Photographer: Kevin A. Roberts
After months of negotiations, Qui Tran (above), co-owner of the popular Mai Lee restaurant in Brentwood, inked the lease for his new ramen shop this afternoon, an idea three years in the planning. “Especially since ramen is so popular all across the country," he said, "I was surprised St. Louis didn’t have any noodle houses...I figured it was time.”
The 65-seat restaurant will be located at 11423 Olive Street, a former Einstein Bros. Bagels store, and he's calling it Nudo (a playful take on the way Asians pronounce the word “noodle,” according to Tran). “Nudo is short, easy to remember, it says what it is, and it makes you smile,” gushed the man who's always wearing one.
Tran spent months sampling ramen and researching the concept, which included several workshops with Shigetoshi "Jack" Nakamura, chef and consultant at Sun Noodle Company (supplier to ramen restaurants in Southern California and the U.S.). The so called "master of ramen" visited St. Louis in June, spending a weekend with Tran and Nudo's ramen chef, Marie-Anne Velasco, in the kitchens of Le Cordon Bleu in St. Peters.
Nudo will follow the fast casual format, which means service will be speedy, with a ramen menu featuring Sun noodles and four base broths (chicken, pork, spicy miso, and veggie). Mai Lee is well-known for its pho, a similar Vietnamese noodle soup, so pho will be a staple at Nudo as well. (Although both are broth-heavy soups with added proteins and vegetables, there's one way to tell the difference at a glance: ramen contains pale-yellow, wheat noodles, while those in pho are white and made from rice.)
Tran says a selection of wine, beer, and sake will also be available.
For anyone following the local ramen timeline, Ramen Tei opened Ballwin in August, Nami Ramen will open in Clayton next month, VISTA Ramen on Cherokee in the spring, and Nudo next year. Newly-opened Robata in Maplewood and just-opened Midtown Sushi on Forest Park Blvd serve ramen as well.
Since the space needs to be gutted, Tran says the project “should take six months,” before smiling and pausing. “Then again, knowing how things go, it could always take nine...”
(Note to fans of Mai Lee: the restaurant recently celebrated its 30th Anniversary, an occasion Tran commemorated by making the final bank payment.)
Follow George on Twitter @stlmag_dining or send him an email at gmahe@stlmag.com. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
