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The Classic Nudo ($12) is the best pork tonkotsu ramen I’ve eaten in St. Louis, so deeply flavored you expect to find Porky hanging out at the bottom of the bowl. As with the Hebrew Hammer, the broth is the prime source of pleasure, made with pork bones boiled for 20 hours. In the soup are slices of pork belly marinated for two days and then braised. Garlic and a traditional shoyu (soy sauce) seasoning accent the pork richness.
Where can I find Nudo House (Creve Coeur) online menu prices?
I immediately spotted the name above the restaurant, cleverly featuring a noodle bowl and chopsticks worked into the logo. There are two banh mi sandwiches on the 20-item menu, including the Banh Mi Pho Dip (pictured above), a riff on the classic French dip. Flank steak is cooked in pho stock before being shredded and mixed with pho onions and bone barrow; a side of au jus is clarified and strained beef pho stock. Pho costs $10–$13, with the highest price version being a beef-chicken-and-shrimp combo that Trans calls 3-1-Pho Shizzle.
Menu
Why are such Asian amalgamations so successful at Nudo when they’re often rendered clumsily in other places? It has much to do with the kitchen’s considerable talents. Ramen, of course, is a current culinary craze, but almost universally its presentation in the U.S. is compromised, lackluster at best. Most cooks lack the expertise for great noodles; word has it that Nudo’s owner went on a ramen pilgrimage to be tutored by the masters. Arguably one of the most notable kosher delis in St. Louis, Kohn’s Kosher is a butcher shop, restaurant, bakery and grocery store all in one. Kohn’s beef, veal and lamb are all locally sourced, and if you’re planning on grabbing lunch, the Kohn’s Killer Pastrami is a must.
Nudo House is a perfect pairing of ramen and pho and two chefs' styles
So Velasco and Tran named their chicken tonkotsu ramen the Hebrew Hammer. A bowl ($12) is a revelation — not least as you wonder how a broth can be so rich with emulsified fat, how it can so perfectly slick the springy noodles, without any porcine assistance. When Marie-Anne Velasco and Qui Tran were developing the broth for Nudo House’s chicken tonkotsu ramen, the chefs marveled at how much fat rose to the top of the pot. When it opened last summer, Nudo House STL almost instantly became one of the top ramen restaurants around, combining hip with sophistication, fun with a serious approach to the art of noodle noshing.
You could probably plan subsequent visits around the Curry Up ramen with tempura Japanese squash. And never, ever leave without ordering crab rangoon or the Vietnamese chicken salad. I went on line to find out more about the new culinary trend that’s sweeping the country. This preserves the wholeness of the noodles and opens up the lungs to the steamy broth. You start first by contemplating the bowl and patting the floating pork slices, before commencing the noodle nibbling.
The Art of Noodle Slurping
Nudo excels too, however, in that equally challenging arena in which a variety of Asian ingredients are masterfully blended. A crusty banh mi sandwich comprises crispy tamarind-flavored chicken, cilantro, sour pickled carrots, crisp cucumbers, and a piquant mayonnaise. A ramen bowl loaded with meaty sliced oyster mushrooms is equally unusual. A luscious oily-rich chicken broth flavors the Hebrew Hammer ramen. An oddball version of pho, with chicken, beef, and shrimp, defies expectations of this iconic stew. Any of these could have turned out silly or, worse, a gastronomic mutant.
Soy milk is the unexpected ingredient giving this broth its creaminess. Tran says that along with “a few other surprises,” a brothy, vegetarian ramen will also be available. The flagship Nudo House opened in Creve Coeur in 2017, and a second location opened on the Delmar Loop in 2021. “In 2019, when chef [Nakamura] opened his first restaurant in the U.S.—Nakamura in New York City—Marie-Anne and I were on hand, honored to be able to help him do that." In 2016, while spending a week with him in St. Louis, Tran and Velasco refined their vision and drilled down into the subtleties of ramen preparation. “I don’t think we would have been as successful as we became without his tutelage” Tran says.
