Koyoté was under the radar for a moment after they opened in February this year. However, for those who missed the early buzz (me, included), be prepared to wait to get into this little Marmalade-area gem. You’ll be welcomed by a sign in the entry that says, “You’ll be judged if you don’t slurp.” So bear that in mind…
I can’t decide if I love the recent restaurant trend of getting to the table and just scanning a menu and ordering. I’m for convenience and ease. But I love talking to a server about what they love or recommend. It is how I have found most of my food crushes over the years. However, a bustling Koyoté gets you right to the point when it comes to having you order. I happened to be running on an empty stomach the day I visited, and so skipping straight to an abundance of food options was actually a good shortcut.
The apps and small plates menu is impressive for a location known for ramen. We couldn’t resist ordering several (see note about arriving starving above). We started with the Japanese dumplings, “perfectly cooked for crunch and chewiness,” and served with a house-made ponzu. They were rich and the ponzu was beautifully tart instead of overpoweringly salty. The Chashu-don was next up, delivered to the table steaming hot served over a bed of rice. The “tender braised pork belly drizzled with sweet soy sauce,” came with thinly sliced scallions and Japanese-style pickles. The pork was chopped to lardon-sized bits and I would have walked away happy after just a bowl of this. It was smokey-sweet and almost felt like it came off a hibachi.
There were two standout dishes from the small plates menu: the wings and the whipped tofu. Drastically different, one meaty, hot, and crispy, the other vegan, cold, and smooth. Both are must-order dishes. The whipped tofu could be Koyote’s answer to hummus in a middle eastern restaurant. Instead of chickpeas ground smooth with tahini and drizzled with olive oil, you have silky tofu whipped smooth with garlic confit and sesame paste and topped with chile-crisp and mapo chilies. In lieu of pita bread, you get a scallion pancake for dipping. Or you might just go straight for spooning it into your mouth, which yours truly resorted to. It was that good.
The showstopper for the night was the Karage wings. Decadently crispy, they arrived at the table almost sparkling. I thought it was my delirious hungry brain that made them look like they had arrived from heaven all glittery. But actually, they are dusted with vinegar salt. Which is a little heavenly in and of itself. The wings are brined first to make them extra juicy, and coated in a special Japanese potato starch for extra crunch. Which makes them gluten-free (they are even cooked in a gluten-free fryer). I found all this out later. In the moment, I mostly just devoured the wings and thought about ordering more…
And now for the ramen. Koyoté has your standard shoyu ramen. And it looked delicious. They have gluten-free, and vegan and vegetarian options. But when you go, get the Tonkotsu Tsukemen or Dipping Ramen. This was a new variety of ramen for me. And I wasn’t quite prepared, but I became a fast convert. Tsukemen style ramen is served with the broth and the noodles in two different bowls. The broth is extra thick and rich, topped with an umami fish seasoning. The noodles are served closer to room temperature, and the broth is hot. Scoop up a mouthful of noodles, dip them in the broth and transfer to your mouth. Easy. The chicken/pork broth is very thick, so it sticks to the noodles. Traditionally, it is a summer time option. But the broth was hot enough that I was happy to slurp it down on a cold evening. It comes topped with chashu pork, a soft-boiled marinated egg, scallions, and bamboo shoots. Don’t skip the Gyufon umami fish flavor. It really makes the dish. It is also delicious heated up the next day, by the way. Just in case you may have ordered extra wings and didn’t leave room for all the ramen.
If You Go:
Koyoté
551 W 400 N
koyoteslc.com/
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