Michelle Liu Photo
Cilantro tops the noodles at K2 Asia’s noodle booth, serving Singapore rice noodles, black bean noodles and stewed beef noodles.
Out of the dozens of available noodle picks, Raven Hodge opted for spicy miso ramen.
You wouldn’t have been able to tell by the way Hodge cradled the cup — bedecked with pork and charred corn, and sprinkled with scallions — that it was only her second time trying the Japanese soup dish.
Hodge, who had stopped in with her girlfriend Aquiera Halsey to the latest monthly “First Friday” event “Noodles On9” on Orange Street, said they had arrived right after work to kick off the weekend. “Work sucks,” she added.
The spicy miso ramen — as offered by Mecha Noodle Bar, which opened two weeks ago on Crown Street — wasn’t the only gluten-full dish around to revive spirits made low by a long workweek. The block-long street festival, held in conjunction with City-Wide Open Studios 2016 kick-off, featured a variety of Ninth Square vendors committed to feeding visitors with international noodle dishes. Think Italy, China, Vietnam and Peru.
While a handful of tables were set up, Daven Kaphar, 7, and his brother Savion, 9, found that the curb was the best place to enjoy servings of their chosen dinner.
“Ravioli,” Daven offered, when asked what he was eating.
“Rigatoni,” their mother, Julianne Kaphar, corrected.
No matter the name, the red-sauced pasta dish is a sure hit with kids, said John Ginnetti of 116 Crown, which hosted a joint booth with sandwich shop Meat & Co.
“It has the holy trinity of the Mediterranean: olives, capers and anchovies,” Ginnetti said. “But you don’t taste any of them on their own. They form a cohesive flavor bomb.”
While Ginnetti promoted his pasta dishes as the best in the crowd, some visitors to the block diversified their options.
Sandwiched between Brittany Walker and Stephanie Speaker, Craig Regan took a large bite of pad thai from Pho & Spice.
“We’re supposed to be sharing these noodles,” Walker pointed out.
Regan reluctantly handed the plate over, noting that the trio was probably going to head back for more. Speaker, on his other side, dived into a plate of “ants on a tree,” Sichuan Chinese noodles with ground pork.
“It’s good,” Speaker said. “A little spicy, but I like it.”