Daruma Ramen

I recently attended a soft opening at Daruma Ramen, Austin's latest ramen shop, brought to you from the owners of Kome up on Airport Blvd. They've had ramen on their menu at Kome, but I am sure after seeing how popular Ramen Tatsu-ya and Michi Ramen have been, they decided to venture into the land of noodles as well. 

There are a number of things that set Daruma apart from the others.
-- It's located downtown, on 6th Street (yup), on the north side of the street, between Sabine and Red River Streets.
-- It's a tiny little spot, with at very most, seating for 30, and that would be pushing it! And while I love the decor at Ramen Tatsu-ya (I still haven't been to Michi), I really enjoyed the cherry blossom wall paper, and very minimal, clean lines of Daruma.
-- They're using a chicken-based broth, as opposed to the more traditional pork (tonkatsu) broth, and they have a vegan ramen bowl too, so these broths aren't quite as rich.

There were four of us (and you can read Mad Betty's take on Daruma here), and there were four ramen bowl options, so we got one of each, and passed them around the narrow table.

Shio -- certainly the lightest and cleanest, you can taste the chicken in the broth (which also takes hours to make). This would be the perfect "chicken noodle soup" when you are under the weather. The same noodles are used in all the bowls; I thought they had a nice texture and give to them, but more on the noodles in a minute.

Shoyu -- very similar to the Shio, but with the addition of dashi (made from fish and kombu seaweed) broth, which gives it a little more depth. Also characterized by the fish cake, or naruto, the white and pink-swirled piece next to the soft-boiled egg.

Miso -- this seemed to be the consensus favorite at our table! The addition of miso to the chicken broth really brought the umami sensation to your palate. Plus you have shredded chicken, the saffron threads, and a bit of chili oil.

Vegan -- talk about eating the rainbow, this was a gorgeous bowl! This vegan broth also takes an extremely long time to produce, which also makes it a touch more expensive than the other ones. Apparently in the broth is made primarily from Japanese sweet potato and I believe pineapple. At first I didn't really get the fruit influences in the broth, but I was gradually able to taste a light sweetness with almost tropical undertones I didn't see any sesame seeds (as listed on the menu) nor really taste the ginger in this bowl, but it will surely be popular with the vegetarians and vegans!

As we were eating, owner Kayo came over to talk with us. She had seen we were taking pictures of everything, and asked how the food was. She also told us about the noodles. They had just met with the noodle man from Los Angeles, and after sampling lots of different noodles, they decided to change the noodle slightly from what were currently eating. I was happy with the ones we had, but I believe the new ones will have a touch more bite to them. 

So on your next venture to 6th Street, go check Daruma out, but just remember, this is a lighter style of ramen than the other shops in town. The friendly staff also told us what "daruma" meant -- it's the little creature depicted on their bowls that serves as their icon, that's known as a talisman of luck to the Japanese. Good daruma, indeed.

Garlicky Goodness

Austinites, have you ever been to Phoenicia Bakery and had the garlic sauce they serve with the roast chicken and cheese breads? A couple friends and I have been addicted to that stuff, but haven't known what it was called or how to make it. A chef friend of mine couldn't even figure it out. We were all stumped. One day, I stumbled across something online, and the mystery was solved! It's called toum, and it's a Lebanese garlic sauce, similar to a French aioli. The original post I read is from a blog, and you can read more about toum here; I have adapted their recipe.

Garlicky Goodness – aka Toum (aka Crack)

1/2 cup fresh garlic cloves* 
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (it may more though!)
2 cups grapeseed oil (or other light, neutral tasting oil)
3 - 4 tablespoons lemon juice

* About the garlic: fresh, whole heads of garlic are preferred, but I have used the pre-peeled, refrigerated cloves too. Either way, once peeled, I remove the stem end, cut the cloves in half lengthwise, and remove the shoots in the middle -- the shoot is where all the bitter garlic aftertaste flavor is contained. This is a little time consuming, and your fingers get sticky, but I think worth it.

 

Have everything at room temperature before processing.

Put the garlic and salt in the food processor (I use my mini Cuisinart), and pulse until finely chopped. Begin streaming in the oil through the top of the processor with the motor running; alternate with the lemon juice. You may not need all of the oil (I usually use around 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups), but keep blending until it reaches a mayonnaise-like consistency; it will take several minutes. Check for salt.

Yield: about 2 cups. Keeps well in air-tight container in the fridge

I have come up with multiple uses for this garlicky goodness....what else can you think of?

-- garlic bread

-- toss with pasta

-- smear over chicken or a pork loin, add fresh herbs, and bake

-- make a bean dip with cannellini or black beans

-- vegetable dip  

-- burger/sandwich spread

-- on French/sweet potato fries

-- baked potato 

-- on pizza, instead of tomato sauce

-- with roasted/steamed veggies

Beets Raw Foods Cafe

I met a friend for dinner last week, and we both wanted healthy, so we met at Beets Living Foods Cafe. I didn't really know what to expect, but upon walking in, I immediately liked the modern lines and styling. It's also a large physical space, with ample parking, once I figured out where it was! (They're on West 5th Street between Mopac and Lamar, on the ground level of the 5th Street Commons building; drive (slowly) past the restaurant, then turn right, and go straight back; you can either park in the covered/indoor lot and take the back door into Beets, or behind the building.)

My friend had been a couple times before, so she told me about a few of her favorites, and I had the waitress tell me some of hers. I picked the nori rolls and a small Asian salad, and my friend had the carrot ginger soup (one of her and the waitress' favorites) and a large Asian salad; the salads can be prepared mild or spicy, and I went for spicy.

M's carrot soup came first, and it was really good! Nice ginger flavor, especially since I find ginger often gets lost in dishes like that. Couldn't help but wonder how it would be warmed up! (Remember, this is a RAW foods experience!)

Our salads were next. These have cabbage, kelp noodles, sea veggies, carrots, green onion, cilantro, radish, broccoli, and a sweet spicy miso dressing. Tasty, crunchy, the dressing was good; all very fresh.

But wait! What happened to my rolls? I had to ask about them because since they are listed as an appetizer, I thought they had been forgotten.... the waitress said they take a long time to assemble, so they were coming. This would have been nice to know up front, but oh well.  They did finally arrive, and I will say they were gorgeous, though difficult to eat.  Because of all the little julienned pieces, you really had to put the whole thing in your mouth or risk everything falling out. These were carrots, red cabbage, sprouts, and a "mock" tuna, made from some sort of almond paste, I believe.

And I was instructed to leave room for dessert. They have a case full of different options, but my friend definitely had her eye on the chocolate cheesecake. I got a brownie with mint chocolate chip ice cream. The ice cream  is made from a nut milk blend, and sweetened with raw agave nectar. The brownie had cacao nibs, dates, and I can't remember what else. I liked the ice cream, the brownie was ok... bit different texturally than what I am used to. The cheesecake however, was AMAZING! I didn't catch what was in it, but the texture was silky smooth, and the flavor was great. Almost better than any "real" cheesecake I've ever had.

It was a good meal, and I left feeling satiated. However, within an hour of getting home, I was totally craving a hamburger....