Union Ramen Bar — Restaurant in New Orleans

This is a wonderful restaurant with a beautiful room, in a very charming part of Magazine Street - my favorite street in New Orleans.

All the staff were extremely sweet to me.

My service dog Panchita is all dog carnivore - a huge meat-eater. Had I been here with her, I would certainly have ordered chicken on the miso soup - and given most of it to her.

But Pancho is in the Avenue Wellness and Emergency hospital on St. Charles today. Had I gotten the chicken, I would certainly have enjoyed it.

But I know that there is so much about the production of meat in this country - and elsewhere - that is terrible for the planet. I have been feeing progressively more troubled about Pancho’s and my ongoing reliance on meat. (And she has been starting to eat some potatoes and even carrots - and I know of dogs who eat a lot of vegetables.)

As I was ordering, one voice in me said that I should toast my very sick little doggie by ordering the chicken.

But another part said,

“She’s not here today to enjoy the chicken - maybe you could honor her more by starting to eat less meat.”

As I was writing those words, the stereo played one of my fav dance songs: “Real Love” by Mary J. Blige.

To me, the message from the Universe was very clear: “Honoring your wonderful little dog - who you may never see again - by choosing to eat fewer of her animal brethren…Now that’s real love.”

I ordered the miso soup with fried tofu instead of chicken - and it was fabulous!

“Panchita - here’s lookin’...

Finally a good vegan ramen! I liked this place so much I had it twice within one week. I had the miso ramen minus the egg. Also tried the lychee tini, Hana white peach sake, 2 different plum wines. Please be mindful that the alcoholic beverages may not be vegan and you should ask the appropriate questions to ensure that they are. I completely forgot about that.

Miso ramen I added corn, bamboo shoots, and double confit oyster mushrooms. I loved the broth and everything about the bowl. It was warm with lots of depth and the noodles were light. I didn't care too much for the roasted tomatoes or the bamboo shoots. I loved the confit mushrooms. It adds a nice crunch to the bowl. The corn is roasted or sautéed? It adds a sweet freshness. I added the chili when I was halfway done.

Lychee tini - served cold. Of the 4 drinks this one was my least favorite. It's definitely fruity and refreshing. However, compared to the other ones I can taste the alcohol in this the most.

Hana white peach sake - served chilled. It's delicious and refreshing.

Gekkeikan Japanese plum wine - served room temp. It's sweeter than all the other ones. It's supposed to have a tartness to it but I didn't taste it at all. It reminds me of the Vietnamese banana wine.

Choya Umeshu Japanese plum wine - served chilled. My lunch date said this one is sweeter than the other ones. I don't think so but I do like it better since it's served cold.

Even if you aren't vegan you'll still love...

I’ve visited other ramen bars around New Orleans before but this was my first time visiting Union. First thing, I liked the decor and atmosphere — it seemed like a super laidback working environment and the person responsible for taking care of us was really friendly and attentive. They were playing all 90’s music, loved that. I actually liked how the tables were pretty small and intimate, even from sitting across from someone you could still have a quiet conversation despite there being music playing.

The drinks menu for cocktails was great, there was a cool variety. I forgot the name of the drink I got, but it had hibiscus tea, dried blood orange, and a rosemary spring. They were out of quite a few things when I visited, even though it was 7 pm on a Friday. I was eagerly trying to get their soup dumplings, but they were out.

I ended up getting the brisket to start out and the original ramen, adding corn. The meat was very fatty and tender, seasoned great. The broth was quite salty but not to the point of turning me off — maybe someone who was sensitive to salt would find it overpowering. The noodles were thin with some bite to them, and it additionally came with spring onion and bamboo shoots. I added the lowest heat-level chilli oil and found it was more for...