{"id":53102,"date":"2019-10-11T00:01:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T06:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=53102"},"modified":"2025-01-31T19:27:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T01:27:55","slug":"iron-cafe-albuquerque-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=53102","title":{"rendered":"Iron Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
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My Friends Bruce Jefferson and Tuan Bui in Front of the Iron Cafe Japanese Food & Asian Cafe on Central Avenue in Albuquerque<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Ramen is a dish that’s very high in calories and sodium. <\/em>
\n<\/span>One way to make it slightly healthier is to leave the soup and just eat the noodles<\/em>.”
\n~Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

America may be a multicultural melting pot, but thriving within its most populous metropolises are ethnic neighborhoods\u2013pockets of diversity residing in two worlds, retaining many of the cultural and culinary traditions of their motherland while integrating into and pursuing the American dream. Cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and even Las Vegas, Nevada have long realized that these ethnic enclaves offer a treasure trove of cultural and culinary experiences. Most of these neighborhoods welcome culinary tourism\u2013the opportunity to showcase the cuisine of their homelands. <\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously Albuquerque doesn\u2019t have the population to support a \u201cChinatown\u201d or a \u201cLittle Seoul,\u201d but the Duke City does offer multicultural dining diversity representing many of the world’s cuisines. Most of the city\u2019s ethnic restaurants are strewn throughout the metropolitan area where they\u2019ve integrated into the fabric of neighborhoods which may or may not have an ethnic population base.\u00a0 With few exceptions–a small cluster of Mexican restaurants in the South Valley, for example–you don’t see clusters of ethnic restaurants from the same country in close proximity to one another. \u00a0 One inexplicable anomaly exists on Central Avenue where virtually next door to each other are three Japanese ramen restaurants. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Interior of the Iron Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First on the scene in February, 2014 was O Ramen<\/strong><\/a> which quickly garnered public and critical acclaim, earning a “Hot Plate” award from Albuquerque The Magazine<\/strong><\/a> for its Mini Pot, a dessert that looks like a potted plant.\u00a0 Naruto<\/strong><\/a> followed suit in December, 2015, launching two doors down from O Ramen.\u00a0 In August, 2019, the Iron Cafe made Central Avenue just across the street from the University of New Mexico (UNM) “destination central” (pun intended) for seekers of authentic Japanese comfort food.\u00a0 Only one other storefront separates Iron Cafe from Naruto.\u00a0 The three ramen restaurants are so close to each other you can almost imbibe the aromas of one while listening to diners slurping audibly at the other.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, maybe it wouldn’t be entirely fair to label the Iron Cafe simply a “ramen restaurant.”\u00a0 In fact, prominent signage at its storefront proudly declares its specialty of the house: “Lan Zhou Hand-Pulled Noodles.”\u00a0 After not having a single hand-pulled noodle restaurant, Albuquerque gained two of them within six months of one another, the other being the Fun Noodle Bar<\/strong><\/a> on Menaul just east of San Mateo.\u00a0 As with the Iron Cafe, the Fun Noodle Bar’s culinary heritage can trace its roots to Lan Zhou, home to more than 1,000 beef noodle restaurants.\u00a0 Lan Zhou\u2019s distinct culinary culture is centered around different types of noodles, making the city renowned throughout China for its noodles nonpareil.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Watch Hand-Pulled Noodles Created Just For You<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fittingly my inaugural visit to the Iron Cafe was with a United Nations delegation of UNM Information Technology professionals: Tuan Bui (Vietnamese), Harold Chiang (Korean), Bruce Jefferson (Texan, but Texas is “like a whole other country”) and your humble Hispano-Americano blogger. Experienced multi-cultural diners all, we deliberated individual elements of the three restaurants, comparing and contrasting what we liked most about all three.\u00a0 By meal’s end we had determined our favorite ramen broth is from O Ramen, the best seasoned eggs are from Naruto and the best noodles and appetizers come from the Iron Cafe (more on those starters later…).\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

As we stepped into the sparsely decorated restaurant which is appointed primarily in red, I recalled that “the color red in Japanese culture denotes strength, passion, self sacrifice and blood. It’s the color that \u2018gets the blood flowing’<\/em>.”\u00a0 Having spent most of the morning in cold conference rooms, we all needed a warm elixir to get us back to 98.6.\u00a0 We also wanted to watch the Iron Cafe’s chef demonstrate his mastery of the art and skill of pulling noodles.\u00a0 Through a small window to the kitchen, we watched as he repeatedly stretched and folded a cylinder of dough then multiplied it into progressively thinner strands.\u00a0 It\u2019s a principle and aesthetic similar to forming a large pizza dough (something else no one at our table can do without risking personal harm).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Takoyaki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having enjoyed our “entertainment,” we then focused on the business at hand–perusing a diverse and interesting menu replete with potentially delicious options.\u00a0 It’s a menu offering not only Japanese comfort food favorites, but foods from other Asian nations.\u00a0 To point out what the menu offers solely by listing its categories would be selling the menu short: appetizers, fried rice, stir-fry noodles, bento boxes, noodle bowls, rice bowls and dessert.\u00a0 Within each of those broad categories are a number of tempting teases sure to please discerning diners.\u00a0 Each of us decided to order different entrees and split appetizers.<\/span><\/p>\n

