It took a while, but Philly finally cottoned on to the ramen restaurant craze. Tucked into the miniature corner of 18th and Ludlow Street is the fledgling Nom Nom Ramen, a must-try Asian cheap eat in Center City.
The ambiance is clean and easy on the eyes, if not cushy. Perfect for a friendly gathering or a casual date night with someone you’ve prescreened and deem low-maintenance. Red and white parasols line the ceiling, punctuated with paper lantern globes.
The ramen novice is on equal footing with the ramen master at Nom Nom, which presents its menu in four attractive, unintimidating pictures just over the counter and a genuinely helpful staff.
Choose between a spicy and mild miso broth, and they recommend you try yours with a soft-boiled egg. Opt for the shio (salt) broth if you want to hearken back to your college ramen days with a gourmet upgrade, which has white soy sauce swirled into a tonkotsu base.
Tonkotsu is a traditional Japanese ramen style where the broth is rendered from pork bone. In fact, the Nom Nom website claims that they, “take the time to boil selected pork bones for more than 24 hours to extract the richness from the marrow, cartilage and meats.”
The result is undeniably savory.
Nom Nom is cash only, so remember to stop at the ATM along the way.
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