BOKE BOWL: VEGAN RAMEN BONANZA

Dave and I treated ourselves to ginormous bowls of unbelievable ramen today at a new SE noodle joint, BOKE BOWL. I love noodles, but often their broths are heavy on the meat and I end up with a plate of spring rolls and edamame. This afternoon was quite the opposite.

We ordered the fennel, miso broth with noodles and added tofu. Sounded pretty standard. We took our seats at a small table because the big, communal, mess-hall style tables were full up; in fact the place was hoppin at noon. I noticed a chef preparing steam buns and asked him about how they were made and typical fillings and we were promptly served an order of miso/mustard glazed eggplant buns. How generous! Show's what asking a little question can sometimes do for a gal.

After blissing out on our unusual, smokey buns, it was onto our ramen. Two hefty bowls of dark, unctous broth arrived, resplendent with chewy noodles, daikon radish, delicata squash, a variety of wild mushrooms, bean sprouts, broccoli, rice cakes and seared tofu. There were so many treasures in this soup, it was a veritable hunt/battle between my chopsticks, my large ladle for slurping (spoon envy!) and my mouth. After conquering half of my large bowl, I called it quits and noticed all the slurping stains on my shirt. Not the smoothest, sexiest eater, but I am enthusiastic.

Next visit to Portland, this should be on everyone's list! And fellow Portlanders beware, I will meet you here for an impromptu lunch any day of the week. Let's try the vanilla soft serve and house made butterscotch twinkies too!

BOKE BOWL
1028 SE Water Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
503-719-5698