SoSoBa — Restaurant in Flagstaff

I’d heard all sorts of good things about SoSoBa and was excited to try it. I’ve been geeking out on making my own legit ramen at home and I always enjoy seeing what everyone else is doing.

SoSoBa is creative and borderline over the top. Their Mic Drop Ramen (given this name because they think quite highly of it) features various pig parts prepared in six different ways, from the base pork broth to toppings like carnitas and chicharrones, which are beginning to blur culture lines. My coworker said it was “a bit much,” and I could see why. That’s a lot of pig.

I ordered the Katsu Ramen; the blend of chicken and bacon and grilled corn enticed me. My bowl came out, I kid you not, somewhere between lukewarm and room temperature. Ramen is meant to be eaten HOT, and consumed quickly. I told my server and he lickity-split had the kitchen replace it with a steaming hot bowl. That was kind of him, but equally the bare minimum. He didn’t offer anything else as recompense, not that that was what I was looking for, but it would’ve been a nice gesture for the embarrassing inconvenience. I hate sending food back, but the older I get, the more I realize it’s not my problem, it’s theirs. And a lukewarm bowl of ramen?! Red flag. Yikes.

Their other problems included a so-called miso dashi broth that was quite opaque and flavorless, servings that are a touch too small and overcrowded with ingredients (I’m a sucker for simplicity), and a tight space that makes it difficult to find seating. On the plus side, the staff were friendly and attentive and the vibes were pleasant and hip.

SoSoBa ended up being SoSo for me. My hot bowl was night and day better than the initial lukewarm bowl I was served. That first bowl should’ve never left the kitchen. And the broth and tare (miso/dashi), for me, are the backbone of a bowl of ramen, but they just didn’t show up like I’d hoped, perhaps because they were overshadowed by the toppings that severely overcrowded the bowl.

SoSoBa is innovative and spunky but fails to meet the fundamental and foundational expectations that make for a lipsmacking...

I didn’t have much expectations for good ramen, given it’s a Japanese restaurant run in the middle of Arizona but everything from the food to service was just horrible. Firstly, we ordered a tsukune which tasted like it was frozen, fried, frozen, and reheated after a week. The 2 tantanmen and 2 ‘Mic drop!’ also both tasted so off. This is supposed to be a tonkotsu broth but tasted like water. There was no texture or consistency to the broth at all. Similar to other reviews, it was old and just not well made. The pork was old, overcooked and hard. The ramen also took over an hour to arrive and the tsukune appetizer took longer somehow. For my personal ramen order, I asked for a few modifications. It came last and none of the modifications were made at all. I called out the waiter and he immediately gave me attitude, raised his voice and said we somehow did not ‘specify’ enough about the order. (Some of the modifications I asked was to remove kimchi and bacon and have ramen noodles instead of udon noodles (god knows why they put bacon in ramen?!))and he acted as if I never asked. I even pointed it out on his order sheet to which he grunted and just left the table. I walked to him to clarify and he immediately denied being wrong again and told me it’ll come out again which somehow took 20+ minutes. It came out WRONG again as well. If you have never had ramen or Asian food, this may taste good for you but I can assure you that this is one of the worst, if not the worst ramen or even noodles I have ever had in my life. Just awful food using awful quality ingredients. They did take 1 ramen off the check but that does not justify the quality of the food or service. The people who gave it a good review either didn’t like authentic Asian cuisine or just never left flagstaff, or...

Unique, tasty ramen in a modern and fun restaurant with a super convenient location in downtown Flagstaff and phenomenal service. I came here for dinner with my parents on a Saturday evening in July, and I was incredibly grateful that we were able to snag a seat despite how many people had flooded into this popular weekend stop! My parents and I each ordered the Hostile Takeover (the normal version for them, the vegan and gluten-free version for me), and we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. The soy and kombu broth was incredibly flavorful (which, as my ramen-loving vegetarian friends know, can be quite difficult to accomplish), and the tofu was perfect for soaking up all of that deliciousness. The broccoli retained the perfect level of crunch, and the shishito peppers were delightfully smoky and delicious. Each of the other aromatics shone through perfectly, and the little piece of nori on top was a nice touch (although I will say that I would've preferred a bit more). Our shishito peppers were originally quite burnt, so they didn't serve them to us with the original bowls, but they later brought them out to us to enjoy without us even asking about them (or, honestly, even noticing that they were missing), and I'm so glad that they did! Their attention to detail was a testament to their dedication to service, as they wanted to ensure that the noodles didn't get soggy while they were waiting for the shishito peppers, nor did they want to serve us burnt peppers. All in all, really impressed by the food but especially the staff, and I can't wait to visit Flagstaff again just to eat another vegan...