Kyle Nabilcy
The yuzu ramen at Zen Ramen.
The yuzu ramen is an unusual find.
There are a handful of restaurants both chain and independent in the Rolling Meadows shopping center on Cottage Grove Road, but at the literal and metaphorical center sits Zen Ramen. To borrow mall terminology, it is the anchor of this atypical food court, like a Sears but with edamame instead of snowblowers.
Zen Ramen opened in January 2024 in a space previously occupied by a sushi spot (before that, a veggie-focused cafe and a bakery). In the last 15 years, ramen places have become as common as those other types of restaurants in Madison, but lest you toss Zen Ramen aside as Just Another Ramen Place, consider the restaurant’s unusual yuzu ramen.
Sure, you can get a tonkotsu (pork bone) broth, probably the most well-known ramen in the States, but why not live a little? In the yuzu ramen, a pork-based broth is shot through with flavor from the lemon-like citrus fruit yuzu. I thought I might get tired of it before the end of the bowl, but I never did. It’s fun. There’s roasty pork belly slices atop the dish, along with bamboo shoots, bok choy, fish cake, shoyu egg, corn, and green onion.
Another atypical broth is the chef special chicken paitan. This chicken bone broth is intended to be creamy and cozy but delivered neither; it was clear and almost flavorless. I’d say it was a mistake except it looked just like the picture on Zen Ramen’s Instagram.
The ramen duo option is fun too: a divided, yin-yang-esque bowl allows for two smaller portions of the tonkatsu and paitan bases.
Coziness is well served by Zen Ramen’s adept deployment of Japanese curry. This is not intense, fiery Indian or Thai curry, but instead a warmly mild sauce thickened (and slightly sweetened) with coconut milk. It’s a natural pairing for either chicken or pork katsu, the pounded-thin and crunchy-fried cutlets I frequently look to when dining in the food court at Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese grocery chain with a location in northern Illinois. Anyway, Zen Ramen’s chicken katsu hits that bullseye.
The pork katsu similarly sticks the landing; I enjoyed it alongside more of Zen Ramen’s curry and omurice — a blanket of softly cooked eggs over white rice. Though not the dramatic “runny egg with brown demiglace” presentation you may know from social media or food television, it’s still a delicate preparation carried off with care. Like the ramen duo, the omurice is currently a special; I hope it stays around.
Chaahan fried rice is Japan’s lightly seasoned version of the Chinese fried rice you may be more familiar with. It’s exactly the sum of its parts, which is to say just what you want if you want a nice, unchallenging plate of fried rice. Mine came with chunks of beef far more tender than I expect from most stir fry preparations.
I enjoyed simple but savory miso soup and a flavorful kakuni (Japanese pork belly) bao bun generously served three to an order. Individually, they were a little skimpy, and all things being equal I’d have opted for more meat in two buns. But ratios aside, portions tend toward the ample at Zen Ramen; I’ll be back for the hefty, smoky tangle of yaki udon, with its slick sauce and pleasantly charred vegetables. The menu also features teriyaki, tempura, and donburi (rice bowls) as well as some soups and salads.
From among the appetizers, shrimp shumai are not the kitchen’s strong point; they were gummy and bland. The chicken karaage is much better for nibbling, even if two separate orders of this revered ancestor of popcorn chicken came out barely above room temperature.
Zen Ramen succeeds while keeping it simple. There’s barely a condiment to be seen in the dining room, though solid seasoning work rarely demands any. I wouldn’t mind a little soy sauce or a shaker of furikake, though. And as the weather warms, I’ll give the ample boba drink menu a try. For late winter warming, though, the unfussy comfort of Zen Ramen is worth some calm contemplation.
Zen Ramen
4674 Cottage Grove Road, Madison
608-230-5504
11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., noon-9 p.m. Sun.
$5-$27
