Oiistar

So, there's a new ramen spot in Wicker Park -- Oiistar, on Milwaukee. I was more than a little skeptical to be honest, especially when I gave their menu a look -- sangria and creme brulee at a ramen joint? Seems a little suspect. I will say that the space is clean and modern, and everyone I encountered there was unfailingly polite and welcoming, but unfortunately, that's where the positives end. We started with the pork buns, which were an ok rendition, although the sauce was a little too cloyingly sweet. I had a bowl of the Oiiman ramen, which looked terrific - the egg and the charshu were nicely prepared, the noodles weren't overcooked, and the broth looked great, but it was surprisingly one-dimensional - nothing really popped, and some added spice did nothing to improve it. It would seem that Santouka is still the 'gold standard' in the Chicagoland area -- I keep hoping for something on par with Santouka or Minca in NYC in the city proper, although it hasn't materialized yet. I wish Oiistar the best, and I might go back to try a few other things on the menu, but this outing was a swing & a miss, I'm afraid.

Oiistar
1385 N Milwaukee Ave
(between Wood St & Wolcott Ave)
Chicago, IL 60622

http://oiistar.com/

Make sure you give Wasabi a try if you like Santouka or Minca. That's too bad this place can't stand up to neither, Chicago in the winter can certainly use another great Ramen joint.

I'm willing to try Wasabi again, but the one time I visited, I thought the service was really strange, and the ramen just wasn't up to snuff...it was fairly pricey, to boot. I went to Santouka several months ago, and it was just as good as ever.

I visited Oiistar tonight and enjoyed a terrific bowl of the Pozolmen, a combination of pozole and ramen, as you probably suspected. The broth was spicy and flavorful, very rich chunks of pork, and some great noodles that had some texture to them. I could hardly have improved upon this bowl, but I wouldn't have minded a fried egg on top. But this is one of those perfect comfort dishes for a cold Chicago evening.

I also had a couple of small tastes of the Spicy Veggiemen, a vegetarian ramen, and they did not hold back on the spice heat. And again, a very flavorful broth.

We shared some portobello and avocado fries to start, essentially tempura. They were perfectly fried, very crisp and so lightly breaded, and not the least bit greasy. They were served with a shiso pesto mayo, which was tasty, but the "fries" themselves were the stars of the dish.

There was a funny moment during the meal: an appetizer of haricot vert (w/ pancetta and tomatoes too) was supposed to feature creme fraiche, and we were surprised by the sweet sauce on the side. We eventually realized that the kitchen erred and mistakenly plated the dish with the Chantilly Cream from a pear dessert. Well, luckily it was all on the side. And they were very apologetic and treated us to dessert (and also offered to replace the dish, but we said no need -- we ate it, leaving the small bit of sweet cream to the side).

Overall, I was very pleased with the meal and I look forward to returning and sampling more of the menu, specifically the buns (pork belly & duck, with same-type buns as Sun Wah), the fried chicken and grilled pork ribs, and especially, the French Kimchi Soup, which seems to combine French Onion Soup with gumbo and kimchi.

BR wrote:a terrific bowl of the Pozolmen, a combination of pozole and ramen, as you probably suspected

Welcome to the 14th B'ak'tun, everyone.

My experience was similar to BR. I liked it, it wasn't great, and a little strange. First off, it was way too loud, but I did appreciate the 80's rap music. There weren't enough people in there to absorb the sound. I like to be able to talk to the person directly in front of me. Also, the chairs were little stools. I prefer chairs with backs in restaurants.They did have a coat rack right in front. The bar area was strange,as not much of a bar, no bartender, just no bar vibe, but a huge sangria vat....
We had the duck buns, not buns, but, more tacoey.. They were marinated in citrus and good. But like most things there, a strange twist on them. We also had the portabello,and avocado "fries" Really just slices of each in tempura batter, perfectly cooked, but again, the strange twist is they put Parmesan cheese on them, with a side of aioli of some sort. I know Japanese like their mayo, but I really would have preferred some ponzu with some daikon radish to dip instead of that sauce. I also could have skipped the avocado and had just the mushrooms.
We both had ramen. I had the spicy veggi with egg. Nice and spicy broth and really good toothsome noodles, again, nothing outstanding, I thought yellow, red peppers, and avocado weren't the best choices, but I didn't mind them, what I liked about the broth is that it wasn't salty. I also would have liked the option to add some shrimp or chicken.
Hubby had the mussel ramen, it was probably the better of the two ramen, just broth wise.
I too thought it was expensive, especially the $9 bun, and $5 half pint of draft beer. I don't know, I would eat there again, but I wouldn't seek it out. I've now been to Wasabi, Arami, Takashi and this place for ramen. I prefer Arami to all of them if I had to choose.

