Importantly though, I don't want to indict Hapa Ramen for the unsatisfying situation. I don't go to events like this very often -- in part because I know the food is frequently subject to inconsistencies sometimes even beyond the chef's control. This experience solidified that suspicion. The operation was simply overwhelmed. On Sunday morning, I read on Hapa Ramen's Twitter feed that 500 people had been served. That is astounding. Ramen isn't something you can just dish up either; it requires a lot of moving parts. In this case, the fried chicken, the slow-poached egg, the (ideally) hot broth, the noodles with the right lightness and consistency -- they all had to come together at the right time. Anything tumbling out of order skews the overall effect. A chef can pull noodles, but he can't control the Internet, and part of me guesses that the massive turnout will generate more interest -- even if more than a few bowls of ramen failed to pass muster -- precisely because getting served was such an ordeal. No ramen is worth a four-hour wait, though this particular rendition might have been much better in a less tumultuous setting -- perhaps tastier, and certainly scrutinized with less intensity after, say, a wait of merely 15 minutes. The wait was not just about space in the restaurant; it also reflected the strain under which the kitchen was cooking, and the fact the cooks had to have been deeper in the weeds than Mary-Louise Parker. Maybe if you go to events like this a lot, you have to not mind not eating. Maybe you just have to will yourself embrace the chaos and have good humor -- refusing to succumb to the notion you're eating at a real restaurant. Make no other plans you can't easily bail on. Be prepared to improvise. Bring a candy bar, and maybe another to share.

tampopotampopo

Coffee Bar Event: What's Hapa'nin' Now