‘It just feels good when you eat it.’ New craft ramen restaurant opens in Modesto
There’s a reason basically every culture has a signature soup. A warm bowl of deliciousness is a welcome comfort anytime — particularly in chilly winter.
So now one of the world’s most popular — and trendy — soups has its first dedicated restaurant in Modesto. Konfucious Eats, a new craft ramen shop, opened this week in the McHenry Village, inside the former space of Bauer’s 66 1/2 Skillet & Grill.
The iconic Japanese noodle-based dish is known to many only as that cheap crinkly stuff that comes in plastic instant noodle packages. But chef and owner Ernie Watkins is making his ramen from scratch, handcrafting his own broth, noodles and sauces to make for a more authentic experience.
“Why I think ramen is so special is that I think it has every component and everything in there to be a complete meal. The umami factor — the sweetness, the spiciness, the little bit of bitter and just everything comes together and makes a complete bowl,” Watkins said. “It just feels good when you eat it.”
His new restaurant debuts offering takeout only, and is strictly following the county’s COVID-19 safety restrictions which currently only allow for outdoor in-person dining, pickup or delivery. Because of the small space, with no storefront patio area to speak of, he’s only taking to-go orders for its pre-prepared ramen or build-your-own ramen kits.
New Modesto restaurant’s ramen bowls sell out
Since opening on Wednesday, he has sold out of all his ramen bowls — cranking out about 100 bowls a day. Starting this coming week he will begin doing half pre-order and half walk-in orders, in hopes of keeping up with the surge in demand.
For Watkins, ramen is a true obsession. He’s been to Japan twice, and is incorporating some of his Korean heritage on his mother’s side into his recipes as well. The result is a rich, flavorful broth and bouncy, toothsome noodles to be eaten by the slurp-full.
Watkins is starting with a small menu, but plans to rotate different ramen styles through about every three months. He also plans to add special and secret menu items, just to keep things interesting.
He currently has three kinds of ramen on the menu: garlic shoyu (fish-flake based dashi and clear chicken broth, pork belly, marinated egg, garlic, spinach, green onions, fish cake and nori), shoyu tori paitan (creamy chicken broth, pork shoulder, marinated egg, red and green onions, bean sprouts and fish cake), and vegan (vegetable-based dashi broth, tofu, spinach, bean sprouts, green onions, tomato and nori).
Bowls range from $15 to $16, and are more than large enough for a hearty dinner. He also offers various add-ons to bowls from more pork and noodles to other goodies.
Other Japanese appetizers, specials on new menu
But ramen isn’t all he has on the menu. You can also get Japanese-stype sandos (sandwiches made with crustless milk-bread and either egg salad, soft-boiled egg or breaded pork shoulder katsu) and a small selection of appetizers (spicy garlic edamame, handmade gyoza made with pork filling, and Japanese fried chicken). Both sandos and the appetizers run $6 to $8. You can also get special fruit-flavored Japanese soda to wash it all down.
And then there’s his Mom’s Famous Kimchi, which is a from-scratch recreation of his mother’s recipe for the perennial Korean side dish made with spicy, fermented cabbage.
Now, admittedly, part of the joy of eating ramen is in its presentation with the toppings floating on the surface with all that noodley goodness underneath. So Watkins has devised two take-home options. One is to get all the cooked toppings in a bowl, with the broth in a separate bowl to be warmed and then poured over the top. And then another is all the ingredients deconstructed, which can then be cooked together anytime at home.
Because he is a stickler for quality, Watkins isn’t selling his bowls all assembled, because the noodles would become soggy in the broth. That passion comes through in all his dishes, as does his pride in making something as tasty as possible.
Takeout can be pre-ordered or walk-ins welcome
With his sellouts, one of the surprises so far has been how well-received his vegan ramen has been. Indeed, all of his handmade noodles are vegan, which means leaving out the egg. His sun-dried tomato-based vegan broth took about two months to perfect. That care comes through, and you’ll likely not miss the meat.
By now you’re wondering, how do I get a bowl of this stuff already? Well, the best option is to pre-order — the link to buy bowls posts to the restaurant’s website Sunday afternoons. He plans to limit the number of pre-orders, so don’t dawdle. Or you can try your luck as a walk-in customer during open hours.
Either way, Watkins said he’s doing his best to meet demand and hopes people understand that unlike Top Ramen, his bowls take a lot more than 3 minutes to create. But then good things, like good craft ramen, come to those who wait.
Konfucious Eats, at 1700 McHenry Ave., Suite 66 1/2, in Modesto, is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. For more information call 209-424-3049 or visit www.konfuciouseats.com.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
