Enjoy traditional ramen in downtown setting

As it happened, we went to Itsy Bitsy Ramen & Whisky on a perfect evening for ramen.

It was overcast as we made our way downtown to the restaurant at the base of the Ogden. We parked on the street in front of the building, took a table next to one of the large windows along Ogden Street and watched a classic modern urban scene, with a mix of young professionals —€” many of them in workout clothes — returning to their condos for the evening, and more traditional downtown dwellers pushing their shopping carts along the street.

And then the wind picked up, the trees nearly bending to the ground, the pedestrians picking up their pace as they headed for shelter. The sky darkened and the rain came, the furious wind lashing it sideways. And we sat and slurped our ramen, a quintessential comfort food.

Ramen places have popped up all over the valley in recent years, most of them clustered in and around Chinatown. If you know about them, you know the ramen they serve isn‘t the salty, flavorless stuff loved by college students, but the real thing with a tradition in Japan that goes back to the beginning of the last century.

Itsy Bitsy may not have the Japanese street cred of its Chinatown brethren, and its selections may not be as extensive as theirs, but the basics are there: You choose thin or thick noodles. Then you choose tonkotsu, shoyu or miso broth; while miso is the most familiar, tonkotsu (pork broth) and shoyu (broth imbued with soy sauce) are becoming more so as the tradition spreads across the valley. At Itsy Bitsy the ramen comes with chashu, the popular braised pork, plus bean sprouts, scallions and a soy-cured egg. The basics are $9.75 and you can add other items, including tofu, nori or fish cake, for an additional charge. For us it would be the thin noodles, tonkotsu and the basics.

I was especially looking forward to the chashu, rolled and braised with honey and soy sauce, for its rich flavor and velvety texture, and it didn‘t disappoint. Neither did the broth, slightly viscous thanks to the collagen in the pork bones. Ditto for the perfectly cooked noodles and the egg, which added a shot of salty sweetness and characteristic firm texture.

But ramen isn‘t all Itsy Bitsy has to offer; we might have had a hand roll or rice bowl. You‘ve heard of Mexican street corn? We started with some Japanese Street Corn ($2.75), miso-braised and lovely, the husks wound around it artfully. And some mushroom spring rolls ($5.75), tightly rolled and filled with a savory mixture with meaty texture. And beef robata skewers ($5.75), marinated for both tenderness and sparks of ginger and soy.

Service was friendly and polite, the decor arty and airy —€” and, best of all, carrying the modern urban vibe that‘s gradually showing itself downtown. Itsy Bitsy may not have the cachet of a Chinatown location, but as an urban spot, it works.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Email Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal.com and bestoflasvegas.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.