Last month, Nombe Restaurant on Mission added lunch service with a hearty beef ramen from new chef Noriyuki Sugie, who has already demonstrated great talent with an impressive beer week menu.

Most ramen shops use pork meat for toppings and pork bones to make their base broth, normally a blend with chicken and kombu seaweed. So, Bay Area diners who cannot eat pork for religious or personal reasons, usually have to settle for vegetarian versions of ramen. This is no longer the case, now that the city has chef Sugie’s beef ramen, a recipe he developed for his pop up dinners in Los Angeles. The robust beef bone broth is blended with miso, for a balanced taste. Each bowl of noodles is $13, which includes a choice of either beef cheeks or oxtail. I recommend the beef cheeks. Additional toppings: a soy sauce marinated soft boiled egg, and corn kernels with butter for $1 each. For some heat, ask to add spicy sauce for 25 cents more.

This beef ramen is available for both lunch and dinner. Vegetarians haven’t been forgotten, there is a veggie miso ramen too. Ramen lunch is available Tuesday thru Friday, 11 am to 2 pm. Dinner service is 6 pm to 10:30 pm, Friday and Saturday until midnight. Closed Mondays.

Photo Credit: Luis Chong, January’s DAT lunch special – 2 courses: beef ramen, mini donburi, and drink for $17.95, yum!

• Tag: Beef Ramen, Chef Noriyuki Sugie, mission, nombe, ramen, Restaurants