I’ve recently gotten very interested in the writings of food critics. I recently read former New York Times critic, Ruth Reichl’s book, Garlic and Sapphires, which got me more interested in the writings and work of current restaurant reviewers. Last week, I read the Des Moines Register’s Datebook Diner review of Krunkwich Ramen House, for which the headline read, “Krunkwich Ramen wins on Creativity, not consistency.” Having visited Krunkwich for the first time in December, I wanted to visit again test out this claim on consistency. Also, after looking at all the beautiful professional pictures of ramen bowls, I was really craving some noodles.
Krunkwich is located on Ingersoll Ave in Des Moines, an area of town home to a variety of restaurants and bars of many persuasions. My first visit to the restaurant was hectic, the entire place was crowded and bustling, and my friends and I had to stakeout a seat. This time, there were only 2 tables occupied, the shades pulled down because they were “broken,” and a little stuffy. That being said, the decor is cool, an entire wall filled with childlike paintings of happy cats and food.
The great thing about Krunkwich is its admirable effort into being vegan/vegetarian friendly. They have a vegan broth which can be paired with any of their ramen choices on the menu, including the full-vegan ramen. They also have noodles, sandwich, rice, and tot options that can be made vegan as well.
Not only is Krunkwich known for its Ramen, but they are also known for their variations on tater tots, or as they call them, “Krunk Tots.” These tater tots are seasoned with “Krunkspice,” i’m not really sure what it contains but it was sort of neutral and I only really tasted salt. The tots themselves were pretty spectacular, soft potato pillows, crispy on the outside, and no oil residue on my hands! They were served with “Miso Whiz,” a cheese sauce with miso! This is a great combination…but I could have used some ketchup. Next time, i’ll definitely try the Kimchi Tots, it could use a little excitement.
Now, onto the Ramen. I tend to stay away from pork, but I wanted to try something other than the Vegan Ramen I had last time, so I chose the #6 Chicken Ramen with roasted chicken, deep fried corn, and shredded napa cabbage, along with the standard pairing of nori, fish cake, and green onions. I ordered this option with the vegan broth. Zach got the #99 #$@&!! Ramen, or the Super Spicy Ramen, with seasoned pork, pulled pork, kimchi, 99 sauce, and jalapeños.
I had higher expectations than I should have, honestly. I was craving ramen for days, and it satisfied my noodle itch, but everything else was so plain. The broth didn’t have much of a kick – I had to douse it in sriracha, the corn and cabbage were mediocre, and the chicken was almost as bland as middle school lunch meat. It was chewy and pale and ruined the entire bowl.. I ended up eating the noodles and the veggies and discarding the sad chicken. The addition of the egg was good, but the blah feeling I got from the dish overall still left me sad. The ramen was so disappointing.
Zach’s on the other hand was pretty good. He mentioned that his pork was juicy and flavorful, the broth and the vegetables were spicy (doesn’t it look scary?!) but not unbearable. I didn’t observe any tears of suffering from the spice, he seemed pretty content.
Overall theme is pretty spot on from the Datebook Diner, the creativity and the ideas are there, but the execution is pretty meh. They could improve the execution of each of these things, cook the chicken with some spices, add a little kick to the tots, maybe add more chili pepper in the ramen, spice up the dang chicken! I may go back, but to try one of their sandwiches, rice dishes, or spicy tots, but after two not-so-impressive tries with the ramen, I won’t be ordering it anytime soon.
The Bottom Line
Good potential, needs improvement on execution. Try the loaded tots and spicy ramen!
Cone Rating: 3.5 Cones
Price Range: $ (Around 10$ for one person)
Location: Des Moines, IA
aditi eats 