"The food and staff are fantastic. Everything from the tamarind chicken, to the crab rangoon, to the ramen are addictively delicious." Il Bel Lago is a taste of The Hill in Creve Coeur, thanks to brothers Carmelo and Frank Gabriele, the family behind the famed Giovanni’s on The Hill. After nearly 20 years in business, the restaurant is an icon on Olive Boulevard with a robust lunch and dinner menu that has something for everyone.
Nudo House Is Now Open in Creve Coeur, Offering Ramen with Mai Lee's Pedigree
Qui Tran is a popular and well-respected chef in the area, having worked most of his life at Mai Lee, the family’s restaurant, that first brought Vietnamese cuisine to St. Louis 30 years ago. He wanted us to try the Spicy Miso Noodles and the Mushroom Ramen. He wasn’t there, he said, but his Noodle Squad would be there to serve us and Marie-Anne would give us the tour. This week Robin, JC, and I were driving along Olive on our way out to Creve Coeur. We were in search of Nudo House, a ramen noodle shop located in a busy, shopping mall.
Checking in with… Chris Ladley of Nudo House - Sauce Magazine
Checking in with… Chris Ladley of Nudo House.
Posted: Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The Japanese also insist that diners slurp loudly to show appreciation for the dish, but I didn’t notice anyone observing this tradition. Qui Tran, co-owner of Mai Lee once told me, that it was his dream to someday have a noodle house. I am so happy for him and co-owner and executive chef Marie-Anne Velasco. It took several years of travel, research, and hobnobbing with the ramen masters in New York and California, but they pulled it off. Nudo house serves a selection of wine, beer, canned cocktails, and sake, but we do not have a full bar. Nudo house is available for delivery through the Uber Eats app.
You’ll also find some exceptionally fine ramen and other edibles that reflect a rewarding merger of Asian foods. Although it might fly under the radar, Anis Hyderabad House is a gem in Creve Coeur, with an extensive menu of standards and creative dishes that balance flavor and heat. The options when it comes to chicken, goat, lamb and seafood curries alone are nearly endless, with favorites such as achari chicken and vindaloo. Don’t forget to take a peek at the specials list on the menu before you order, where you’ll find a rotation of dishes that don’t stick around for long. La Bonne Bouchee has been treating the St. Louis area to French pastries and confections for over 40 years thanks to owner and Master Chef du Patisserie Olivier Leguet, but sweets aren't the only thing it has to offer.
Try The Francesco, a layered salad piled high with tomatoes, eggplant, arugula and Bufula mozzarella, which is a favorite, or go big with the veal Milanese. For dinner, try the Paccheri con Guanciale, a tomato-based pasta dish with bacon, onion, Pecorino and fresh basil, which hits all the right notes any time of year. The ambience is ideal for a lunch meeting during the week or a quiet night out with friends. It’s a rare thing to find the words “karaoke” and “good food” in the same sentence, but at Joo Joo, it’s exactly what you’ll get. The restaurant-karaoke room hybrid serves a full array of Korean barbecue, hot pot, appetizers and much more. Snack on savory pancakes and jap chae, or order the bulgogi rice plate – a classic – with an order of gun mandu (Korean dumplings).
“We just want people to be able to meet someone of his caliber and taste some of what made him so famous. Think of it as a meet-and-greet, along with some really good food. Tran says the “homecoming” with Nakamura has been years in the making. He couldn’t have loved the food more—'world-class food,' he called it. Plus, there’s an energy in the food community here, and he felt that, too, so he was anxious to return. Qui Tran, owner of Mai Lee and Nudo House, counts Shigetoshi "Naka" Nakamura as one of his mentors and friends.
(The house selection seems to change; if a Hitachino stout is available, try it—a stout complements ramen’s hearty broths better than any other beer.) And dessert? Soft-serve ice cream regularly rotates with tropical flavors. Red miso, wine-redolent and bearing a salty smack, flavors the O’Miso Spicy ramen with a pungent saltiness beneath the considerable fire of the broth’s chili-hot spice.
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