Another nice piece by Mr. Pang in today's Tribune, in which he delves into both the broth and noodles at Oiistar.

LTH,

First impression mildly negative, music a few decibels too high, sharp edged wooden stools appeared uncomfortable, assumptive order taking, "no I do not want the pork belly option" and a giant sangria "bong" dominating my end of the bar. On service the theme continued, comically large spoon and a blood spatter of chili oil on the surface of my Oiimen ramen leading me to think strong supporting cast shoring up weak broth.

Pleased to say I was incorrect on all counts, aside from the music. Wooden stools were generously proportioned, and the bar length foot rail placed with comfort in mind, angled ladle like spoon the perfect delivery vehicle to bring noodle and broth within chopstick/mouth range to avoided slurp spatter and the scatter of chili/garlic oil a surprisingly restrained accent to the mouth coatingly rich tonkotsu style broth.

Toothsome noodles kept texture through the entire bowl, which I finished. While not tough they needed slightly more tongue to upper teeth pressure than most to 'cut'. I very much liked the noodles, though I did not detect the square edge aspect imparted by Oiistar's Japanese noodle machine.

By the end of the bowl I was even charmed by the Wicker Park hip waitress, who seemed genuinely engaged in the topic of ramen. My one critique, pork loin was dry, but it was 10pm, I was coming from Barn & Co and was not in the mood for the richness of pork belly after a shift slinging BBQ.

I'll be back, and soon, intrigued by the French kimchi soup, though if solo it will be difficult not to order Oiimen ramen.

Oiimen Ramen



Regards,
Gary

Yes, but can YOU make this soup?

Oiimen Ramen again, subbed an additional soft cooked egg for pork loin. Call me crazy, but I'm digging Oiistars version of tonkotsu style ramen more than Santouka, though its been a few months since my last bowl there.

Oii Salad, crisp crunchy cucumber, arugula and parmesan accented with slivered almonds, sprigs of dill and sprinkle of sesame seeds. If I didn't know better I'd swear the salad dressing was poured straight from a circa 1970 bottle of Kraft Russian Dressing. I wonder if its homage or weird coincidence.

G Wiv wrote:Oiimen Ramen again, subbed an additional soft cooked egg for pork loin. Call me crazy, but I'm digging Oiistars version of tonkotsu style ramen more than Santouka, though its been a few months since my last bowl there.

I won't call you crazy - I visit Santouka more often than Oiistar because it's a more convenient lunch location, and I'll admit that I have not yet had the straight tonkotsu ramen at Oiistar, but I absolutely love the Pozolmen I've now had twice at Oiistar, and both the noodles and broth are terrific. And I prefer the noodles at Oiistar to the noodles at Santouka.

G Wiv wrote:Oiimen Ramen again, subbed an additional soft cooked egg for pork loin. Call me crazy, but I'm digging Oiistars version of tonkotsu style ramen more than Santouka, though its been a few months since my last bowl there.

Couldn't agree more with Wiv. Finally, a legitimate bowl of tonkotsu ramen within the city limits. I don't think their base tonkotsu broth is quite as good as Santouka's but I'm betting most people would think it's in at least the same league.

Oiistar's noodle, however, is the real star of the bowl--beautifully silky with a springy chew. The toppings (chasu and honjuku egg) aren't extraordinary, but they're thoughtful and artfully assembled.

This has definitely become my go-to bowl of tonkotsu ramen in the city.

Went to Oiistar last night with my wife and three of our friends. Had a few buns, their fried chicken wings, and a couple bowls of ramen. Although we enjoyed our meal and left satisfied, I couldn't help but reminisce about our (many) meals from Chizakaya (I know, I have to let it go).

To begin our meal, the 5 of us each had a glass of their sangria


For appetizers we had 1 order of:
DUCK BREAST BUN Micro Wasabi, Golden Raisin Jalapeno Chutney


2 orders of
PORK BELLY BUN Micro Rainbow, Cucumber, Oiistar Signature Sauce

Not sure if you could tell by the photo right there, but the taste of cucumber overwhelmed the pork belly and this ultimately tasted a bit too watery.

and an order of their
FRIED GARLIC CHICKEN Roasted Almond, Chive Sweet Sauce

Breading not quite as crunchy as Crisp, but their chicken was was perect.

