore. With as low as $350K initial investment, you can own and run “JINYA, Ramen Bar” in your location.”
Check out some of their menus here.
Ghana Cafe closed here back in June 2014. For a hot second Crow Bar had plans to reopen here but that fell through. Updates on the new Rames spat as construction progresses and they get closer to opening.
14th Street looking north towards Rhode Island Ave, NW
UPDATE: Tickets now available.
From an email:
“Mess Hall is pleased to present “Ramen World”, a collaborative culinary event to take place on Sunday, February 8th, 2015 featuring some of DC’s best culinary professionals, music, specialty cocktails and most importantly – food.
Ramen World will showcase DC’s ramen-heavyweights Eric Bruner-Yang from Toki Underground and Katsuya Fukushima from Daikaya. It doesn’t end at ramen; guests can expect to enjoy custom creations from Adam Morgan’s hugely popular Donburi, and foodtruck rockstar PhoWheels. The US Bartenders’ Gild will be creating craft cocktails to complement the many dishes. Desserts will be provided by SnoCream Company. Additional participants will be announced at a later date. This event will highlight some of the most popular and renowned brands in the DC metropolitan area, in addition to fostering relationships between chefs, restaurants, and customers. This embodies Mess Hall’s core values.
About Mess Hall
Mess Hall is a unique culinary incubator, born out of a 10,000 square foot warehouse and a need for commercial kitchen space in the city. Shared by food professionals who come together to cook share and collaborate, Mess Hall also houses premium event space with an open demonstration kitchen. The space is often used for pop-up restaurant concepts or other events that revolve around local food concepts. Mess Hall also provides exclusive resources, support, and innovative programs to help pave a path to success for it’s Members. The facility is located in the historic Edgewood section of Washington, DC – and a 10 minute walk from either Brookland or Rhode Island Avenue Metro Stations.”
703 Edgewood Street, NE
1990 M Street, NW
Nagomi Izakaya has opened in the former TakEatEasy space on M Street. Their website says:
“What is an Izakaya “居酒屋” ?
An izakaya is a type of Japanese drinking establishment that serves food to accompany the drinks. It serves as a gathering place for good drinks, good food and good times.
We are a family owned and operated restaurant located in the heart of Washington, D.C. We chose the izakaya concept because it is something we are familiar with. The idea of having a place to go to unwind after work and grab good drinks and great food is something we enjoy and wanted to bring to the neighborhood. We hope to see you soon!
Lunch
Monday to Saturday
11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner
Monday to Thursday
5:00pm – 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday
5:00pm – 11:00pm”
Check out their menus:
1817 M St, NW just west of Connecticut Ave
Changes continue on the 1800 block of M Street – the Sala Thai space (formerly Maoz Vegetarian) is becoming Oki Ramen.
Recently M Street has seen the opening of Parlay, MPire and relatively recently Souper Girl and Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop.
