At the brick-and-mortar location of Otaku Ramen in The Gulch, the interplay between chef and diner is what makes it both intense and so much fun.
The best seats are at the bar, looking into the kitchenwhere you can watch the sometimes awkward, sometimes graceful dance the staff puts on while they maneuver in and out of tight spaces, dropping baskets of noodles into boiling water and seasoning each bowl with a balance of other ingredients, like poached eggs, long strands of pork, and rectangular sheets of nori seaweed.
There is a clear chicken broth (shoyu), a creamy chicken broth (paitan), and a vegetarian miso brothbut the pork broth offers a fatty and satisfying richness that the others just don't. Each version of the ramen can be added to with extras like a Korean chili paste or miso butter, plus proteins like pork confit or tofu. And don't overlook the occasional special, like donburi rice bowlsoverflowing with sticky rice, these are piled with other ingredients, like the kara-age donburi with its addictive chunks of fried chicken thighs, pickled ginger, and vinegar-laced daikon slaw. (On the original menu, these are now offered as the occasional special.) If you're looking to share something before the main event, the okonomiyaki, a scallion cabbage pancake topped with nori, kewpie mayonnaise, and pickled ginger, comes out sizzling in its own skillet.