Basho Japanese Brasserie

Sometimes you're just craving soup. Every since I went to Japan last year I get intense cravings for ramen. Sure, we've made our own - but that takes time, a lot of time. And, Boston is not home to a large number of Japanese restaurants. Sure, there are sushi places, but not the specialized ramen, izakaya, or yakitori shops like you would find in Tokyo.

Luckily, there's a Japanese Brasserie - Basho - located on Boylston Street in the Fenway area, just a short walk from where I live - and they serve ramen.

The restaurant is clean, modern and was surprisingly quiet - we were there for a quick dinner before the movies. We sat at the granite top bar in the tiny, chic bar stools and took a look at the menu - despite already knowing what I wanted before I even sat down.

For my cocktail I ordered the White Tokyo Cosmo (Stoli white pomegranate vodka, sake, triple sec, lime juice and cranberry juice), which was very easy drinking.

For our appetizer we shared an order of the pork buns. These larger than expected pork buns were fantastic - chewy steamed bun and warm, with caramelized pork and thin slices of green onion.

For ramen we ordered one pork and one duck ramen.  Unlike the ramen that I tried in Japan, this had a hearty portion of vegetables, particularly broccoli rabe and carrots. It was a large meal, with generous portions of meat and noodles.

Basho was a good option for Japanses cuisine in Boston. While I liked the ramen, I thought the pork buns were fantastic, by far my favorite part of the meal. I look forward to another trip to the restaurant to try some of the other items on the menu.

All photos in this post were taken with a Hipstamatic lens.