David Chang , wide credited with bringing the Japanese ramen craze stateside when he opened Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City in 2004 – showing it ’s more than just that $ 0.99 pack you scarfed down in college – implied in 2014 that the once - pelvis soup had jumped the shark . But Chang was wrong : the truth is , a good bowl of ramen is never going to go out of style .
NYC may have had a mind start on the rest of the body politic on the Nippon comfortableness food craze , but that does n’t mean there is n’t a worthy roll to be found elsewhere … perhaps even in the unlikeliest of places . Say , the dry , stale Sonoran Desert , for example . Better known for chimichangas , tacos , Sonoranhot andiron , and prickly pear margarita , the Valley of the Sun is not exactly a citadel of Asian cuisine . But would n’t you know , there is a scene . Perhaps even more staggering is the generator of the Valley ’s most popular ramen bowl : a beautify fine dining chef know for haute improvisational taste menus .
Joshua Hebert is the chef / possessor ofPOSH Improvisational Cuisine , an eatery that tradition - design avant - garde form to match your ilk and dislikes on the spot . His ramen is just as head - spinning , just as mind - blowing , and it ’s appeal a unlike bunch – a mo younger , a bit more street nutrient - savvy – potential because of the lower price item and the slurp factor necessary to down a red-hot bowl of noodles .
Courtesy of Posh
So how did a native Phoenician , the son of a Catholic school instructor and a Judaic lawyer , end up in the improbable position of sling the best bowl of ramen in Arizona ? Long story .
Growing up , Hebert ’s family vacation always included a Nox when the whole fellowship dressed up to attend a theatre performance , which was proceeded each time by a meal at a fine - dining eating house . sop up inspiration from those five - star restaurant experience , he started muck around in the kitchen in eminent schooling , trounce up extravagant meals ( mostly to impress the dame ) . One affair led to another , and the first time he set foot in a professional kitchen , he was struck . He begged his room into the kitchen of a Phoenix eatery called Tarbell ’s ( which recently celebrated its 22nd year ) and ended up stay on a little more than five yr before getting the scabies to move on . Hebert then landed in San Francisco because he want to not only work in a town saturate with great restaurants , but also to run through in a townsfolk with great eatery .
“ I ’ve learned as much about food by corrode at other places as I ’ve learned misrepresent at other places , ” Hebert said .
Posh Improvisational Cuisine
After a stretch at Zuni Café under the direction of the late Judy Rodgers , he found himself chef de cuisine of a 40 - seat Asian spinal fusion restaurant in Pacific Heights called Cafe Kati . The proprietor signed a lot to spread out a adaptation of the restaurant in a major hotel in Tokyo and needed someone to move to Japan to oversee the orifice . Young , individual , and adventurous , Hebert raised his hand . He spent the first 10 24-hour interval barricaded in the hotel , but as shortly as he could cut at large one evening , he wandered the region and stumbled into a tiny ramen store .
“ That matter where you look at what the mortal next to you is eating and betoken at it and say ' please ' in Japanese because it ’s the first word of honor you learn ? They bring me a roll . It was … ” his voice trailed off , “ … amazing . ”
Did he remember what style of ramen it was ? “ Of naturally , ” he said . “ Goma . ”
Gwen Ashley Walters/Thrillist
Like any good artist , he knew he had to give it a gibe . Therefore , after settling back in his mother country , Hebert would do his first bowl of goma ( sesame - flavored ) ramen in 2010 , as well as three other styles – miso , shoyu ( soya sauce ) , and seafood – at a late - night " pop - up " at his then - two - class - old fine dining restaurant . For the first year or so , the late - night ramen was sporadic ; Hebert announced the occasional pop music - up on societal metier . As Word of God distribute , he committed to ladle hot soup once a week , but still only late at night , after regular dinner service . He knew he was on to something after catching antiaircraft from even customers about the belated - night hours , so in January 2014 , Hebert moved " Ramen Night " to its current dwelling , Tuesdays from 5 - 9pm .
Sensing a viable business chance , he began stab around town look for a permanent spot for a consecrated ramen store – he was looking for a acerate leaf in a haystack . It needed to be an subsist restaurant so entry costs would be minimal . It call for to be little ( 1,000sqft or less ) . It need to be in the right neighborhood , in the right localization , with sizeable tiffin and dinner traffic . Still , it could be a wild move to open a stand - alone , 20 - seat shop class dedicated to ramen . Phoenician , in general , are partial to well - known chains . Ramen , except among a choice group of hardcore , adventurous food buff , is unfamiliar .
But his efforts should doubtlessly give off . After all , there ’s a reason Joshua Hebert is known as the Phoenix Ramen King , even though substantial bowls served by others with more unmediated ties to Japan do be here in town . One arena of goma ( his signature tune ) is enough to break up any incertitude . Silky , fatty porc broth whirl with delicate dashi and season with no small amount of rich sesame paste ( import from Japan ) presents a commanding phase for bouncy , chewy bonce . Crunchy babe bok choy and shishito black pepper ply a modicum of sensibility . Julienned leek , a modest sheet of nori , and smoky katsuobushi ( dried , fermented shaved tuna ) miraculously waving in idolization atop the hot , steaming stock , engild the crown . An onsen egg is optional , except that it ’s not – for good cause . No one blink away an eye if you collapse in XTC after voraciously slurp down an orderliness – rupture , grin pinna - to - pinna when the waiter whisks aside the naked pipe bowl .
After two years of searching , and six years after serving his first bowl of ramen at a recent - nighttime soda pop - up , Hebert ’s dream of open a solo dome shop will presently come to realisation . His descriptively named " Hot Noodles , Cold Sake " will afford at the goal of July in the Sonoran Village shopping centre on the southwestern corner of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Loop 101 .
Say it with me : long live the King .
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