WORCESTER - This falls somewhere on the other side of the keyhole. I peeked through to see the Walrus and the Carpenter talking of many things. Not just cabbages and kings but lasagna popsicles, roast pork ice cream and the ramen cuisine at Broth.
Inside it’s pretty much hipster chic, with a graffiti board in back saying nothing in particular and “Stuff-You-are-About-to-Eat TV” on flat screens above the bar during our midafternoon visit on a Friday. Those food photos are more refreshing than any commercial network in a dining area.
Menus placed on the copper-top tables are the same afternoon and night and are pretty tight: five appetizers, five ramen bowls, hard and soft drinks and two desserts. There’s also a separate saki menu, a drink that I imagine fits oh so well with the kitchen concoctions described herein.
Broth is sort of an annex to the adjacent Hangover Pub, where bacon is the confetti of a more diverse pork party menu running from brunch to late night. So this block is zoned Interestingly Commercial, but our server spent a lot of time running back and forth between the two rooms. That translated into some delays.
Not the case receiving drinks and appetizers, however. The two of us opted soft with Mango Limeade and tea. My limeade wasn’t overly sweet but enough so to be refreshing. At $5, it better have been.
We chose Kimchi Bacon Rice Balls and Crab and Bacon Rangoons to start, each $9. Also in that neighborhood are Kimchee Pickles, Pork Belly Bahn Mi Grilled Cheese, Triple Garlic Noodles in a Hollandaise sauce and Karaage Chicken Nuggets.
These were not ricey rice balls but a total blend of flavors that rendered even bacon indiscernible inside wonderful panko-breaded globes. Three 2-inchers were served above greens and beneath a sriracha aioli. The half-dozen Rangoons also blended flavors well but with a strong crab presence, not that indiscernible goop found so often. The wontons were fried to a not-too-deep brown, almost the perfect call. So yum to all so far.
The flight from the first, Asian-infused course back to the states took a little time to prepare, but we were well-rewarded with ramens that include New England Clambake, French Onion, Triple Pork, Chicken Parmesan and Vegetarian.
The stocks were enhanced accordingly, each with enough ramen noodles to ensure a take-home portion even in the small bowls we ordered. Smalls range from $9 to $14 and larges run $12 to $19 and would seem an unimaginable chore for one person to finish in a single sitting.
When I say Chicken Parmesan, I’m talking the whole deal — good-sized (as in need a knife to cut) fried white meat chunks under melted mozzarella and topped with arugula walnut pesto that also floated freely amid scallions and shoyu egg, a hard-boiled Japanese recipe with soy sauce marinade. ‘Twas fairly amazing.
The Clambake came across more as seafood noodle gumbo, with clam flavor taking a backseat to more evident corn and mixed broth flavors emanating from sesame, miso, shrimp, bacon, scallions and that egg again, but especially with the addition of a generous dose of Chinese lap suong sausage. Call it andouille sausage if you will, because it all has a definite Louisiana flair. Quite good.
In other news, Triple Pork features belly, bacon and roast pork, and French Onion tosses in the expected ingredients and sirloin steak, roasted tomato and bean sprouts to boot.
After a further delay between slurping and dessert, we manned up with Man Candy, several thick-cut bacon strips in a brown sugar/maple ooze. It’s a finger food, and maybe you want to dab a little behind the ears. For $8, it’s pretty attractive and decidedly the first and best bacon dessert concoction in my experience.
Also offered is Bread Pudding and, if it can’t be Asian it, too, can at least contain bacon.
Our bill of $60.03 included an $8.95 soft drink total for two and a couple of $9 apps and one $8 dessert. But we went with the small ramen bowls so things could puff up further. Still, it felt nutritious and fresh. (Well, maybe not so nutritious on the Man Candy.)
We’re taking off points for not having decaf available, nor cream for the hot drinks. Silverware setup wasn’t complete as well, until prompted.
I do look forward to menu changes that subject open more once-conventional dishes to a ramen bath. But this selection hit the spot quite nicely.