13 March 21 - 27, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Sake Bombed London-born Wagamama brings modern Asian cuisine to Uptown. BY AAREN PRODY W agamama is an iconic global food chain serv- ing modern Asian dishes — namely, bowls of ramen. The chain originated in London in 1992 and now has 227 locations worldwide, eight of which are in the U.S. It’s a full-service and high-energy concept inspired by fast-paced, Japanese ramen bars. Most of the tables are lunchroom-style, so you’ll be seated next to other parties. You’ll likely be able to see directly into the kitchen from where you’re sitting. It’s social and inviting. A catch-all for any occasion. The menu has a lot going on — not to the extent of the Cheesecake Factory, but it gives a similar level of decision paralysis. This place is a gold mine if you’re in the mood for a little bit of everything because you can somehow order a chicken katsu curry and freshly squeezed juice off the same menu. For the sake of all of our attention spans, we’ll keep things brief. Options are a mix of Japanese, Chinese and Korean cuisine. Big plates are divided into a few categories: ra- men, teppanyaki, rice dishes, curry and a “Nourish Yourself” section, with healthier options. Then you have shareables, wraps, desserts, drinks and a kids’ menu. The final stretch of happy hour was going on when we sat down. Monday through Fri- day there are $5 beers (yum), $10 cocktails, $5 wines (yummer) and $10 sake bombs (let’s go). Food items from the shareable sec- tion range from $4 to $6. We tried the happy hour chili calamari ($6), tuna tataki ($6), chili shrimp and kimchi ramen ($18) and matcha cheese- cake ($9). Plenty of other things seemed worthy of ordering but we didn’t have room for them, like the Korean chicken wings, signature Tokyo fries and miso cod soba noodles. Everything comes in half sizes for happy hour, so calling them ‘shareable’ would be a touch inaccurate. The small, eco-friendly serving boats are downright individual. Luckily this was a solo dining trip; order generously if you’re going with an entourage. The tuna is worthy of a double order. Dressed in a citrus ponzu and Japanese mayo, it’s fresh and melts in your mouth. The calamari wasn’t anything to write home about since the squid was more of a vessel for a chili cilantro dipping sauce. Considering that Wagamama has pro- duced enough ramen noodles to circle the globe 64 times, the chili shrimp and kimchi ramen deserved a rightful spot as our entree. Charred shrimp, kimchi, cilantro, green onion and mung bean sprouts generously decorated our piping hot bowl. The broth was rich and full of flavor; the noodles fall on the softer side, if that’s your preference. It’s as good as chain ramen gets, although $18 was pretty steep. To finish things off we grabbed a matcha cheesecake, which is subtly sweet and leans closer to the cake side of a cheesecake since it’s slightly crumbly. The vanilla ice cream helped bring moisture back to our bites. Generally, the parking in Uptown is two things: non-existent or nothing short of a nightmare and at least $10. Thankfully, Wagamama is one of the few restaurants around that offers free parking with the vali- dation of a receipt. That means their happy hour sake bomb is technically free. That’s how we do maths. Wagamama, 2425 Harry Hines Blvd., Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. ▼ FRIST LOOK A WICKED BREW VOODOO BREWING CO. EXPANDS ITS SIGNATURE BEER AND BITES IN NORTH TEXAS.BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY P ennsylvania-based brewpub Voodoo Brew Co. opened its third Texas loca- tion in Plano on Friday. In addition to dozens of options for beers, seltzers and cocktails, the new location in downtown Plano serves a solid selection of bar fare, in- cluding pizza, sandwiches and snackish ap- petizers. We popped in on opening day, which was admittedly a mistake on our end. The space was packed with people who shared our cu- riosity, and it was standing room only by the time we arrived. Since we were unable to or- der any food, we ordered a couple of drinks and took the opportunity to soak in the at- mosphere. We holed up in a corner, sipping on both Watermelon Lemonade seltzer and Straw- berry Lager. The lager was solid, and the seltzer exceeded expectations. Seltzers tend to have a bad reputation for having only a whisper of a memory of fruit flavor, but the Watermelon Lemonade had a strong and re- freshing taste. Voodoo Brewing Co.’s model encourages its franchisees to put their own spin on their locations and that was immediately appar- ent at the Plano location. The first thing your eye is drawn to is a colorful and surreal mural by local artist Andrea Holmes, which presents skeletons, tigers and crawdads aboard a train in the desert. The menu offers Cajun-inspired additions like boudin balls and hush puppies along with the pizza and burgers seen at most locations. Voodoo is a serviceable spot to hang around and have a drink with friends, but we were still wanted to check out the menu and sit-down experience so we returned for round two a couple of days later. Sunday night was moderately busy, but we were still able to place our order and find a seat immediately. As we sat down at around 7:45 p.m., we were informed that the kitchen would be closing in 15 minutes, an hour before the 9:00 closing time. As former service workers, we respected the hell out of this and have to give props to a business that cares more about letting its staff out on time than kowtowing to people who think it’s okay to roll in and loiter at the end of the day. An obvious perk of spreading our experi- ence over two visits was the chance to try more drinks without going overboard. On Sunday, we ordered a Blue Sapphire cocktail (Big Springs Spirits vodka, strawberry, blackberry, blue spirulina and lime juice) and a Pineapple Cider. With the four drinks we tried, Voodoo Brewing Co. has a flawless track record. The best pairing for boozy drinks, in our humble opinion, is snacks and pizza. Aaren Prody The chili shrimp and kimchi ramen at Wagamama is good for a major chain, but a bit steep at $18. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish >> p14
