Follow the Cheap Bastard as she scours the city, looking for a good -- or at least non-lethal -- lunch for less than 10 bucks.
Fork count: 0 Deep Ellum Hipster count: 8
Everything about ramen is good. From the broth to the noodles to the whatever-the-fuck-else-you-throw-in-there. When it's at its best, it's the most soothing, tasty-ass comfort food you've ever eaten. When it's at its worst, it reminds me of that time I used a block of Shrimp Top Ramen to level out my twin bed at college. All good times.
Tanoshii Ramen (2724 Commerce St.) is in Deep Ellum, right next to Angry Dog. It has taken me several months to eat at Tanoshii Ramen, because every time my hand reaches for Tanoshii's door, I smell the sonova-ground-beef-bitch-delicious burger grease smell coming from Angry Dog and my body immediately gets Angry Dogged. "SMELL MEAT MUST EAT MEAT GO ANGRY DOG." Tanoshii really needs to work on its just-outside-the-door wafts. Ramen has zero waft game, and I know it must be hurting them, especially in Deep Ellum. Pecan Lodge's waft game can be wafted all the way over on Commerce Street, if the wind is blowing in the right direction.
When I got a head cold, I knew it was the perfect time to go to Tanoshii. A bowl of soothing ramen would be delicious, and my nose was too stuffed up to be Angry Dog wafted.
I tried the braised pork belly steamed buns ($9) and the tonkotsu ramen ($10), to see which one of these would be worth your bucks when you're pre-partying in Deep Ellum at night, before you go to Twilite Loungetown or Black Swan Lagoon or Anvil Beertimes or wherever you cool nighttime people get to go.
The pork belly steamed buns (spicy mayo, iceberg, cucumber, cilantro, pork belly, three to an order) were the perfect food to shove in your face when you're drunk, complaining about a night of awful decisions and social fails. They're a little sticky, too, so your voice will be muffled and your friends won't have to really understand what you're bitching about.
The tonkotsu ramen (pork soup with mushroom, a soft-boiled egg, sprouts, scallions) was a nice, soothing bowl of hugs. It worked wonders on my head cold.
The food was great for the price. If you can work up the willpower to not be swayed by the waft game long enough to get yourself through the doors at Tanoshii, you should be pleased.
