The 12 best bowls of ramen in Chicago — including an unbreakable tie for first place

I probably expect too much from a bowl of ramen. While the city has been packed with plenty of solid options for a while, I’ve been waiting patiently for the kind of madcap, mercurial ramen that strikes one silent after one slurp. I know the traditional view of dining celebrates mealtime as a chance to share food and discussion with your fellow diners, but when it comes to ramen, I want a bowl so transfixing I’m content to ignore everything and everyone else.

I’m happy to report that it’s here. Actually, they’re here. And I can’t decide which place I like better.

One is Menya Goku in North Center, the latest project from Satoko Takeyama and Jee Kim, the duo behind Chicago ramen staples Wasabi and Ramen Takeya. The other is Chicago Ramen, a suburban spot run by Kenta Ikehata, a Japanese chef who spent the past few years opening acclaimed spots in Los Angeles.

What unites the two restaurants is a passion for sweating the details, and a great bowl of ramen has an endless number of them. No place advertises how their ramen is simple to prepare. Instead, chefs lavish attention on broths that bubble for hours. Toppings must taste great and be arranged atop the bowl with an artist’s attentiveness to color and symmetry. Noodles need to be both slurpable and springy to the touch. (Interestingly, almost all of my favorite places get noodles from Sun Noodle, a ramen noodle producer headquartered in Honolulu, while my least favorite make their own. Go figure.)

What is it about ramen that breeds such obsessiveness? I put the question to Hugh Amano, who recently co-authored, with illustrator Sarah Becan, the comic book cookbook “Let’s Make Ramen.” Amano sees a lot of similarities between comics and ramen. “The passion for comics and anime happens with ramen, too,” says Amano. “Americans tend to fetishize the Japanese-ness of it. For me, growing up with a Japanese father and visiting Japan often, it’s something I’ve always loved and been exposed to.”

He does think that ramen has turned into an “elevated comfort food,” where customers have pressured restaurants to work harder. “The food scene in general has become more elevated, so you can’t get away without being the best in town,” says Amano. “The eating public has become more demanding.”

I certainly have been demanding. Just three years ago I wrote over 2,500 words about how my favorite ramen in the city was served by an amateur ramen enthusiast named Mike Satinover in his tiny Buena Park apartment. He’s now serving that excellent ramen at pop-ups around Chicago under the name Akahoshi Ramen. (I didn’t include it here because it’s not open full time.)

But exciting developments have occurred since then. A surge of new openings of Japanese ramen chains raised the standard, while a few of the existing ramen restaurants decided to focus on quality. In particular, ramen in the northwest suburbs has boomed. This makes sense. According to Hideki Makino from the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, the Japanese population in the Chicago area is 12,147, but only 2,728 live within the city limits. Instead, many reside in the suburbs northwest of O’Hare International Airport, such as Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights, Palatine and Elk Grove.

Over the past month I’ve visited 24 ramen restaurants, eventually whittling down the list to 12 essential picks. What’s exciting is that these places focus on a multitude of styles. Sure, most specialize in tonkotsu, the extra thick broth made from boiling pork bones for hours. But others serve lighter broths made from chicken and dashi. When it came time to pick my absolute favorite, I couldn’t I decide between two restaurants, eventually awarding a tie. Not only that, but those two each served two bowls that fought for my affection. What a pleasure it is to have too many great bowls of ramen worth worrying about eating.

Here they are, listed in ascending order to the two favorites tied at the top.

12. Ramen Wasabi

The bowl: Original tonkotsu ($14)

Wasabi serves multiple styles of ramen, but the one that stands out is the original tonkotsu. That’s probably due to the fact that the kitchen takes about 45 hours to make each batch of broth. I also love the garlic oil drizzled on top, which adds an even stronger umami punch. Owners Takeyama and Kim have gone on to open more specialized ramen restaurants, but Wasabi was the first step toward building their growing noodle empire. 2101 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-227-8180, wasabichicago.com

11. Ramen Misoya

The bowl: Tokyo miso ramen ($10.90)

I’m a sucker for miso ramen, and in the past had enjoyed the bowl served at Ramen Misoya’s downtown location. Sadly, the ramen I recently tried was staggeringly salty and lacking in balance. The suburban outlet, however, was a completely different story. The Tokyo miso ramen put the miso flavor forward, which lets the wild complexity run rampant around your tongue. 1584 Busse Road, Mount Prospect, 847-437-4590, ramen-misoya.com

10. Benkei Japanese Tonkotsu Ramen

The bowl: Benkei ramen ($11.99)

By the end of my ramen hunt, I had become extremely sick of tonkotsu. Each meal felt like a battle of my stomach versus the fatty, salty broth. So I wasn’t too excited about visiting Benkei, which specializes in tonkotsu. Fortunately, the store cuts the porkiness with dashi, lending each sip some much needed lightness and complex fish flavor. All the other details are cared for, including great thin noodles, sweet and crunchy cabbage and an egg with a molten yolk. 23 E. Northwest Highway, Palatine, 847-221-8547, vegiitausa.com/benkei-chicago/

9. Strings Ramen

The bowl: Tonkotsu ramen ($13.95)

Strings serves a number of different styles of ramen, but the tonkotsu is the most popular. It’s easy to see why. Instead of drumming you on the head with thickness, the broth has a rich, roasted depth that almost comes across like a super dark chicken stock. The thin noodles have bounce, while the ample portion of pork is beautifully tender and packed with an unexpected sweetness. 2141 S. Archer Ave., 312-374-3450, ramenchicago.com

