What We Ate for Dinner :: Ren's Ramen

Ramen is probably my favorite food in the world; I'm sure I've mentioned it on my other blog before. Having lived in LA, with its large Japanese and Asian population, decent ramen was easy to come by. And having lived in Japan on-and-off throughout my life, I've had some delicious ramen that I still dream about.

When we were deciding where to move to -- San Mateo, CA or the DC area -- I honestly took into account easy accessibility to Asian food and markets. When we ultimately chose DC, it was with full knowledge that we weren't going to be able to eat Japanese food and buy Japanese groceries like we used to. (Korean and Vietnamese restaurants and markets are pretty abundant here, but we're having a hard time finding a decent Japanese food selection.) Luckily, ramen is catching on here and there are a few places in the DC area that are supposedly worth checking out.

The closest ramen place to our new house is Ren's Ramen, which specializes in Sapporo-style ramen. Sapporo is the capital city of Hokkaido, the northern-most Japanese island. Sapporo ramen soup is miso-based, and the toppings include many regional products like butter, corn, and seafood as well as minced garlic, chopped pork, and bean sprouts. The point is for the ramen to be filling and warming during the cold Hokkaido winter.

I haven't eaten a lot of Hokkaido-style ramen, mostly because it's not so common in the LA area. But we need to find a ramen place to call our own and that means methodically trying each and every ramen place in the area. When we arrived around 6:30 on a Saturday evening we were immediately seated, but it started to get busy 15 minutes later, and there was a wait by the time we left.

Maya and I ordered the Sapporo-style miso ramen to share, and Rupert and Ian each got the Sapporo-style tonshio ramen. We also ordered a side of gyoza. Only after we ordered did we look up and discover a bunch of other ramens and toppings listed on the wall. Ah well, next time.

I enjoyed my miso ramen and preferred it over the boys' tonshio ramen, which is unusual because I'm a huge fan of tonkotsu-based soups. I found the tonshio soup to be too sweet, but I couldn't put my finger on what made it seem that way. The noodles were good, and they better be since they import their supply directly from Sapporo. The gyoza were incredibly underwhelming and totally not worth the $5.50 for five pieces. Now I know to skip the gyoza and order some extra toppings instead.

The ramen at Ren's is OK and will suffice until we get back to LA (or go on another Japanese vacation). I foresee this being our go-to place because of its proximity, but we'll have to see how the other ramen places stack up.

[updated November 2013: The service was kinda terrible today, and I'm gonna blame the "chef" who was sticking his nose into the front of house's business. I get that you have rules, but don't be a rude jerk about it. Your food's not that great that you can get away with that kind of attitude and customer service.]

Ren's Ramen
11403 Amherst Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902
(301) 693-0806 no reservations but you can call for take-out

Lunch: 11:30am to 3:00pm    Dinner: 5:00pm to 10:00pm
(except Sunday we close 9:30pm)
Closed: Every 2nd and 3rd Tuesday of the month - See more at: http://www.rens-ramen.com/location/#sthash.CjKQTYf0.dpuf

 Lunch: 11:30am ~ 3:00pm
Dinner: 5:00pm ~ 10:00pm (Sunday: closes at 9:30pm)
Closed: 2nd and 3rd Tuesday of the month
Cash only
Street parking (there are a couple of spots in the tiny parking lot; do NOT park in the lot for the stores next door)

11403 Amherst Ave.
Wheaton, MD 20902
301-693-0806

< Business Hours >
Monday to Sunday     
Lunch: 11:30am to 3:00pm    Dinner: 5:00pm to 10:00pm
(except Sunday we close 9:30pm)
Closed: Every 2nd and 3rd Tuesday of the month
- See more at: http://www.rens-ramen.com/location/#sthash.CjKQTYf0.dpuf

11403 Amherst Ave.
Wheaton, MD 20902
301-693-0806

< Business Hours >
Monday to Sunday     
Lunch: 11:30am to 3:00pm    Dinner: 5:00pm to 10:00pm
(except Sunday we close 9:30pm)
Closed: Every 2nd and 3rd Tuesday of the month
- See more at: http://www.rens-ramen.com/location/#sthash.CjKQTYf0.dpuf