Must-try: Kinton Ramen perfects the beloved Japanese street food

By Jeffrey Bercuson | Photograph by Emma McIntyre | Styling by Linsey Bell

At 7 on a Friday night, the sidewalk outside Kinton, the six-month-old noodle bar on Baldwin Street, is lined with chattering Japanese students, canoodling couples and eager gastro-tourists—all willing to wait an hour and a half for ramen. Their dedication is entirely justified. Chef Nobuaki Urata tops his spicy garlic ramen with a heap of raw garlic so recklessly huge, it inspires trepidation at first. But once it melds with the chili-spiked pork broth, fear becomes fascination. The soup evolves as you eat: lip-searing heat gives way to buttery sweetness that ends in a caramel flourish from the torched, blackened pork belly lingering in the bottom of the bowl. It’s little wonder the typical posture of diners is a reverential hunch. 51 Baldwin St., 647-748-8900