FoodHack: Vietnamese Ramen @ CO

THE PROBLEM:  With certain noodle bowl dishes, I find the broth the most interesting, the goodies, the second most interesting, and the noodles the least interesting.  I realize this is hypocritical, due to my conviction that quality of pasta outstrips quality of sauce in importance, or that the tortilla makes the taco, or that good pizza is impossible with mediocre crust, but its true.  When I order the Pho at Pho #1 on Rivers Ave., I invariably have a half pound of noodle sitting at the bottom of my bowl.  My beloved XO ramen at Co shares the same fate.  I realize that the proper noodle texture is paramount, but that doesn't stop me from ignoring the noodles once I've had a bite or two.  I have said on multiple occasions that if Co was out of noodles, pork, fried shallots, and eggs, I would still be happy to pay my $13 for a big cup of XO ramen broth and a straw.

THE HACK:  Consider the great French classic, pot-au-feu.  It is a boiled meat dish served in several courses.  First, the grilled tranches of bread, smeared with the marrow simmered from the soup bones, sprinkled with course salt.  Then, the broth, clear, glistening with beef fat, and, if you're lucky, given the golden color and complex perfume that including a slice of spleen will yield (or so I've read, its damn hard to find cow spleen in this town).  Lastly, a plate of the assorted boiled meats, along with the tender vegetables, accented with pickles and mustard.

I took a similar course the other day with my Vietnamese Ramen at Co.  The bowl arrived steaming in front of me.  First, I stole a few jalapeno slices from my neighbor's garnish tray to give the broth a little zing.  Then, I ate the broth, rapidly and appreciatively, along with the scallions and fried shallots that dress the surface of the soup, along with the soft poached egg, of course.  I may have had a bite or two of the firm noodles or yielding pork belly during this onslaught, but I couldn't swear it.  So there I was, satisfied with my Vietnamese Ramen experience, but still guilt-stricken about the large pile of rapidly cooling noodles in front of me, mingled with limp strands of bok choy and bits of braised pork, all insipid and weak without their dance partner, the bewitchingly subtle and powerful Vietnamese Ramen broth.

The solution?  Have a second course.  Now that I had consumed my beloved Vietnamese Ramen/Egg Broth Soup, I was going to have Spicy Noodle Salad.  I took the bottle of Co housemade Singapore Hot sauce (full of black sesame seeds and other fascinating little bits) and poured a generous amount over my noodles and tossed them well.  The hot, chunky condiment glazed the bok choy, the cool noodles, and the pork, which had already given much of its life to the broth and was now just an excercise in texture, with acidic, fiery pizazz.

You can have your noodle bowl.  I will settle into a Two Course Degustation of Savory Broth followed by Spicy Congealed Noodle Salad.

The waiter looked at me like I was crazy.