The keys to slurping your way through Ramen Soul — and their sushi sandwiches
A few months ago, I wrote about my Queen City quest for the best ramen in Charlotte. Currently, the post has over 60,000 views and almost 30 comments with suggestions – so I’ve decided to slurp my way through some of your recommendations.
In today’s update, I’m going to share some tidbits about my dining experience at Ramen Soul in Mooresville.
The background story: Ramen Soul is a newish eatery with a clever intermingling of ramen, dim-sum and rock-n-roll. The concept was crafted by Tim & Melanie Groody, who also own Fork! in Cornelius, which just celebrated its five-year anniversary. Hooray!
“We already have three great sushi restaurants in this area, so we wanted to offer a concept that was a little different,” Melanie noted.
The Groody’s are committed to serving the highest quality ingredients while sourcing from local purveyors, as much as possible. The all-day menu is short and to the point; offering six choices of ramen, four rice bowls, and a variety of chef-inspired small plates. The décor is entertaining, showcasing a fun twist on famous rock album covers together with various quotes from music artists.
What we ordered: For my first visit, I clearly had to try their Tonkotsu Ramen ($13). They offer a nice selection of additional toppings to customize your bowl, including kimchee, bok choy, duck confit, and three types of butter bombs (just to name a few). I opted to spice up my ramen vessel with a ghost chili butter bomb, which added slight heat, but did not overpower the rest of the dish.
The pork broth here is sinfully rich and creamy, with just the right touch of soy and spice. It’s served with a generous amount of melt-in-your-mouth pork belly, a gooey marinated egg, black garlic oil, nori, and scallions. The noodles were cooked perfectly, soft yet firm to the touch. I’m a sauce snob, so I was pleasantly surprised that each table was equipped with a bottle of house-made chili rayu (think garlicy, not spicy). I slurped up every last drop, it was that good.
Now I know what you’re thinking… a big bowl of steaming ramen is typically enough to satisfy a the hungriest of souls, right? However, while perusing through their menu we spotted something that we just couldn’t pass up. SUSHI SANDWICHES (gasp!). Say what? You read that correctly, Ramen Soul offers sushi sandwiches ($7)!
The menu currently has four varieties to choose from, including Beef & Egg, Eggplant-Avocado-Arugula, Teriyaki Smoked Salmon, and Sashimi Tuna. They each come with your choice of one side; and the Tokyo Street Corn did not disappoint. Sandwiches are served with a house-made dipping sauce, alongside wasabi and fresh ginger, which I recommend mixing the wasabi into the dipping sauce. Our sandwich was mind-blowing and we cannot wait to return to try the other three.
The booze: There’s a noteworthy cocktail menu with sake-inspired and non-sake inspired drinks. We ended up enjoying a few local beers during our visit, but we’ll definitely be back to try their Yazu Sidecar, Tokyo Mule, and “Sake To Me” Sangria.
The bottom line: The next time you’re looking for a nicely composed ramen bowl in the Lake Norman area, check out Ramen Soul. Heck, even if you’re not in the Lake Norman area this joint is worth the trek.
The deets: Ramen Soul is located at 694 Brawley School Road in Mooresville. They are open for lunch and dinner every day and can be reached at (704) 457-5252. There’s a large private-dining space that is perfect for large parties, holidays, or business meetings.
This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 12:00 AM.