LOCAL Houston | The City Guide January 2017 | Page 23

FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE + LEISURE
AGU RAMEN CUISINE : RAMEN / TAPAS 1809 Eldridge Pkwy , Suite 108 | 346.410.5328 | www . aguramen . com Open Daily : 11am – 10pm
One criticism I hear about certain restaurants centers on how much diners should pay for a dish that cost them very little in college . These same folks ignore they ate frozen pizza with square pepperoni and now are perfectly comfortable spending $ 23.00 for a Neapolitan pie .
Ramen is a perfect example . Wavy noodles with foil-packed MSG infused powder bear no resemblance to real ramen .
Photo courtesy of Agu Ramen
Okinawan Rafute
Agu Ramen , a Hawaiian chain owned by HASASHI “ TEDDY ” UEHARA , serves perfect bowls of ramen . For Uehara , the key is the broth . Agu ’ s tontaksu , the deeply rich pork broth takes more than a day to make . The Jidori ( chicken broth ) also simmers for at least nine hours . The tonkatsu topped with char sui ( barbecued pork ) and aji tamago ( marinated egg ) was spectacular . And don ’ t slight the noodles . Uehara makes the Hataka style for the pork and Tokyo for the chicken in house every day .
Beyond the ramen , Agu features Japanese appetizers to share . The Tori Nanban , sweet soy vinaigrette marinated fried chicken served with tartar sauce , was excellent . The Karaage , a spicier fried chicken served with volcano sauce , was another winner .
With two stores already open on the Westside , Agu is set to open its third store on Washington . Uehrara ’ s quick expansion is a matter of timing , as he got lucky and found three locations that already had kitchens he could adapt . His one struggle was tweaking the Hawaiian recipes to fit Houston ’ s humidity , temperatures and water . I promise you he isn ’ t struggling to find his Hawaiian magic . At Agu , you ’ ll find ramen made with care and time . After all , you shouldn ’ t rush perfection .
beans are shipped in daily from a roaster in Seattle , though some styles are locally roasted . I enjoyed the cortado as it had a perfect balance of flavors and was built not poured . The layers of coffee and milk make the difference , as Daniele explained , as the milk slowly falls into the coffee . The aromatic Turkish coffee , Frank ’ s personal favorite , isn ’ t for the faint of heart . The small glass packs more punch and caffeine . I went with az ekerli ( a little sugar ) to allow the strong flavors of the black coffee to come through .
Pura offers more than coffee . The teas available are from all over the world as well . I tried the blueberry matcha , a Japanese green tea infused with blueberry and cane sugar . Normally , matcha isn ’ t for me , as it can have a bitter flavor . The blueberry flavor and subtle sweet from the cane sugar won me over , a pleasant surprise which Daniele called “ happiness in a cup .”
For those needing a little food with their morning cup , Pura offers baked goods from two local bakeries , Kraftsmen and Three Brothers . Flaky croissants , muffins ( though only eat the tops ). Gluten-free and vegan options are available for those who want them .
Overall , Pura is as good as any coffeehouse in Houston , and an oasis to those in Memorial . I encourage you to go no matter where you live . Go for the coffee , stay for the education .
Coffee january 17 | LOCAL 23