A mix of old-school and modern classics for a nood-generation.
BAMBOOZLE CAFE
516 N. Tampa St., Tampa. 813-223-7320, bamboozlecafe.com.
There’s no better time than pho time. But if your days are short on hours you can spend waiting for food, then a call or a click to the downtown Tampa flagship of Bamboozle may be the ticket (the restaurant’s second storefront is in the Channel District a mile away). Sandwiched between Moxie’s, an office front door and First Watch, this 10-year-old Vietnamese fusion cafe lives on a short, but busy, stretch of Tampa Street where the smell of New York-style pizza (Eddie & Sam’s) and paella (Spain Restaurant & Toma Bar) — plus the temptation of edible cookie dough (philanthropic dessert shop Dough Nation) — come together during lunchtime, conspiring to somehow get you to take a half-day. Resist the temptation, however, and open the door to the well-lit and beloved Bamboozle that shines at lunch and sparkles when the sun goes down. According to the takeout desk, chicken pho and beef pho are the cafe’s big sellers, and it’s easy to see why. Even in a plastic to-go bowl, the greens are luminous. The noodz rest peacefully underneath fresh slices of seasoned meat, and the savory, slightly salted beef broth is, well, familiar and comforting to pho-natics. If you’ve had it before, the dish’s aroma of coriander and star anise is identifiable from a mile away, and we’d sacrifice a small child to be transported back to the day we tried pho for the first time. Lunch noodle salads — made with vermicelli, green leaf lettuce, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrots, mint, bean sprouts, crushed roasted peanuts, roasted shallots, and a side of zesty chili dressing — are light and filling, and you should definitely spring for it if you’re within the delivery parameters. —Ray Roa
BUYA RAMEN
911 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 727-202-7010, buyaramen.com.
Downtown St. Pete’s OG hip ramen house has weathered the explosion of competition in the immediate area over the last year or so by offering consistently tasty noodle bowls that balance tradition with subtle contemporary refinements and innovation. I swear the food gets better at this hangout every time I go. One secret to Buya’s noodle success is the use of different broths, mushrooms and other flavors depending on the dish. There are four bases between the restaurant’s six ramen bowls, and if you go for the vegetarian mushroom, seafood or one of the big proteins, you’ll get a different flavor profile in each. It’s the kind of attention to detail that makes return trips a must; even the short rib, pork belly and crispy duck options, though each is built on a tonkotsu base, vary widely in taste. On a recent trip, our server told us that while the short rib and pork belly are perennial top sellers, the crispy duck seems to be the overall favorite among patrons — and, tasting that succulent meat (prepared confit) swimming in delicious broth with perfectly cooked noodles, I’d have to agree. —Scott Harrell
CHOP CHOP SHOP
6605 N. Florida Ave., Tampa. 813-770-7306, chopchopshoptampa.com.
Taking out? Dining in? Doesn’t matter. Chop Chop Chop never ceases to leave guests completely stuffed with no-frills, Asian-inspired meals that’re cooked up in no time. While the made-to-order noodz of this quick-serve kitchen come with a bit of an upcharge (don’t all good things worth splurging on?), I’m convinced it’s because they’re an absolute knockout. The white rice presented with each create-your-own bowl by default is great, too, but these noodles? Simply put, they’re glorious. Top them with a choice of house-fashioned sauce (good luck deciding between the five options, as those are also incredibly fire), protein and add-ons like the Mean Greens (blanched Asian greens drizzled with black sesame sauce) or ’shroom salad (shiitake, wakame, rice vinegar and white sesame seeds). It seems like owner Steve Sera is always working the open kitchen of Chop Chop Shop, which premiered in Tampa’s Seminole Heights neighborhood three years ago. No complaints here, though. That’s how you know your noodz are in good hands. On a recent visit, the employee taking my taste tester and I’s orders said the popularity of the noodles versus the rice is about 50/50. But, still — you know what do the next time you’re in: ask for the noodz. —Meaghan Habuda