First to be delivered was takoyaki<\/strong><\/em>, six batter-fried orbs resembling donut holes, even onto the sauces drizzled on top.\u00a0 Served piping hot just out of the fryer, you may want to wait a couple of minutes before biting into them or risk burning the roof of your mouth.\u00a0 Bite into them and you’ll be pleasantly rewarded with a creamy amalgam of octopus, tempura, pickled ginger and green onion.\u00a0 Dried bonito flakes are sprinkled atop each takoyaki ball.\u00a0 Each orb is just about bite-sized if you stretch your mouth wide enough (or you’re a politician).\u00a0 If you’re wary that octopus may assault your taste buds with “fishiness,” fear not.\u00a0 The Iron Cafe’s octopus is fresh and delicious<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Gyoza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I recently shared Wikipedia’s “list of dumplings<\/strong><\/a>” with my friend Desiree Aguilar who was surprised that by definition, empanadas and ravioli are both a type of dumpling.\u00a0 So are gnocchi, pierogi and Pop-tarts.\u00a0 Even Danny DeVito and Barack Obama somehow made Wikipedia’s list, but as Desiree pointed out, Hot Pockets didn’t.\u00a0 We had two questions: (1) Who the heck curates this list? (2) Did Michelle Obama’s best-selling tome “Becoming<\/em>” explain if and why she would call her husband “dumpling?”\u00a0 There is, however, no question that gyoza<\/strong><\/em> are a type of dumpling.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, gyoza, a type of Japanese dumpling, very closely resembles its Chinese counterpart, the pot sticker. According to cookbook author Andrea Nguyen<\/a><\/strong>, who wrote a whole cookbook on Asian dumplings<\/a><\/strong>, pot stickers “tend to be medium-sized dumplings, usually eaten in two to three bites. They have fairly thick, often homemade wrappers that crisp up nicely on the outside while still being soft and encasing the juicy filling inside<\/em>.”\u00a0 Gyoza, on the other hand, “are usually made from pre-fabricated wrappers that are thinner, smaller, and more delicate, and the filling is more finely textured<\/em>.”\u00a0 The four big guys at our table all prefer the larger, more generously filled pot stickers to gyoza and its minced filling, but as gyoza goes, these did the job.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Iron-Style Chicken Wings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By universal acclimation, our favorite among the four appetizers we shared were the Iron-style chicken wings<\/strong><\/em>, a mix of drumettes (shaped like the much larger chicken drumstick) and wingettes or flats (the two thin bones that run parallel to each other down the length of the flat).\u00a0 Unlike so many chicken wings which feature a lacquered-on sauce, Iron Cafe’s wings are dusted in a pleasantly piquant rub from which we could discern paprika and red chile.\u00a0 These wings are meaty and delicious.\u00a0 So were the tempura shrimp and vegetables which weren’t photographed, so eager were we to dig into them. By the way, the appetizers<\/a><\/strong> are a bit of a throwback in that you won’t need a bank loan to afford them.<\/span><\/p>\n

I began this review by quoting Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto who described the unhealthy properties of ramen, but not its sheer unbridled deliciousness.\u00a0 There are four ramen dishes in the noodle bowls section of the menu, but for me the one which defines the soul food comforting qualities of ramen is tonkotsu ramen<\/strong><\/em> (served with pork joins chashu, corn, scallions, bamboo shoots, Naruto, seaweed and seasoned egg in a rich creamy pork bone broth).\u00a0 Our server couldn’t tell us how long the homemade pork bone broth had simmered, but from the depth of porcine flavor, simmering time was probably in double-figure numbers.\u00a0 The results are a thick, rich broth with a light, but not salty flavor.\u00a0 Slices of chasu (simmered pork) were thicker than you’ll find in most ramen and were tender but not mushy.\u00a0 Oh, and those hand-pulled noodles are something special with an elasticity and smoothness Iron Chef Morimoto would appreciate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
tonkotsu Ramen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What does it say about a restaurant that sets up shop next to two successful restaurants offering similar fare?\u00a0 Bravado, confidence or something else?\u00a0 Whatever it means, the Iron Cafe gives Duke City diners yet another wonderful option for ramen and so much more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iron Cafe<\/strong>
\n2108 Central Avenue, S.E.
\nAlbuquerque, New Mexico<\/strong>
\nLATEST VISIT<\/strong>: 11 October 2019
\n# OF VISITS<\/strong>: 1
\nRATING<\/strong>: N\/R
\nCOST<\/strong>: $$
\nBEST BET<\/strong>: tonkotsu Ramen, Takoyaki, Gyoza, Iron-Style Chicken Wings, Tempura Shrimp & Vegetables
\nREVIEW #1135<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Ramen is a dish that’s very high in calories and sodium. One way to make it slightly healthier is to leave the soup and just eat the noodles.” ~Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto America may be a multicultural melting pot, but thriving within its most populous metropolises are ethnic neighborhoods\u2013pockets of diversity residing in two worlds, retaining many of the cultural and culinary traditions of their motherland while integrating into and pursuing the American dream. Cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and even Las Vegas, Nevada have long realized that these ethnic enclaves offer a treasure trove of cultural and culinary experiences. Most of these neighborhoods welcome culinary tourism\u2013the opportunity to showcase the cuisine of their homelands. 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One way to make it slightly healthier is to leave the soup and just eat the noodles.” ~Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto America may be a multicultural melting pot, but thriving within its most populous metropolises are ethnic neighborhoods\u2013pockets of diversity residing in two worlds, retaining many of the cultural and culinary traditions of their motherland while integrating into and pursuing the American dream. Cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and even Las Vegas, Nevada have long realized that these ethnic enclaves offer a treasure trove of cultural and culinary experiences. Most of these neighborhoods welcome culinary tourism\u2013the opportunity to showcase the cuisine of their homelands. 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