Review - Noodles by Takashi

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jan 29, 2009 5:20PM

After Chuck visited Marc Burger last week we decided it was about time for us to revisit another of the posh food court offerings of the State Street Macy’s. Macy’s heavily advertises their celebrity chef-driven eateries, but we’ve had bad experiences at a number of their restaurants. The Walnut Room has never been known for its fine cuisine, and we’re still haunted by the memory of the food we ate when we were dragged to Infields, the basement sports bar.

Noodles by Takashi is a lovely contrast to these older restaurants. The food offerings are pleasant, there are window seats overlooking State street and they carry Goose Island root beer. What else could anyone want? Ok, so the prices seemed a bit high at first. We ordered the Shoyu Ramen, a dish of braised pork, veggies and fresh ramen noodles served in a savory broth. At $8.95, it seems like a lot for lunch until you get the huge bowl - it easily served two people. If you combine it with a snack of the dumplings or the potstickers, a nice lunch for two comes to around $13 - hardly a sacrifice.

We’d read some early reviews on Yelp criticizing the flavor of the broth and the texture of the pork, so we paid close attention. If there was a problem, it’s been fixed - the pork was tender and intensely flavorful and the two of us were fighting over the broth. Unlike other counter-service outposts of famous chefs, this one seems to live up to the example of its more famous sibling. So, if you’re downtown and want a quick snack (and you don’t feel like a $13 Marcburger) drop in at Noodles by Takashi.