Taste Test - Ramenburger

If you're into food and the latest trends in what's hot, you probably have seen the original Ramen Burger, a beef patty with sauce and some greens between two patties made up of ramen noodles. Now like any successful fad, there are copycats and you can find them in a few more places as other chefs of course pick up on it and remake it. That's life, but as far as I know, there is no where near me that actually sells a similar burger unless you go to DC and catch the original Ramen burger at a pop up shop.


This weekend, at the Emporiyum in DC I had my opportunity and you cold tell it was a hot commodity. There was a nice long line for the Ramen burger, but it moved quickly as the process is well oiled by now. Grilled burgers and pre-made ramen buns are prepped assembly style for your consumption.


The bun is just regular ramen, but the thing is, it can be hard to eat because ramen isn't prone to sticking to anything. When you add in the generous slathering of a teriyaki/soy sauce combination that isn't too wild or far out there. It is actually much more tame than I was expecting honestly. The beef patty is just that. It wasn't the best one I have ever had and I guess I expected the entire thing to have some sort of new or slick innovation. I sort of imagine a Five guys patty being much better in it's place and adding a little depth to it.


Overall I can say that I have experienced the Ramen Burger. Was it worth it? Sure why not, you only live once. Would I run to go and find one now if they were popping up again? I doubt it. It just didn't taste that good in order to justify it for me. It's an interesting thing to do but it wasn't wowing in the way I expected. Some of that is my own fault for build-up for sure, but at the end of the day it was just a decent burger...on ramen noodles.


Rating: 2.5/5

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Taste Test- Noodles and Company Spicy Korean Beef Noodles

The world kitchen that is Noodles and Company is good for some decent variety in the fast casual segment, especially when you're tired of the average burger, salad from panera, or Tex-Mex, all of which are huge players in the game. Since Ramen bowls have picked up steam elsewhere so it makes sense that a chain which is natural picked up on the trend.

The Spicy Korean Beef Noodle Bowl even has it's own suggested "pairings" from Coca-Cola while you sit and wait if you get a drink using the freestyle machine. Maybe my bowl was a little skimpy, but it didn't seem to be as much as the normal Noodles serving. The noodles were good and the sauce was excellent with a good balance of sweetness and spice. I could have used way more noodles personally because the sauce is so good with the noodles.

The beef was less memorable and it is interesting because I would think they are using the same beef with the japanese pan noodles as with this dish but maybe it isn't. The beef here wasn't as tender as I am used to getting from noodles and company and didn't hold onto the flavor as well. The vegetable were cooked perfectly so no problems there.


For me I have a fondness for Noodles and Company and I definitely see where this new dish can be a big winner for them. I'm not sure if it was this time and this location, but there was a little bit lacking for me although the potential is there for this to be a home run all of the time. The sauce was out of this world and I could use more of it with the noodles.


Rating: 3.5/5

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