DOLORES – Hungry for handmade ramen and tapas on a Monday evening? Consider heading over to Dolores River Brewery for its new Noodle Night. But get there early.
The brewery began hosting Noodle Night, which begins at 4 p.m. every Monday, with a soft opening in January. The brewery currently plans to host the nights through April.
“We had the idea in our heads since last year, but we finally executed it this winter,” said Basil Yu, the head chef in charge of Noodle Night. “We were talking about a ramen pop-up in Telluride, but we had some connections (in Dolores) and it sort of worked out.”
Yu’s crew is made up of members of his team from Dunton Hot Springs, where he is the head chef. Noodle Night is not affiliated with the resort.
“We wanted to do something sort of different for the community and create a creative output for us as cooks as we go into the slow season,” he said.
Mark Youngquist, owner of Dolores River Brewery, said the response has been “tremendous.”
“In fact, we generally sell out of food – I don’t think we’ve made it to 8 o’clock yet, at least the ramen dishes,” he said. “... If you come for a late dinner, you might be eating appetizers.”
The menu, based primarily around Japanese ramen dishes, varies from week to week. It typically features several tapas, such as steam buns or dumplings, a couple ramen options and a dessert.
“I think it’s the kind of food that we love to eat, and we can’t get it around here,” Yu said.
Yu describes the dishes he creates as inexpensive by design, though his team makes everything by hand.
“It takes a bit of work; it’s a really dry dough, and it takes a bit of muscle.”
ngonzales@durangoherald.com
