Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1050416
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 18 NOVEMBER 2018 e North Shore needs more ramen. ere. We've said it. While other trends (small plates, chef-driven casual, brown spir- its) have crept slowly up the coast, there is a desperate hole where Japanese noodles should be—especially in a part of the country that suf- fers through thunder snow and bomb cyclones. Crouching over a massive bowl of long-sim- mered pork broth is one of the few things that can brighten the dark days of winter. is is why you should make your way to Lowell's 1981 Ramen Bar. Peek into the open kitchen and admire the three-foot-tall stock- pot used to simmer broth for as much as 48 hours—the staff welcomes the attention. en grab a seat in the small, artfully deconstructed dining room, with its polished cement floors and wide plate glass windows. Admire the brick wall covered with what appears to be graffiti but is actually a remnant of Mambo Grill, the Mexican spot that occupied the space before Ramen took over. In a tradition that started at Mambo more than a decade ago, students and diners wrote their names on the wall as a local rite of passage. Now 1981 Ramen Bar owner Peter Huynh has added his name, and workers and regulars are invited to do the same. / E AT+ D R I N K / THE MENU Small plates: Marinated Japanese Cucumbers $4, Pork Belly Confit Steamed Baos $8 Main courses: Smoked Chicken Ramen $13, Baby Octopus Mazeman $14 Clockwise from top left, Marinated Japanese cucumbers, baby octopus mazeman; diners add their names to the rustic brick walls.