Folks, it appears as though we have our own authentic little slice of sovereign Japanese territory right here in South Denver. That's right, we have the only Oshima Ramen restaurant in the entire United States (as of 2005). "What is Oshima Ramen," you might ask? This is where I'm hoping are readers in Japan can pipe in. According to Westword Magazine, Oshima Ramen could possibly be categorized as the McDonald's of Japan (if, in fact, Japan didn't already have McDonald's), and I'm hoping that this alleged ubiquity means that the Drews or the Rocks have been to one of these establishments. Despite the McDonald's comparison, Westword goes on to say wonderful things about this little place; as does a Denver Post story, and a Rocky Mountain News blurb. We thought the food was awesome! Viv had gone there for lunch last week with some coworkers and had Marielle and me try it with her this past weekend.
I told her that it will most certainly become our food pit stop of choice whenever we head to Colorado Springs from now on because it's on the way. I couldn't shut up about it while we ate. I took pictures of us eating, pictures of the pictures of the chain's other stores, and I even got a picture of my very own poorly-translated English. I was in rare form (perhaps it was the MSG). The restaurant was nice and simple. Their primary decoration was the photographs of the other franchise locations, Keiji Oshima's vision statement of what ramen should be, and posterized versions of the newspaper articles I linked to above.
The Westword article mentions that this restaurant in the only U.S. location in the chain (and on closer reading, it looks like they are based around Tokyo, so never mind Drews and Rocks). This fact just blew me away. Can you imagine the frequent-flyer miles the "Western" Regional Manager is racking up? Knowing this did, however, make it a bit funny that they chose to locate their U.S. flagship store in a rundown strip mall on Hampden. But having had the noodles, all of this is OK. This place rocks. Lisa, PC, and Nathan, when the tour in Japan ends, you can always count on Oshima Ramen to take you right back. BTW, the crazy looking guy shown in two of the articles. He was there. The "office" mentioned on the "sign" above ... it's his office.
1 comment:
Im glad you guys found a 'real' Japanese restaurant- I think most people think real Japanese food means sushi or some sort of Asian fusion type food. We havent heard of the restaurant. While it may be popular in Tokyo I think if you ask any Japanese person the consensus is that the *good* ramen is in Hokkaido/Sapporo. How does it compare to your Sapporo noodles?
PS-- Im glad there was Engrish there. That adds to its authenticity. It has my seal of approval.
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