Nexto

The goddamn ramen trend has ramped up in the second half of the year in this one horse town... You got Jinya, Hijime, Ton Ton, Wagaya, Shoya, Ginya, Raku and Brush are all doing ramen and there's more joints doing ramen that's not even on this list... Even that Makan has just turned their fake dim sum joint into a full fledged ramen joint. And now the newest entrant is Nexto... By Concentrics and Mihoko Obunai as lead consultant/chef/whatever. I know what y'all are saying... Aren't we all fucking tired of ramen already? Fuck yeah... But this fat fuck can't pass up a local corporate resto group that is attempting to do a cuisine that is totally out of their element. And the line cooks kinda prove it... There is not one Asian on the entire line, but there's one Mexican dude that kinda looks Asian, so does that count? At least they didn't have the white bros instruct you on how to properly eat a bowl of ramen. I went into this new ramen joint with zero expectations, just being neutral and see where the noodle falls. I like the space... A converted warehouse with an industrial feel, simple and functional without the outdated gaudy glitz and glamour next door at Two. Jesus, I haven't been to a Concentrics resto in years... Will I continue to stay away after a visit to their newest ramen joint? Only one way to find out...
Sat at the ramen bar to witness the action and drink in all the glory of a ramen production line... I know it's their opening week but sadly, I witnessed a few no no's and an awfully a lot of wasted money going into the garbage. The first fuck up was watching a dude toss out at least a dozen steamed buns right into the garbage, why the fuck would you put in that many and toss it all out a few minzies later, only to watch him make the same mistake again by dumping in an entire bag of new buns into the steamer. What the fuck, yo? A steamed bun takes about 60 seconds to come to temp, it's not like you're cooking the fucking thing from scratch. Then I noticed that all the ramen broth are in containers on a steam table, so they are not at the right temperature as it really should be. I watched them construct a bowl of ramen and it was the messiest and most inefficient way you can do it. They splash in 3 to 4 mid size ladles of broth into the bowl and some of it doesn't even make it in there, then let it sit there to chill out until the ramen noodle was done taking it's hot water bath, then they slide the noodles right into the bowl and splashes a quarter of the broth out of the bowl which they don't give you that much broth to begin with. After that they start piling on the toppings, then comes the soft boiled egg where one dude uses a string tied to one end and stretches it out to slice the egg by hand... Novel idea but the dude kept on cutting the eggs in 1/3's so it renders one half too small and the other half too big, then he tosses both into the garbage and starts over again... I watched him throw away at least 3 eggs for one bowl... No fucking wonder why they are charging $2 for an extra half an egg, to compensate for the amount of eggs they throw into the gutter. In short, put the steaming ramen into the bowl first then the hot broth and finish it off with the toppings, it will keep the bowl temp higher til delivery.
Jesus, oh, baby Jesus... What a shitshow so far. This is one fucking helluva start, even for week one. I know there is an adjustment factor for any new resto but for fuck sake, this was total amateur hour, it's like they had little to no training or they have never cooked in a commercial kitchen before, ever. They were spazzing out during a small rush and Mihoko was nowhere to be seen (she would appear to expedite for a couple minzies when it calmed down and then poof! Gonzo, when it picked up again). Let me repeat what I said before, there was not one Asian on the line making Japanese food and this was an open kitchen...  I don't even know who the damn chef was here. Dude, put up a curtain, STAT... Perhaps one with the Wizard of Oz on it. I don't know, maybe the Concentrics corporate crew are already butting heads with her. I could go on and on about their kitchen logistics and inefficiencies but let's get to the good stuff... The real beat off material on the menu... Let's start off with just a sampling... I don't want to squirt on them too much... Yet.

Unagi & Chips Buns- Crispy Unagi, Tobiko Mayo, Sansho, Tare. First off, don't fucking ever drizzle the ultra sticky sweet sauce all over the bun, you gotta pick this shit up to eat it, mofos... And you will get all that shit all over your nose picking fingaz which you will be licking off later. But... This bun was actually quite good. The fried unagi was crispy and delicate and all that shit they toss on top worked well with it. It was a very tasty bun, but $10 for two might be a stretch for me to get it again in the future.

