As a student in Japan 16 years ago, Mike Satinover became a ramen otaku, the Japanese word for a geek, a fanatic, an obsessive — a person looking for the differences that elevate bowls of noodles from excellent to life-changing. Once he was home, his mania turned to kitchen experimentation, which he documented on Reddit as Ramen_Lord, making him the internet’s most famous ramen autodidact. At this, his first restaurant, he has created a brief, dialed-in menu of handcrafted noodles matched to complementary soup stocks and garnishes. His signature style, miso ramen, is that of Hokkaido. It’s salty and intense and glistens with molten lard — a punch in the face of flavor for which his slick, squiggly noodles are as much salve as garnish. His soupless tantanmen, with hot and numbing spice, sesame, and ground pork, is something you’ll want to inhale, but slow down to appreciate its high-def flavors. His Midwest shoyu, with its thin, straight noodles and dried-fish-enhanced chicken broth, is also a banger. Satinover keeps tweaking them all: For him, a satisfying bowl of ramen isn’t so much a recipe as a quest. 

Price: $$
Address: 2340 N. California Ave.
Website: akahoshiramen.com