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[title]When it comes to ramen, Chicago just keeps getting better. The Melman siblings open Ramen-San, their new ramen spot inside Paris Club (59 W Hubbard St) tonight. If you're willing to brave the crowds, head over there today, when you can get half-off ramen from 4pm–1am. Here are five things to know:
1. It replaces the old Paris Club bar.
Paris Club closed for a remodel earlier this year, and now the bar area is filled by Ramen-San. The space seats 90 people, with 10 bar seats and 80 table seats.
2. They visited almost 50 ramen spots in Tokyo to research the restaurant.
R.J. and Jerrod Melman, chef Doug Psaltis, associate partner Kiran Pinto and general manager Amarit Dulyapaibul went to Japan to research the menu.
3. There are seven kinds of ramen.
There are some housemade broths, including tonkotsu, chicken and shiitake, but Psaltis isn’t making noodles in-house. They come from Sun Noodle, which has factories in Hawaii, Los Angeles and New Jersey, and which supplies noodles to lots of restaurants. The ramen bowls also include ingredients like miso, pork belly, fried chicken and smoked Bub City brisket. Ramen prices are $12–$17.
4. But that’s not all.
Rounding out the menu are a couple kinds of chicken wings (Szechuan, spicy curry and sticky Thai), mantou buns, nigiri and other small plates.
5. Paul McGee did the cocktail list.
Any place you can find McGee’s cocktails is worth going to, and the Ramen-San drink list includes Japanese whiskey and beer, plus cocktails like a Yamazaki old-fashioned, a Singapore sling and a cilantro-lime margarita.