Illinois Restaurant Among America’s Three Best New Ramen Joints

If you're just now starting to discover or, in some cases, "rediscover" ramen, hop on the bandwagon; we've got plenty of room.

When I was in college, I ate ramen to get by. I am unsure if it was ever as fancy as it is now, if it was always this way and I missed it, or if it's just come leaps and bounds in the past few decades.

Personally, I don't recall restaurants that specialized in ramen, but I'm almost sure they were around.

In recent months, I've been to a ramen restaurant in Anchorage, Alaska, of all places (Whisky & Ramen; it's pretty good; if you're ever on the other side of the planet, check it out), made homemade ramen, and invested in my own ramen bowls, spoons, and chopsticks since even to make it more like a restaurant but at home.

I might need just to put all that away because one of America's best new ramen restaurants is not far from us in the Rockford area.

It's called Rudy's Ramen, blowing away anything I could make at home.

Yelp called it the 3rd best new ramen restaurant in America.

Chef Rudy’s thoughtfully curated menu of authentic Japanese ramen focuses on high-quality ingredients and meticulous preparation. Signature dishes include the rich Tonkotsu ramen with char siu pork and ajitama egg, and the fiery Spicy Miso ramen featuring house-made spicy paste and Sichuan pepper.

Rudy's Ramen is at a superb 4.9 out of 5 on Yelp.

Located at 1146 North Milwaukee Avenue, Rudy's might be the best ramen you've ever had.