GREEN MINT ASIAN GRILL
2581 U.S. Highway 19 N., Clearwater. 727-726-4608, greenmintasiangrill.com.
U.S. 19 is an odd, and occasionally frustrating, thoroughfare that’ll inspire you to open your mobile food delivery app in an instant. Resist and make a quick stop at this simple shop tucked into a quiet corner of a tranquil shopping plaza. Best of the Bay-winning Green Mint Asian Grill was born of Henry and Phuong Luu’s 25 years running a Tampa food truck that sold sandwiches in the West Tampa area. The couple set an anchor down in 2013 and have been serving good drinks (four letters: B-O-B-A), rolls (fried spring ones and the fresh summer variety) and famous bánh mì (a traditional Vietnamese sub with cucumbers, pickled carrots, daikons, cilantro, jalapeños and freshly made mayonnaise) ever since. While the pho selection is powerful in its simplicity — chicken pho, beef pho or the signature pho with sliced beef, meatballs and brisket — the secret weapon is the “bun.” Not an actual bread bun, but something like a salad topped with lots of mint, which complements what’s underneath: skinny vermicelli rice noodz, daikon, pickled carrots, sprouts, chopped-up lettuce, cold cucumber and bean sprouts served with your choice of beef, chicken, grilled pork, tofu or the Green Mint setup, which includes pork, grilled shrimp and a spring roll. Crushed peanuts give the dish extra crunch and a savory flavor that balances out the bright, clean and airy aesthetic of the bun. Sprinkle the accompanying house sweet chilli sauce on there (it tastes almost like a nuoc cham dipping sauce), and what you’ve got is a hearty, vibrant and very popular dish that’s fulfilling without being overwhelming. Service is fast enough that you could eat three in 30 minutes if you wanted to. —RR
ICHICORO RAMEN
5229 N. Florida Ave., Tampa. 813-517-9989, ichicoro.com.
Ramen may be Tampa Bay’s hippest option for testing the boundaries of a first date (seriously, if your dining partners put the #bowltothedome, then they’re worth seeing again). Ichicoro — now boasting three restaurants locally, plus one in Birmingham, Alabama — started with a spot in Tampa’s Seminole Heights, which serves lunch Monday through Friday and brunch on Sundays. Dinner, however, is where it’s at. The music is cranked up, and it’s surprising to learn that hip-hop from J. Cole, Mac Miller, Jet Life and Vic Mensa can act as an aperitif. The “snacks” part of the menu are a must (steamed buns and tsukemono salad, along with sweet potato or marinated chicken karaage), but save room for one of the five varieties of broth-based ramen being dished out at a rapid-fire pace in the open kitchen; there are two brothless options, too. Tonkotsu (pork broth, chasyu asado, menma, scallion, ajitama, mayu, beni shoga), miso (pork broth, caramelized ground pork, scallion, menma, bean sprout, onion, sesame) and the spicy kimuci (shio tare, pork broth, applewood-smoked bacon, mayu, ontama, bean sprout, chicharrones) are all nice, yet the in-vogue mushroom ramen — tamari tare, roasted mushroom broth, shiitake, kikurage, scallions and spinach — will make your sexual organs tingle harder than they do at a tantric yoga sesh. We’re blaming it on the mini dollop of black truffle butter, which melts before your eyes as your mouth inhales the savory flavor, perfect noodz and whatever extra fixings you add to the bowl (pork and seasoned egg are our choices). —RR
