Budget Bites: Killer Noodle
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Veggie Tokyo ramen. Photo: Shafaq Patel/Axios
For the first installment of our new Budget Bites series, in which we'll find the best budget meals (under $20), I swung by Killer Noodle, a popular Los Angeles ramen eatery that opened in the Heights last fall.
The big picture: Killer Noodle serves tantanmen, a spicy style of Japanese ramen loosely based on the Sichuan dan dan noodles.
- Plus: There's a good array of vegetarian options.
Flashback: Killer Noodles opened in L.A. in 2017 and is known for being dangerously spicy, per the Los Angeles Times.
- Its restaurant critic described the spiciness as "floating on a sea of endorphins" and noted there were servers hovering "making sure that you are not in too much physical distress, offering you towels, refilling the ice water."
My experience: The Houston location did not have the seemingly chaotic energy with people testing their spice tolerance that was described in L.A. Instead, it was a regular ramen destination.
- I ordered the Tokyo-style ramen with soup — the signature dish — with the side of shishito peppers. My server forgot to make my ramen spicy, but the regular taste of the creamy noodles had wonderful flavor and a light kick.
- Halfway through eating the ramen, I added the ghost pepper powder that I was later given. The powder amped up the flavor and was delicious but became too spicy for me to finish the bowl.
- The garlic-flavored shishito peppers were a great respite while my mouth was burning.
Cost: $13.50, plus $2 for the ghost pepper powder.
If you go: 1835 N. Shepherd Dr. Normally open from 11am-10pm, with a break on weekdays from 2:30pm-5:30pm.