Sapporo Ramen & Grill — Restaurant in Midland

Update: Very consistent. They've added beef ramen in beef broth to the menu. It's now their richest broth, the beef is flavorful and tender, though I'd say chashu pork is still the more decadent meat option-- you can mix and match! If you want the richest broth get the Black Tonkatsu-- it started out tasty and fairly full-flavored before picking up the flavors of the added ingredients until very rich and in perfect balance, not overly salty. You WILL want to drink it at the end vs some places where it's either loaded with salt up front or you're tempted to add soy sauce for flavor making it too salty to drink later. This Ramen needed no tweaking. Owner Lilly says the broths are made in-house, taking 10 hours to develop their flavors, and it shows. The egg was marinated in something delicious and cooked perfectly so the yolk is still gelatinous and translucent with corresponding flavor. The Chashu Pork itself had great flavor and texture, with silky, mellow edge fat. I don't know the Japanese word for "al dente" but the noodles were precisely that and softened a bit as they soaked. I read this is as it should be, and regardless it suits my preference.

The BBQ Pork Bun was steamed into a delicately elastic blanket holding deliciously sauced, tender pork with cool cucumber and dark, crisp spring mix to counter.

Even the Mochi Ice Cream (I had green tea and mango) was of noticably high quality. The mochi dough was soft and stretchy and fresh in taste-- clearly well kept --and the ice cream inside had an intense and genuine character of its respective flavor. The green tea ice cream was dark and clearly a matcha-based product with all the herbal depth and a hint of tea tannins. The mango ice cream tasted like... mangos, but fresh, ripe mangos. If you've never had mochi ice cream this is the place to get it.

The Sake selection is of moderate size but notable for the breadth of tastes served among the unflavored varieties. Ask for guidance to ensure you end up with something sweet, dry, or in-between enough for your preference. Unlike management at most places outside of high-end restaurants in large metros, Lilly knows her sakes. I can recommend the Hizo Otokoyama Junmai Ginjyo if you want a classic, filtered, cold sake that's rich yet dry. It reminds me of some good daiginjos I've had, if a bit less complex. For unfiltered (nigori) sake, the Sasagasumi by Shirayuki is a mildly sweet take on the style with only 8-9% alcohol and a texture on the silkier side. It would pair well with one of the Teriyaki Pepper Rice dishes, complementing but not overpowering the sweetness of the sauce, or providing a relatively dry foil to a dessert while offering a luxurious texture and more responsible alcohol content after a beer earlier in the meal. Both sakes have impressively clean finishes.

Decor is attractive and modern but inviting, painted in relaxing hues and warm textures with colorful accent lighting. The expansive bar top consisting of pennies encased in clear resin provides a fun visual. Ambient music is a diverse mix, audible but unobtrusive. The kitchen is open, a conscious choice intended to exude energy and inspire confidence in the food, but, importantly, the ventilation was fully sufficient for a comfortable experience.

Sapporo Ramen & Grill's quality and focus stands out in this area, partly because such a model can be challenging to maintain in an oilfield economy. Lilly made it clear she appreciates constructive feedback from guests, so if your experience isn't as stellar as mine I'd encourage you to catch her ear. Show this place some love 'cause we need it and others like it here in...

We went there for lunch and it was great! The buffet is $20 ($30 if you go for dinner) And included a lot of options, including sushi, ramen, spring rolls and more!

The buffet works on '3 course' ordering system; your table orders at the same time, and selects everything that they would like brought out for the 'first course'. Then after they receive their food, they are then allowed to order a 'second course'.

The portions are smaller than normal to facilitate better accuracy of ordering, and hopefully so that people dont over order.

BE AWARE: They have on their menu that they can charge you for any leftovers you have, without prior notice. The server explained it was just if you essentially ordered food and didnt touch it, but it was still a little daunting, and made us really consider what we could eat.

That being said, the courses created a natural rhythm to our meal, allowing us to eat and have some time to talk before we got more food; it also meant that we ate exactly as much as we wanted. overall, a great experience, if a little bit too pricey to make it a regular occurrence for...

UPDATED REVIEW 2021: I use to love eating here, the dishes were so good and fresh. I ordered "to go" this time, and I was very disappointed that they gave me old, hard, and cold chicken with my "Grilled Chicken Ramen" dish. So, me being a customer for a while of theirs, decided to just call and ask them to remake the dish. I was told by the woman at the front to "Just come and get a refund if you don't like it, cause we make it fresh". Well it sure was not "fresh" this time, and I let her know that I would come and get my refund and that me, nor my family, will ever eat here again. What a way to lose a LOYAL customer due to them wanting to give me old chicken, and refusing to remake it. They should have just made it right the FIRST TIME.

This place was pretty good. Great service, and a nice selection to choose from on the menu. I enjoyed the "Grilled Chicken Ramen", it was very good, and my little family enjoyed their dishes as well. I will definitely return for some...