NOODLE KITCHEN & MARKET
500 S. Howard Ave. #F, Tampa. 813-374-0558, noodlekitchenmarket.com.
Formerly known as Thai Gourmet Market, Noodle Kitchen & Market knows noodz. The six types of noodles in the spotlight — rice, potato, egg, brown rice, mung bean and spinach — aren’t made on-site, but big deal. As owner Petta Brown tells it, everything else the fast-casual restaurant offers is (including the nine house sauces), which is why patrons looking for healthful gourmet food to-go continue to happily down Noodle Kitchen’s trio of signature bowls: pad Thai, original and soup. Added bonus? Four of the six noodz are gluten-free. “Our culture is wheat-free, so we didn’t have to go out of our way to be gluten-free. It was almost on accident,” Brown said. “We’ve been eating rice noodles since eons ago.” Like the proteins, noodles are prepared on the spot in front of guests, who then have the delightful task of building their customizable orders with whatever toppings they desire. Pick from tofu, chicken, beef, pork or shrimp (the locally caught kind from the gulf), as well as from cilantro, green onions, peanuts, lime, Thai basil, shallots or peppers. Perhaps most importantly, Noodle Kitchen prides itself on those sauces. Five of ’em are hot — among them what Brown calls her famous hot sauce that’s “tangy, salty, with a hint of sweetness.” CL Marketing, Promotions & Events Manager Alexis Chamberlain is partial to the jalapeño vinegar and anchovy Thai chili sauces. But, no matter which dressings you finish the noodle bowl of your dreams with, something tells me you can’t go wrong. —MH
WOODEN LADLE
3689 Tampa Road #305, Oldsmar. 813-814-2448, woodenladle.com.
The CL food critic-approved noodle shop’s sliced beef and brisket pho is served in a savory, aromatic broth with rice noodles, scallions, sliced onions, bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, jalapeño and lime. But if the contents of that popular bowl don’t grab your attention, another frequently ordered menu item, the Mi-So Spicy ramen (pairing pork belly, ground pork, spicy miso, soft-boiled egg, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, rayu chili oil, scallions, nori and sesame seeds with tonkotsu broth), certainly might — if not for its name, then for its broth. The younger sibling of Tampa’s Zen Bistro, Wooden Ladle is certainly the jam for diners seeking top-notch ramen and pho in Oldsmar. Night manager James Le attributes the specialty of the restaurant — a fast-casual spot that goes high-tech with help from a row of iPads you use to place an order — to its tonkotsu (read: pork bone) broth, which is showcased in a few of the ramens. There aren’t house-made noodles here, but the Wooden Ladle gang does spend 22 hours putting everything they’ve got into their broths. That counts for something, right? Plus, there’s more to this noodle shop where the noodz came from. “If someone comes in and hasn’t been here before, we have a lot of variety,” Le said. —MH
YUMMY HOUSE
2620 E. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa. 813-237-3838, yummyhouseflorida.com.
The original Yummy House location was a cozy nook off of Tampa’s Waters Avenue. It was unfortunately damaged in a neighboring nail salon fire late last year, which left faithful Bay area customers with two options: a new location in South Tampa, or the great, big dining room in East Tampa (the mini-chain of high-quality Chinese food also has restos in Orlando, Ocala, Gainesville and Sarasota). We’re recommending the latter and encouraging you to take a deep breath before lifting up the menu, which is literally a book in which nearly two dozen noodle dishes await your already-pursed lips. Lo mein is covered, and the wonton noodles and beef stew (egg noodz or rice ones) both swim in seafood broth. A Japanese-style udon soup does the same, and there are also Singapore-style rice noodles with barbecue pork and angel hair-esque vermicelli noodz. Want some good, old stir-fried noodles with beef and vegetables in black bean sauce? Done. You could honestly throw a dart at the section and be happy, but you’ll never go wrong with one of YumHo’s most popular options — Hong Kong-style pan-fried noodles — where noodz arrive crispy and covered with barbecue pork, shrimp, scallops, calamari and bok choy soaked in a brown sauce that starts to soften the noodz as the minutes roll by. It’s the Chinese food version of crispity-crunchity, and the kitchen even packs the to-go order version in a fashion that lets takeout diners assemble the dish at home like they made it themselves. —RR