8. Ramen Shinchan

The bowl: Tonkotsu ramen ($11.75)

The tonkotsu broth at this Palatine shop is creamy white, rich and extra porky. Fortunately, it’s seasoned in a way that brings out this meatiness without clobbering your palate. In the bowl you’ll find very thin noodles, which have a good springiness to them. Instead of extra fatty meat on top, you’ll get a slice of lean yet tender pork. Just know that this place fills up fast for lunch, though fortunately they have a waiting room for overflow. 1939 S. Plum Grove Road, Palatine, 847-496-4189, ramen-shinchan.com

7. Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

The bowl: Salt ramen ($9.95)

For many years, this Japanese ramen chain situated inside the Mitsuwa Marketplace food court was the undisputed ramen champion in our state. Remarkably, its quality hasn’t dipped a bit. Though it’s called salt ramen on the menu, this is really a version of tonkotsu. But while the porky broth is creamy, it’s never overbearing. There’s also a sweet nuttiness to each sip that lures you to keep slurping. Dig around and you’ll find plump slabs of pork belly, along with a single pickled red plum. 100 E. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, 847-357-0286, mitsuwa.com/ch

6. Ramen Takeya

The bowl: Chicken paitan ($13)

This West Loop project from Satoko Takeyama and Jee Kim went all in on a chicken paitan, which is made by aggressively boiling chicken bones for hours. That explains how each sip tastes like the essence of an entire chicken. Think of the best bowl of chicken noodle soup you’ve had, and then multiple that times 10. The noodles have a playful bite to them, and I like the addition of raw onion for the fresh crunch. Make sure to locate the incredibly tender braised pork, which is both juicy and slightly sweet. 819 W. Fulton Market, 312-666-7710, ramentakeya.com

5. Kinton Ramen

The bowl: Pork classic ($11.95)

Japanese ramen chains are one thing, but a Canadian chain? I was a doubter until I first sipped the milky white broth, which bursts with meatiness thanks to both pork and chicken bones, but also with a faint fishiness from bonito flakes. It’s creamy, but not too overly oppressive, so you don’t get fatigued halfway through. The fat bouncy noodles are the perfect pairing for the broth. Each serving comes with sizable slices of pork and a whole egg, complete with a molten yolk inside. 163 N. Sangamon St., 312-374-3942, kintonramen.com

4. High Five Ramen

The bowl: High Five signature bowl half spice ($14.95)

High Five is not for the meek. The perpetually packed spot underneath Green Street Smoked Meats serves a bowl that’s outrageously thick and heavy, thanks to a combination of a hearty tonkotsu broth and salty miso paste. Order it without any spice, and it can seem all too much. But get it with half spice (full spice goes too far) and marvel at how the chile heat does battle with that broth, pushing and shoving for attention. I also love the noodles, which are thick and wavy, and grasp onto the soup when pulled from the deep. It’s kind of out of control, and definitely not for everyone; but this is Chicago’s most unique bowl of ramen. 112 N. Green St., 312-344-1749, highfiveramen.com

3. Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai

The bowl: Kitakata ramen ($8.99)

Like several places around town, this Japanese ramen chain uses a broth made from pork. Unlike most, which favor a super thick tonkotsu-style, the broth here is meaty but not creamy and overly rich. This allows you to appreciate the ample amount of chashu pork placed precisely on top. Thin slices of the absurdly juicy pork are arranged in a circle around a center of sliced green onions. Underneath, you’ll find irregular wide-cut noodles, which mingle happily with the broth. 1129 N. Roselle Road, Hoffman Estates, 847-744-6425, ramenbannai.com

(Tie) 1. Chicago Ramen

The bowls: Tsukemen ($10.95) and chicken ramen ($12.95)

Though named Chicago Ramen, this new shop has zero connection to the city. It’s located in suburban Des Plaines, and it’s run by Japanese chef and Los Angeles restaurateur Kenta Ikehata. But they can call it anything they like, as long as they keep dishing out ramen this incredible. The restaurant specializes in tsukemen, a sort of deconstructed version of ramen, where the noodles and broth are served in two separate bowls. The thick and springy noodles are rinsed after cooking, leaving them cool and slippery on the tongue, yet still with a remarkable ability to latch onto liquid. The chicken-vegetable-pork broth with miso paste comes out screaming hot and as thick as gravy. Take a sip and it can seem aggressively salty and meaty. But dunk some of the noodles in and each slurp is a riveting balance of cold and hot, bouncy and creamy.

If you’re not feeling up to the heft, consider the chicken ramen, which features a stunningly clear broth that’s as calming and nourishing as the tsukemen is crazy and over the top.

578 E. Oakton St., Des Plaines, 224-938-9982

(Tie) 1. Menya Goku

The bowls: Goku tan tan men ($14) and modern shoyu ($14)

I took one slurp of the tan tan men ramen at Menya Goku, Takeyama and Kim’s latest ramen restaurant, and I knew it I was in for something special. Each sip of the porky broth was spicy, but not incendiary, with a thick nuttiness that clung to the wire-thin, yet still springy noodles. Thanks to the addition of Sichuan peppercorns, a numbing citrus note hovered around the heat, making it feel like you just wrapped a thick sweater around your body. Is there a better bowl within the city limits?

If there is, it’s the modern shoyu served at the same spot. Instead of relying on an ultra heavy tonkotsu broth, this shoyu has a base of chicken broth and dashi, the traditional Japanese seafood broth. It’s clean, balanced and will taste even better in the warmer months ahead.

2207 W. Montrose Ave., 773-227-8180

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com