JFC- Caramelized Garlic, Ginger Soy, Togarashi, Yuzu Ranch. 3 whole wings and they were quite jumbo in size. Sizzling fresh from the fryer, these wings had a nice crispy crackly thin crust and piping juicy hot inside. I wished they use a better togarashi instead of the cheap powder stuff because it didn't give it the little kick and spiciness it deserved... Which made the yuzu ranch kinda useless to lessen the heat one would expect from some togarashi dusted JFC wings. They were a tasty wing overall but really nothing too Japanese about them.

Nasu Dengaku- Saikyo Miso Eggplant, Yuzu Kosho, Sesame. The eggplant sounded great on paper but it might as well have been rolled up toilet paper on the plate. $8 for 6 small rolls of eggplant that were basically tasteless and dry. I thought it would come with some type of sauce or drizzle to offset the boredom but obviously they like to serve this bland. Skip it... And don't you fucking dare to use the money on the kale salad in here. Just don't.

Gyokai Yuzu Shoyu Ramen- Rock Shrimp, Scallop, Ikura, Egg, Wakame. The scallop was a nice size and executed well, the couple of pieces of rock shrimp was chintzy, make it 3 at least like normal restos do. The got the ikura down but where was the fucking egg? My guess would be in the garbage but maybe they thought the ikura would double as the "egg" ingredient to the bowl... Got fucked, again. The noodles tasted like Sun Noodles, I forgot to ask them, but they were pretty damn good, toothy and bouncy, just the right texture in your mouth. The shoyu broth was fine, nothing spectacular, very standard version but a bite muted on the finish. But as time elapses all the ingredients in the bowl transform the broth into a more fishy flavor. It's an acceptable seafood shoyu ramen but nothing craveworthy to come back for on this bowl. My only major complaint was that the temperature of the broth was lukewarm at best and this was a $14 bowl, everyone knows that the ramen broth needs to be piping hot.

Kurobuta Tonkotsu- Pork Belly, Memma, Egg, Scallions. Looks like they changed it up a bit and finally put on a tonkotsu bowl on there... I assume they received a lot of requests for one. The tonkotsu is prolly the most popular broth because of the demand from all the media hype across the masses. It's also the most time consuming if you're gonna do it right... I was truly fucking nervous about their tonkotsu, but the pouch instinct already knew how it was gonna be... Diluted. I mean it tasted like a 50/50 dilution with chicken stock, the collagen and stickiness was kinda there, barely, but after a few spoonfuls, you could taste some more on your lips. This let down of a lukewarm broth does not warrant a $14 price tag... Especially, the amount they give you and the amount that splashes out from dumping the noodles in after. The pork belly was interesting, they sear it on the flat top before it goes into the bowl, cute and pretty tasty because of the crispy texture and tenderness inside. The memma was kinda a disappointment when I saw them take out a giant vacuum bag of it to refill the prep tray. The soft egg was ice cold but spot-on on the runniness inside. The ramen noodles were just as good as the last bowl, toothy and springy, not straight nor curly, just in between. Would I get this again? Prolly not at this stage of the game, it needs a lot of work to agree with the $14 price tag. I would stick with Ton Ton's excellent version at $13, until they perform some voodoo magic shit on their tonkotsu broth here. I also hate the soup spoons they use here... They are fucking giant, thick and heavy and you can't get it under all the stuff.

The changing of the bowls on the menu.

Overall, I like the look and feel of the place, they did a good job there, there's no distractions to take you away from the food... But there lies the problem. You are now even more focused on the execution of the menu. I saw some items on the binchotan/robata grill that looked ok but nothing really stood out except the lofty prices. There were some tasty vittles on the hot apps but the ramen bowls were pretty much of a let down on this early visit. They need to revamped the ramen construction process, they need to understand that the most important part of the bowl is the broth, it's always about the broth, not the toppings, not even the ramen itself but that's a close second... Remember- noodles, hot broth then toppings and get that shit out to the slurper, STAT. Maybe I'll try it again in a month or two and hopefully they have made the necessary tweaks to dazzle me, squeeze the pouch and tickle my balls. Right now, it's still just an experiment... Especially, with the inexperienced line cooks (whom are prolly paid next to nothing, bless their hearts)... And stop throwing out food, motherfuckers. Oh, and btw... I hate that stupid ramen burger trend but my one fan will know I will still eat it and report back with the pouch findings.

828 W10 Ralph McGill Blvd
Atlanta, GA 30306
http://www.nextoatl.com/