Restaurant Review: Celebrate National Noodle Month at Logan Square’s Akahoshi Ramen

Did you know…that National Noodle Month is observed in March? And one of the best noodle restaurants, designated by both Timeout and The Infatuation is Akahoshi Ramen, a creation of ‘Ramen Lord’ chef Mike Satinover, who earned his reputation and fan base through his Reddit reviews over the past decade+, and honed his craft on a series of pop-ups in the Chicago area.
Since it opened in November 2023, the restaurant has earned its reputation as one of the toughest reservations in Chicago through their attention to detail in hand crafting all the soups, seasonings, toppings, and noodles at their storefront shop.
Why Ramen?
As they say on Open Table, the dish, popularized in Japan after World War 2, “is symbolic of both struggle and perseverance. It is both a simple dish, and a fantastically complex one that we treat with reverence and respect.”
Satinover also takes pains to explain that they “are not an authentic ramen shop, though we value the history of ramen, and our ramen is influenced by its past and its future potential.”
That’s fine by me. Ramen, in all its forms, is the best comfort food for my money. The noodles are warm, you can put almost any ingredient in it…nuts, vegetables, spices, meat, poultry or fish…and it’s healthy, warms you up and comforts you all at the same time. When the weather veers from 25 to 70 degrees, as it does in March, I’m in!
Perhaps that’s the reason why reservations are so hard to get at Akahoshi Ramen.
What does ‘Akahoshi’ mean, and why is it important?
As they note on Open Table, their name roughly translates to “Red Star,” the name “Akahoshi” is a love letter to two cities; Sapporo, Hokkaido, where red stars adorn city monuments, and Chicago, Illinois, where the red star decorates the city flag.
And now, the food …
Akahoshi Miso, their namesake dish, is a blend of misos, homemade crinkly Sapporo-style noodles, and plenty of lard, which is topped with beansprouts, green onions, menma bamboo shoots, and pork chashu.
But the creativity doesn’t stop there. For example, Midwest Shoyu is described as *Modernity meets origins.” Clear chicken soup, onion oil, soy sauce with katsuobushi, straight thin noodles with Midwest wheat are topped with green onions, nori, menma bamboo shoots, pork chashu, shio koji chicken breast, narutomaki, and fried onion. Soupless Tantanmen is a soupless variant of ramen, based loosely on Dandan noodles. Extra thick noodles, ma-la spice, and sesame is topped with pork soboro, green onions, and bok choi for a savory meal. Aburasoba is a soupless variant of ramen, popularized by college students at Waseda University. Extra thick noodles, garlic, and soy sauce are topped with textures, and chopped chashu (Japanese braised pork belly).
Every month, they offer a special. In March, it’s Tonkotsu Gyokai, which is a Tonkotsu soup, with soy sauce, loads of katsuobushi and niboshi sardine, served over thin, snappy noodles, and topped with pork chashu, green onion, menma bamboo shoots, narutomaki, nori, and fish powder. Yum!
PLEASE NOTE: All checks include a 20% service charge in lieu of a tip. Tipping is not required nor expected.
Akahoshi Ramen is located at 2340 N. California Avenue, Suite B They are open Tuesday–Saturday from 5pm – 9pm.
A note about reservations: Each Monday at Noon CT, they release a week of reservations, five weeks in advance. They also accept a large number of walk-ins each day. On average, according to their fact sheet, half of the restaurant is dedicated to walk-ins. They suggest that it’s easiest to walk-in during weekdays from 5-7pm.
That said, for reservations, click here. And good luck!
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago