Wagamama

Years ago during my first trip to Manchester England, I came across Wagamama at the PrintWorks.  I was drawn to menu for the resemblance to another restaurant in NYC called Republic.  (Love the red star in their logo.)  Wagamama's menu was full of delicious sounding Asian dishes ranging from big bowls of ramen to pan fried udon noodles to sauteed rice dishes.  For reasons beyond me now we did not eat at Wagamama while in England but I never forgot about it.  We recently went to Boston and came across a Wagamama in the Prudential Center and decided to try it out for lunch.  The seating is communal but we were there early so we had our own benches along the windows which provided interesting people watching views in the Prudential Center .  In true Mr.K & H0B0wife fashion we ordered more food than necessary (hey at least it was cheap this time) so we ended up ordering 2 appetizers, 2 entree dishes and a side of Japanese pickles (loved pickled daikon).  The food all lived up to the 'hype' (my own brain imagining how good it was going to be) so it is My Weekly Fav Restaurant.  The food was all served quickly but that is the restaurants style so it was not an issue.  Each dish was artfully plated (which is always a bonus but especially when the dishes are under $14).

Appetizers:

chili calamari - Crispy squid seasoned with sea salt and shichimi. served with a sweet chili, garlic and cilantro sauce 

chicken lettuce wraps - Grilled chicken with a rich and tangy sauce, served with crisp lettuce to wrap

Entrees:

chili ramen - Spicy broth and ramen noodles topped with grilled steak or chicken breast, fresh chilies, red onion, bean sprouts, cilantro, scallion and a wedge of lime

ginger chicken udon - Teppan-fried udon noodles with chicken marinated in ginger, garlic and lemongrass. served with snow peas, red onion, bean sprouts, chili, egg and scallion. garnished with pickled red ginger and cilantro

If you happen to live in or near Boston (hi to all of my friends in Salem, MA) or are planning a trip to Boston consider Wagamama for a quick, cheap and tasty meal!