Friday, March 5, 2010

Review: Ren's Ramen, Bethesda

Shoyu Ramen

After several tries, amid scheduling and random closings, N and I finally made our way to Ren's Ramen in Bethesda for dinner.  We were the only ones there for dinner- I assume that maybe it just happened to be a slow night, or maybe others had also assumed it was closed?  Anyway, we settled in and ordered- Shoyu Ramen for me, Miso Ramen for N. 

I tend to order Shoyu ramen (soy sauce-based) by default because I've never been a fan of Miso/Shio (salt)/etc -based ramen in general.  This one was a generous bowl of noodles, bean sprouts, a few slices of chashu (pork), a sheet of nori on the side, and a handful of green onion.  I thought the broth was v. tasty and rich, which I love- to me, the broth definitely needs to be able to stand up from all the "stuff" in the ramen itself.  The noodles were chewy and I liked the texture of them.  Overcooked noodles can turn v. gummy and gross, which is definitely not appetizing. 

Overall, I thought this was a great bowl of ramen, and I hope that this place can stick around for a while.  The only main issue is that it's sort of out of the way, and with such a limited menu, I'd literally only go there if I really really really wanted ramen, since there's maybe one or two other dishes available there.  I'm definitely glad I got a chance to try it, and will head over there whenever I get another ramen craving!

2 comments:

  1. you make me feel like a slacker! i haven't posted a review for the longest time T_T

    i hope ren's doesn't close! it's such a niche, specialty place--would hate to see it go.

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  2. @Nicole: I know, I hope it doesn't close either. I was thinking about going there this past weekend but didn't get around to it.

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