Atomic Ramen - Lexington, KY
The kitchen countertop, featuring some of Dan's favorite characters.
Next up in our series about the restaurants of The Barn in The Summit at Fritz Farm is the one and only Atomic Ramen. The first of its kind in Lexington, Atomic Ramen doesn't just serve your run-of-the-mill stove top ramen; this is ramen on steroids! We recently got to sit down and chat with the owner of Atomic Ramen, Dan Wu, who has a very interesting background. Born in China, Dan immigrated to the United States and eventually ended up here in Lexington, where he attended college at the University of Kentucky and impressed his friends with his ability to pair leftover food with grocery store packs of ramen. After living on both coasts and discovering a love affair of Japanese culture, he returned to Lexington and began experimenting with more complex ramen combinations. He later auditioned for the TV cooking show Master Chef, where he competed in several episodes before exiting in the dessert round with his red velvet cake (his weakness, he says, because baking is very precise and he likes to add ingredients at will.)
Chicken karaage tacos, topped off with a sweet-yet-spicy drizzle.
The Otomo bowl, one of three different ramen bowls available from Atomic Ramen
After we had talked with Dan, we set out to try some of the various items that Atomic Ramen has to offer from their carefully curated menu. Walking up to the counter, you'll notice all the personal touches Dan has brought with him to The Barn; various comic book characters adorn the countertop and walls around the kitchen, as well as the counter facing out towards the shops lining the avenue outside of the food hall. The main masterpiece of the Atomic Ramen, though, hangs above the beverage wall; a specially commissioned comic book cover by a local artist featuring three original comic book characters that correspond to the three different noodle bowls on the menu.
Chicken karaage, served with the world's best dipping sauce!
Once we finished admiring the decor, we settled on what each of us would order for lunch. Sara loves ramen noodles, and since it was a little chilly outside she decided to go with the Otomo bowl. I'm more of a chicken kind of girl, so I went with a couple of the side orders (or sidekicks, as they're called here); an order of chicken karaage, as well as an order of the chicken karaage tacos. The Otomo bowl is a hot ramen bowl made with spicy miso pork and chicken broth, topped with braised pork belly and a poached egg, as well as nori and scallions; it has a bit of a kick to it upon first taste, but Sara is really into that sort of flavor and she had nothing but good things to say about this savory treat. My sidekicks were also really tasty; the chicken karaage dish is very similar to a chicken nugget basket, lightly fried using chicken thighs so that there is a ton of flavor in each bite. The tacos use this same chicken, but add cucumber and scallions neatly arranged in a soft tortilla with a drizzle of spicy sauce on top, which really sets this dish apart from everything else on the menu. Every meal even comes with a fortune cookie, and fun fact: Dan writes all the fortunes himself - how cool is that? Atomic Ramen also offers a variety of hacks, or add-ons, for the noodle bowls, including but not limited to pork, poached or 6-minute eggs, and a spice bomb (which I know Sara would love to try!) They also offer several different Japanese-style bottled drinks, as well as water and sweet tea.
One thing that Dan really touched on a lot in our interview is that he loves being able to give back to the community. Not only does he use local products (Lexington Pasta Company makes the noodles for the ramen bowls), he also makes sure that he helps out local non-profit groups by organizing and hosting events throughout the year. Dan's love of this city is really amazing, and the way that he and the other restaurant owners here at The Barn really look after each other and lift each other up is unparalleled. This idea, as well as the local aspect, is what really drew Sara and me to The Barn, and we can't wait to tell you all about the other establishments in this really great addition to the south side of Lexington.
