The Best Ramen Shops in the United States

Chicken paitan

The Mensho shops serve toripaitan, a creamy chicken broth. Mensho Tokyo SF in the Tenderloin makes it thick and heavy with garlic, Mensho in Oakland has a Smoked Toripaitan, and Mensho Ramen in Mesa tops its signature bowl with wagyu and makes the noodles in view of the room. Fried enoki chips are a starter at all of them. Marufuku Ramen, upstairs in the Japan Center mall in San Francisco's Japantown, has chicken paitan beside its Hakata tonkotsu.

Plain buildings

Many of the shops are in buildings that are easy to drive past. RamenYa in Glen Burnie occupies a converted Pizza Hut, with a glass window onto the noodle machines. Tatsury Ramen House in Elgin is in a strip mall, Fuji Ramen is off I-45 in League City, and Speakeasy Ramen is in a residential part of Springfield with street parking only. Ichigoh Ramen Lounge in Dallas is hard to find even on arrival, behind an unmarked wooden door next to Angry Dog in Deep Ellum.

Mixed menus

Ramen often shares the menu with other food. Fuji Ramen serves sushi rolls and Korean dishes and makes Birria and Tex-Mex ramen. Shiromaru in Troy has a long sushi menu, Ichi Kaku in Fayetteville adds curry and teppan plates, and Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya in Portland serves izakaya sides and will make a lower-sodium broth.

Counter service

At Ichi Kaku orders go through touchscreen kiosks that take cards only, and diners seat themselves and clear their own trays. Shiromaru takes the order and payment at the register and brings the food to the table, and at Mensho Tokyo SF each person must order a bowl and pays right after sitting down.