We ordered 3 bowls of ramen - 2 orders of their:

OIIMEN Pork Belly, Egg, Tree Ear Mushroom, Spicy Oil and Garlic

Noodles were great, but their broth wasn't too rich and the eggs weren't runny

and 1 bowl of their
POZOLMEN Pork Loin, Pico de Gallo

I actually preferred this bowl - full-bodied, a nice not-too-spicy kick (the kind where your taste buds are still active but your head sweats).

For dessert we had their
CREME BRULEE espresso caviar, almond

very small (could probably finish in 3 bites), but very inventive. The caviar had the exact texture of a roe with a nice coffee aftertaste.

Price felt a little high compared to similar meals (sigh, Chizakaya again), but I would (and will) stop in for another serving of their Pozolmen when in the mood for a nice ramen.

incite wrote:

Great photos as always, incite. This glass, though, has to be one of the most ridiculous things I've seen in a long time.

incite wrote:Price felt a little high compared to similar meals (sigh, Chizakaya again), but I would (and will) stop in for another serving of their Pozolmen when in the mood for a nice ramen.

Interesting take, mine is the exact opposite. The few times I went to Chizakaya I left with a pocket picked feeling. To me Oiistar fares better on all fronts.

Edited to add, terrific pictures, really nice.

The GP wrote:

incite wrote:

Great photos as always, incite. This glass, though, has to be one of the most ridiculous things I've seen in a long time.

Ridiculous for sure, but I think it's kind of cool looking.

How big and how much did that Sangria cost? The orange slice overtakes the glass. It looks like the size of a thimble.. I was really disappointed with the drink prices there.

incite wrote:OIIMEN Pork Belly, Egg, Tree Ear Mushroom, Spicy Oil and Garlic

Noodles were great, but their broth wasn't too rich and the eggs weren't runny

From what I've gathered, the better ramen makers commonly look to create a honjuku or molten egg, meaning somewhere between runny and hard. As you can see from your picture, the yolk isn't set nor is it runny but is at this ideal molten point. The consistency pictured above is typical for a honjuku-style ramen egg. You can easily see that the yolk is still oozing onto the egg white and this is ideal.
My personal bitch with this egg, though, is that it is served slightly chilled. I believe that since Chef Se Jin "Sunny" Yi is so concerned about getting these eggs exactly to this consistency, he is making them ahead of time and is, unfortunately, not cooking the egg to an appropriate inner-egg temperature at the time of assembly (probably for fear of overcooking the yolk).
Oiistar's base tonkotsu broth certainly isn't as rich as some of the better tonkotsu-making ramen places I've tried outside Chicago. But this broth does have finesse and depth of flavors I've never experienced anywhere else around town...including Santouka.

Well, if restaurateurs insist on putting the Mason jar on a pedestal, they might as well serve a drink in it.

Stopped by for a long-delayed first dinner at Oiistar during Wicker Park Fest this week. Surprisingly, the place was pretty empty at 7 pm despite the throngs on the street. Clearly, they didn't know what they were missing. My companions both ordered the oiimen ramen; I had the pozolmen. Both ranked among the best bowls I've had in Chicago and the pozolmen was a particular treat - as someone mentioned above, it had a sustained, forehead-dampening spiciness but not in a way that ever obscured the lovely richness and complexity of the broth. With my tongue tingling from the pozolmen, I'm not sure my couple tastes of the oiimen qualify me to comment except to say the broth has a silky quality that was lovely. And the noodles were outstanding. We had a couple starters but I can't even remember them now because the ramen was so good. I can't speak to how Oiistar stacks up against real Tokyo ramen but it more than held its own against some of the bowls I've had in New York.

i don't think ramen in chicago has reached its apex yet (the reports of a fairly empty oiistar at 7pm being proof of that). at this point have no idea what it will take, since the media coverage, demand, and quality all seems to be there.

maybe when sodikoff opens his place and the line is out the door, we can finally long for the good ol' days.

All this snow/polar vortex/general winter unpleasantness pointed toward ramen last night. Oiistar was hopping at 8, but we were seated fairly quickly. I like this place a lot: the staff is very friendly, free with recommendations and more than willing to warm up some sake that had gone room temperature. The food was great – two buns, a Goki and a duck breast, and two bowls of ramen, Musclemen (muscle-based) and Tikkamen (chicken-based). What I loved about the bowls was the stark difference in the flavors - these weren't minor variations on a theme, they were entirely different taste concepts only unified by the idea of noodles in a bowl of broth. Plus, I thought our meal was affordable to the point I asked the waitress if she'd made a mistake on our bill. I don't know from real Japanese ramen, but this place has been just what the doctor ordered every time I've visited.

