Rizin Japanese Ramen (来迅 ライジン) — Restaurant in Omaha

Cross country ramen reviewer is back at it again. This is the ramen that taught me respect. This is the third bowl of tonkotsu ramen I've tried in Omaha Nebraska in just as many days and it just might be my favorite in Omaha so far but it's really hard to choose.

Tonkotsu with extra chashu, corn, ajitama, and spicy chili. Most of the ramen I gravitate towards are bold and intense in flavor that can range into the wildly complex. This ramen was different. I liken it to my experience at the Andrew Zimmern rated Menya Ultra in my hometown of San Diego, in that this bowl while not being the slap in the face trip to flavor town I'm used to, was simple and what I imagine to be one of the most authentic traditional ramen experiences I've had in North America. The flavors just sneak up on you. But you have to slow down and listen for their subtle cues. The broth was absolutely lucious and creamy without being thick or leaving you feeling heavy. It had great aromatics and left me wondering why it was so good at being so simple.

The chashu was the most tender I have ever tried. Barely holding itself together between my chopsticks, lending to that sought after "melt in your mouth" experience. No tough or chewy chashu here. Like eating cashu flavored butter. Incredible. And the marinade of soy, sake and mirin came through with each bite without overpowering the pork itself.

The ajitama was cooked and marinated long enough to achieve that perfect jelly and almost crystal like center yolk with a pale marinade to the whites.

The chili was spicy and nose sweat inducing without causing burning discomfort and ruining the ability to taste the rest of the meal.

The corn, green onion, garlic, and sprouts were all very fresh and cooked appropriately where needed.

The noodles had my personal favorite of a nice, thick, al dente bite with a glossy and curly texture and yellow complexion.

The one area I wasn't a particular fan of was the menma or bamboo shoots. They were a little on the tough side for my preference which wasn't much of an issue, it's just that there was a lot of menma, SO MUCH MENMA I was curious if I accidentally got a double portion in my bowl. The flavor was good and I wasn't complaining otherwise especially since they were sliced so thinly it blended in well with the sprouts and noodles.

Ok..It's still a REALLY good bowl of tonkotsu. If you are looking for an authentic and supremely well balanced bowl of tonkotsu. Then Rizin Japanese Ramen is the...

I have seen a lot of hype about how great the food is here and I have been looking forward to coming in, especially since it is very conveniently located for me. I came in solo about an hour before closing and stood next to the “please wait to be seated” sign. The server and I made eye contact a couple of times and I waited for about 5 minutes. I figured she was busy running food and such and I am a very patient person. A couple came in behind me and the server immediately came over to greet them, and had them walk around me so she could seat them. When she started to walk back to her host station, I had to ask her if I could also get seated, and she told me to sit at the furthest seat at the counter. I wasn’t given a menu but there was one a few seats away so I grabbed that and waited to place an order. I was disappointed that there was no mayu (black garlic oil) on the menu. I decided on shio broth ramen with extra chashu (pork belly) and a tea. The tea never came. When the ramen arrived, I ate a slice of chashu and was surprised to find that it was cold when I put it in my mouth (I have never had chashu served cold before). I buried the rest of the meat in the bowl so it could warm; an easy fix but cold meat on soup loses points IMO. I was expecting to do my little happy-food-dance bc of the rave reviews but sadly the flavor of the dish was pretty unremarkable (maybe I should have went with a different broth). I was hungry and the noodles were nice so I did eat the entire bowl. I literally had two spoonfuls of broth left when the server came to check on me (I would have asked for hot sauce and salt earlier). I asked for the check and left feeling disappointed about the experience. It may have been an off day for them but having bad service and average food will prevent me from coming back to find out. Hopefully if you decide to eat here, your experience is...

The food was really good. My youngest was bugging us for sushi, but we said no. I wanted to try this place because it popped up on my Google Maps. I didn't view the menu ahead of time so the sushi was a pleasant surprise.

The place is nice and small and in my book that's not a negative. The service was good and it didn't take long to receive our order. We were feeling adventurous and tried the Tako-Yaki (Octopus Dumplings). Overall, the taste was decent, but I'm not a fan of ginger and the balls do have it in them. The insides seemed a little doughy and we weren't sure if that was supposed to be that way or not, but it wasn't horrible. I wouldn't get them again based off the ginger.

The Pork Belly on Rice fist was super delicious! My daughter ordered it and we sampled off of it. I'd order that in a heartbeat! My youngest had the crunchy sushi which went over well, but I didn't try it. My wife had the Vegetable Ramen and I had the Shoyu. Both were good, but my wife and I agreed that the Shoyu had a better taste.

I wasn't full and I had forgotten to order a sushi roll for us all to try so I went to the counter to order a Shrimp Tempura Roll. It was good and it didn't last long at the table.

We would definitely go back to this restaurant! Ale the food that wad ordered came to just over $50. That's pretty affordable in my...