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Boru Ramen - South Arlington on Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive - In the Former Maruko Space


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It's actually located closer to the intersection with Walter Reed.  It will be located right next to the Cinema/Drafthouse.  I haven't patronized any restaurants there, but i understand there is a parking lot in the back (at least, that's where Bangkok 54 patrons park).

I haven't been to a ramen restaurant yet, but am definitely wanting to try one.

 

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Dropped in today. Atmosphere is pleasant, with some awesomely cheeseball lounge covers as the soundtrack--think Foo Fighters played as a samba.  Very friendly host and waitstaff.  The chef attended several broths in sort of a semi-open kitchen (think hockey penalty box) next to the bar.  

"Hakata" Tonkotsu was thick and velvety as you'd want it to be, with thin scallions, egg and four generous slices of tenderloin inside along with a standard-size portion of noodles.  The flavor of the broth was maybe just slightly too salty and the meat just a little overdone, but overall this was an excellent bowl of ramen I'd put up against Jinya or Ren's.  Yeahwife enjoyed Buta Kakuni and its generous pork belly slices. I also enjoyed a couple bites of the crispy chicken in the Karedon donburi we ordered for four-yeah-old, and the curry itself was pleasantly spicy, though perhaps best enjoyed on the side. 

I think Columbia Pike now hosts our go-to ramen shop.  Next I think I'll give the Shio a try and see how it compares with Bantam King's. 

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Ate there last night. I enjoyed the sake chicken ramen, which came with bok choy (yay, I haven't seen that as a ramen addition in the couple of places I've gone), bamboo shoots, chicken breast, and scallions (way too many for my taste, but they were all on top in a fluffy tangle and I should've just lifted them off as I prefer only a little). I added wood-ear mushrooms which are a nice option to have.

Good broth, springy ramen, good flavor all around. I think I prefer the milkier chicken broth at Gaijin Ramen, but this was an excellent option. 

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We ate here a few nights ago and tried the tonkotsu and spicy miso ramen. Really delicious stuff. The pork was tender and flavorful. The broth was rich, and thick, and fatty in the best of ways. The noodles were excellent too, much better than other ramen we've had recently. 

The staff were friendly and attentive and the space itself is very pleasant. At the moment, this is definitely our favorite ramen in Arlington and we'll be back soon.

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I had a fantastic lunch here yesterday. I started with a "Hot Asian," a delicious, seasonal cocktail made with hot sake, cider and cinnamon sticks. I loved my "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen." The pork bone broth was rich and flavorful, the noodles were excellent, the pork was tender and tasty, and the egg was rich and satisfying. These flavors were enhanced by the scallions and seaweed, and I enjoyed the texture and taste of the sesame seeds. I am happy to have found such a good ramen spot so close to my home.

The service was excellent, and the music...interesting. I found myself drawn to the lounge-singer covers of pop hits, singing along in my mind to a slow, sleepy and oddly appealing rendition of Kesha's "Tick Tock." 

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3 hours ago, TheMatt said:

In an update, I went to Kimen Ramen this afternoon for dinner. I had their mazemen ramen (ETA: from the menu: soupless ramen, spicy hot minced pork / egg yolk / fish powder / minced garlic / green onion / chives / dried seaweed -- note, wasn't that spicy) and it was good! I'll be back.

That said, I'm not sure the music they were playing was of this world. Or I'm getting old.

Wow, we were thisclose to hitting up Kimen Ramen tonight; we instead went to Boru Ramen, which remains a semi-reliable neighborhood ramen house, with decent tempura and gyoza (stick with the Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen if you go, and don't expect anything more than "serviceable" - they have good Rice Lager in the $10 range, and the Chokara Junmai ($14) is a decent small bottle of sake).

The music at Kimen can't possibly be any worse than the music at Boru (although to Boru's credit, it's something of an undercurrent - the worst of the evening was a J/K-Pop rendition of YMCA (yes, *that* YMCA)).

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19 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Did you all know that Boru Ramen was owned by Bangkok 54?

(I can't actually verify this, but their websites strongly imply it.)

Confirmed. It's okay to park in Boru's lot and dine at Bangkok 54, and vice-versa.

(For those who don't know, there's a little dine-in noodle shop in the grocery store - undoubtedly, it uses Bangkok 54's kitchen, as does, I suspect, anything requiring extensive treatment at Boru Ramen.)

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On 7/9/2019 at 2:14 PM, DonRocks said:

Confirmed. It's okay to park in Boru's lot and dine at Bangkok 54, and vice-versa.

(For those who don't know, there's a little dine-in noodle shop in the grocery store - undoubtedly, it uses Bangkok 54's kitchen, as does, I suspect, anything requiring extensive treatment at Boru Ramen.)

Wish I would have known this!  But luckily there was street parking in the back street.  Hubby and I went to Boru Sunday, we were going to go to Gaijin, mainly because I like some of the other appetizers there, but they are take-out only right now.  And I wanted fresh ramen and didn't feel like leaving Alex/Arl area.  I got the Tantan Ramen and Hubby got to Tonkotsu.  He thought his was fine enough, but mine was very good.  The bowl I had was better than Gaijin by a long shot.  I thought it had good spice without being overly spicy, had a very good amount of pork, and the noodles were good. 

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On 9/25/2021 at 9:47 PM, ArlFred said:

Can the title be edited to corner of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive? 

Thank you for correcting my mistake, ArlFred - I used to conflate George Mason Drive and Walter Reed Drive all the time when I first moved to South Arlington.

Boru Ramen is in the same complex as Bangkok 54 (both the restaurant and the market), and they’re all owned by the same owners. It’s a good call to get some dumplings here before your ramen, as they’re not bad at all. This ramen shop won’t win any awards, but if you’re in the area, it’s not bad and they have parking (you can park in the lot out back). I’ve been here a dozen times in a pinch.

Cheers, Rocks

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