Been on a ramen kick lately. Having eaten at Ramen Misoya and Santouka in the past 3 weeks, I thought I would give Oiistar another go as well.

Once again, had to have their sangria in their ridiculous glasses
OIISTAR SANGRIA


Another selection of buns

SALTIMBOCCA prosciutto, chicken, sage, buffalo mozzarella, onion pickle


TONKATSU pork loin, ginger pickle, fennel slaw, onion, cilantro, nori


6 HRS PORK SHOULDER sauerkraut napa pickle, cojita cheese, crisp onion


And, of course, 2 ramen bowls

POZOLMEN pork loin, jajapeno pepper, red onion, tomato


CHADOLMEN


End verdict? Though I enjoyed this meal quite a bit more than my previous visit, I still feel like something is missing with the ramen (please don't yell, Pigmon). I don't remember loving the buns last year, but they really shined this time around. Still, Oiistar is quite a bit closer than Arlington Heights, and the bowls are a great value (my bowls at Juno were the same price for half the size), so I will be back.

incite wrote:End verdict? Though I enjoyed this meal quite a bit more than my previous visit, I still feel like something is missing with the ramen (please don't yell, Pigmon)

Well, birthday boy, if you had bothered to read my goddamned post you'd see the only ramen that gets the official PIGMON stamp of begrudged approval is the freaking Oiimen. Why can't people leave well enough alone?! And get off my lawn!

Seriously, I found his other ramen efforts to be too busy and many of the things he elects to add to to his quality base broths such as pozole, avocado or even Pico de gallo, make his ramen creations disjointed and somewhat disturbing.

I couldn't agree more with Mike Sula when he said: "(Chef Se Je "Sunny") Yim states that the broth employed in three of the bowls is born of an 18-hour pork bone simmer, and it is an impressive alchemy. In his tonkotsu-style bowl—with roast pork loin, tree ear mushrooms, and a creamy boiled egg—the broth has a milky, almost nutty aspect, like a dark roux, and it carries plenty of body with it. It's lip-smackingly thick and rich, and if Yim had left well enough alone he'd really have something there."

Oiistar was an oasis today in the midst of the clusterf*** that Wicker Park Fest is, always was, and always will be. Because I am a complete ramen neophyte and I had a rough night last night, laikom declared that I must order the Oiimen. I obeyed, assuming that his advice came from a sage source. (Pigmon. I was right.) With a NOFX fist pump and "Oi Oi!" I dug in.

The broth was incredibly thick and rich as described; the noodles were denser and more substantial than the slimy ramen-packet noodles that are my only basis of comparison; the pork performed well as second fiddle to the noodles (tender meat and melty fat); and the eggs were molten and - as far as I could tell - warm. My only quibble is that the bowl seemed a touch too salty. But I was in need of electrolytes anyway. Laikom could barely get a bite in edgewise and was feeling, I believe, a bit of bowl envy as he munched on his meh fried chicken. I barely looked up until only a small pool of broth was left. Laikom made sure no drop went to waste.

Afterwards, he asked me if I would be interested in making a trip to any of the more renowned ramen shops now that I had a newfound taste for ramen. "Those are in the 'burbs, right? Nah, I'm not interested. I mean, I liked it, but it doesn't seem destination-worthy." Unless Pigmon is driving.

Very much enjoy the oiimen broth and most of the components. Can not get behind the egg being cool i.e. made in advance/refrigerated, then added as ordered. Not a deal breaker, but distracting.

Doesn't a piping hot bowl of ramen sound like the perfect lunch on Chicago's first summer-like day of spring? Well, yesterday, it did to me. So I hit up Oiistar, where they're featuring a few new preparations (new since my last visit, at least). My choice was the Spicy Garlic Shoyumen. Maybe I was super hungry, maybe I was giddy due to a rare day off work that happened to overlap with a glorious afternoon, but damn if this wasn't the best bowl of ramen I think I've had yet in Chicago. Garlicy (duh), fatty yet delicious pork belly, cabbage, bean sprouts, runny eggs, noodles and of course a delicately spicy, deeply porky broth. I'd be curious if any more experienced ramen-philes have tried this. For a half hour, this little bowl and some delightful spring sun made me supremely happy.

Is the egg still barely warmed/cold?

The egg seemed perfectly warm with a runny yolk. I can't say it was made to order but it felt of a piece with the other components of the dish.