"Hell ramen" challenges your taste buds at this new Phoenix restaurant

Zoom in: Strings has various options of tonkotsu, kimchi, shoyu and miso ramen, but what stands out the most is their "Hell Ramen" menu, which you order in spiciness levels 1-5.

• If you've got the stomach for it, try their Monster Hell Ramen Challenge — finish a bowl of their level 5 ramen within 20 minutes and you get a commemorative t-shirt and a $50 gift card.

Our colleague Monica Eng at Axios Chicago is a big fan and usually gets the miso or tonkotsu ramen.

• "When it comes to the Hell Ramen, I don't know anyone who's gone past level 3 (of 4) and the one time I tried even 3, I was feeling it at least a full day later, if you know what I mean," she says.

Jeremy's best bites: I'm a spicy food guy but was wary of the Hell Ramen, so I got Sichuan-style gyukotsu, with creamy bone broth and Wagyu, beef shank and bone-in beef back rib.

• The ramen was delicious and I kicked things up a notch by adding a level 2 Hell sauce, which wasn't nearly as spicy as I expected.
• I also got a side of takoyaki — fried, battered balls filled with octopus and cabbage. Very creamy, and I would've never guessed there was cabbage if the menu hadn't told me.