11 JULY 16-22, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | ramen that then blows up in people’s faces with fl avor,” Wang says. “If I’m gonna learn, I want to learn from the best.” Continuous Improvement The fourth course is the main event, a big bowl of steaming broth, noodles, meat and vegetables dubbed “kaizen,” which means “continuous improvement” and reflects Wang’s obsessive effort to refi ne and perfect every component of the bowl. The noodles are made fresh daily with a blend of fl ours imported from Japan and Dry Storage fl ours sourced locally. Ramen noodles are made from an alkaline dough, created by adding a mixture of carbonate and potassium carbonate, and are boiled in kasnui, an alkaline water solution. The alka- line alters the fl our’s gluten, making it fi rmer and giving ramen its springy, chewy bite. “When it comes to ramen, that alkalinity matters. It makes it more resistant; it makes it fi rmer so that it can actually hold up to the hot soup in the bowl.” That soup, or broth, is a blend of three differ- ent styles — including a “mother” glace made from the fi rst ramen night he hosted over 10 years ago — that takes three days to make and clarify into a consommé. Layered atop the bowl are a crisp-skinned chicken thigh cured with shio koji, a slow-roasted pork loin, and a just- perfect Hakurei turnip. It’s unlike any ramen you’ve likely had — and that’s entirely the point. “That is what my ramen is,” says Wang. “It’s constantly improving, constantly being refi ned, constantly being honed.” The Impermanence of Things The fi nal course of the evening is an homage to the Zen concept of mono no aware, or “the pathos of things.” Nothing lasts. Everything ends. And this last course marks the end of this dinner: a simple broken meringue with white chocolate, a summer berry compote and strawberry tuile. As for Wang, Little Kitsune will last as long as it needs to, and no longer. He already has plans to bring the ramen experience to new places and formats, including col- laborative pop-ups with fellow in-home noodle “omakase” concept domi and the Chinese-meets-Southern duo Magnolion. At the end of the year, Wang will move into an artist-in-residence program at Flora, the RiNo cultural incubator, where he’ll live and host dinners for three months. But whatever the name, wherever the place, Wang intends for his ramen mission to remain largely the same. “I hope guests get a new appreciation of what it takes to make good ramen, and that it’s not just something that you can put together; it’s not a quick thing,” he says. “I want them to appreciate all the intention and work that goes into it, and also understand the differ- ences — that cultural aspect — knowing that a bowl of ramen isn’t just soup out of a pot and some noodles. If we can all demand more from it, then the level of ramen in America just gets better and better and better.” To request an invite or learn more, visit littlekit- suneden.com or follow at @littlekitsuneden on Instagram. Cafe continued from page 10 Call Elaine Lustig, PhD .......................................................... at 303-369-7770 Needing Your Emotional ....... Animal W/ You? For eligible people who need their emotional support animal to accompany them at/or away from home, I am available to provide the documentation and counseling. CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
