Review: Akahoshi Ramen is Exceptional

Estimated reading time: 3.5 minutes (745 words)

Akahoshi Ramen, the new restaurant from Mike Satinover, opened recently in Logan Square to grassroots fanfare that few restaurants receive.

For the unfamiliar, Satinover established himself on Reddit and Instagram as something of a ramen expert with the moniker “Ramen_Lord.” Not quite an amateur or a restaurateur, his ramen exploits lived in a gray area that was only accessible visually. Appetites were whetted when ex-Chicago Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger wrote in 2017 that Satinover’s ramen was “the best ramen in Chicago — and you'll probably never try it.”

Enter Akahoshi Ramen. The name translates to “red star,” which is fitting for Chicago as well as Sapporo, where Satinover first discovered ramen and which also incorporates stars throughout the city. The restaurant itself is mid-size with seating for about 35 customers at a time (we had a reservation but a walk ins were being welcomed with minimal wait time throughout the course of our meal). Warm tones and gentle materials underscore the meal to come. The space is not quite minimalist but it is simple. It keeps the focus on its raison d'etre: ramen.

The menu is simple as well: just four ramens and three sides are currently represented. Extra portions of certain ingredients are available, but starters and desserts are absent. Drink options are tight too, with five cocktails, four beers, three sakes, and three wines.

With such a compact menu it’s easy to try a representative sample of the Akahoshi experience. On our visit, my wife ordered a glass of the Beaujolais and the Aburasoba dry ramen, while I stuck with the theme and had the Akahoshi old fashioned and the Akahoshi miso.

The drinks were elevated if standard; the acidity in the wine, for example, cut through the richness of the aburasoba, while my old fashioned technically contained shio koji, a savory Japanese marinade, although I didn’t necessarily pick up on it.

The ramen, of course, is the star of the show, and the two we ordered could not have been more different from each other.

Akahoshi’s menu explains that aburasoba was created by college students at Waseda University in Tokyo. It is a brothless ramen with “extra thick noodles, garlic, and soy sauce.” The bowl also came with chopped scallions, kombu, and cubed chashu (pork belly). Of course, just because it did not come with soup does not mean it was dry — the soy sauce and fat from the chashu provided enough moisture to hold the dish together well. The noodles were straight and “extra thick,” according to the menu, and held the oil and fat well. Aburasoba is meant to be mixed together, and when it is, it is a cohesive bowl of an understated form of ramen.

According to our waiter, the Akahoshi miso should be considered the restaurant’s standard ramen: the type of ramen underscoring the entire venture. The menu describes it as containing a “blend of misos, homemade crinkly Sapporo-style noodles, plenty of lard.” It was also topped with two well-portioned slices of chashu.

This was my ramen, and I was in the zone as I ate it.

The miso blend created a heavily umami flavor and a silky richness that can only really be found in good ramen. The noodles were wholly different from the aburasoba; these ones were wavy and resembled the noodles that come in Maruchan packets (rest assured that Akahoshi’s noodles are much better). They also had a good amount of chew, and not quite in an Italian al dente sort of way. These noodles had body and structure in every bite.

The bowl was almost perfect. By the time I finished, I noticed that the pork belly was fairly dry, and certainly much drier than it should have been to complement the other ingredients. But that was the only shortcoming. Between both bowls there was hardly a stumble, and the issue that existed was minor.

Every component of Akahoshi is thought through, from the spoons that were designed not to fall into the bowl to the texture-pointed chopsticks that aid in gripping the slippery noodles. Dessert would be a welcomed addition to the menu, but our waiter cast some doubt on its inclusion, owing mostly to the staffing and complexity of adding another branch to the menu. Even without dessert, though, the meal was more than satisfactory, and Pretty Cool Ice Cream is right across the street anyway.

Ultimately Akahoshi Ramen is more than a restaurant — it is the culmination of a deep-rooted culinary passion. It shows.

This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Mike Satinover’s name.

Left to right: Akahoshi old fashioned, aburasoba, Akahoshi miso

Details

Stars: Three 1/2 (out of four)

Price: $ (out of four)

Style: Japanese

Atmosphere: Warm, comforting, minimal, focused

Location:

Akahoshi Ramen

2340 N California Ave

Suite B

Chicago, IL 60647

Website:

https://www.akahoshiramen.com/

Star guide: one - poor, not worth time or money; two - mediocre, worth a visit on occasion; three - very good yet with issues; four - exceptional quality

Price guide: $ - cheap; $$ - affordable; $$$ - special occasion; $$$$ - rare opportunity