review: Illegal Food’s Ramen Pop-Up
It’s rather unfortunate that I didn’t spend more time in Atlanta when Illegal Food actually had their own store. From early 2015 to August 2017, chef Steven Lingenfelter and company had set up shop in Virginia-Highland, providing Atlanta with the Zagat-rated best burger in the city as well as the wildly popular (and delicious) Okonomiyaki-style fries. Their signature burger, the Hank, became one of my favorite food items because it was just so juicy, savory, and fresh, but even then, I only ate it twice before the shop closed up.
I spend a lot more time in Atlanta these days, driving into the city almost every weekend. I find myself to be a little obsessed with checking out new places to eat in the city, and I really wish these guys still had their outpost open. Luckily for me, however, Illegal Food has been running little pop-up shops all around the city for the past few months.
Back in the fall of 2017, they were operating pop-ups out of Little’s Food Store in Cabbagetown and Freedom Farmer’s Market at the Carter Center as both Illegal Food and Mouth Of The South, serving up banh mis and tacos. Last night’s specials, however, were their twists on ramen and wings.
I’m not going to discuss the deep intricacies of each flavor that their ramen graced my taste buds with because, well, I’ve only had ramen twice before this. I never ate ramen in college, and I tried a cheap bowl once about a year ago and I honestly don’t remember anything about it. More recently, I tried some tonkotsu ramen at Jinya Ramen Bar in Sandy Springs which was pretty tasty, but not something I’d wait in a long line for.
With my lack of ramen experience in mind, I took a gamble waiting in line for Illegal Food’s specialty ramen. But I’m a sucker for limited edition items: I’m the kid that buys cassettes instead of vinyl because I’d rather have the rare item versus the practical one. I bought Snap’s Spectacles for a premium just so I could have them early. Naturally, this late-night pop-up shop grabbed my immediate attention, and I could not wait to try out the food.
Last Night Took An L
Unforunately, on the first night of the pop-up, I didn’t get any ramen. I waited in line for about 90 minutes, kicking myself for not bringing headphones so I could listen to the just-released Culture II from Atlanta’s own Migos, but I stayed busy texting some friends for a bit. It was only 50ºF out but eventually the cold was getting into my bones as I grew a little impatient by the slow-moving line. But these little issues were nothing compared to the words coming out of the young woman’s mouth just a few feet in front of me:
“Hey everyone! They just ran out of food and didn’t tell anyone!”
She was right: it was 1:20 in the morning and even though Illegal Food said on the Facebook event page that they’d be open until 1am or until food ran out, it was still a shock to everyone. Not a single person came out to warn the crowd that they were running low on supplies, but to be totally fair, they were running with a crew of five people and desperately trying to get food out as quick as possible.
Obviously, I was a little disappointed, but I learned that if I really wanted this ramen, I’d have to show up much earlier. Or I could just stay home the following evening and cook up a bowl of Annie Chun’s and it’d be ready in around five minutes. But you already know which choice I made…
Tonight I Bounce Back
The following night, I arrived much earlier, at around 11pm. The line was already out the door as the shop hadn’t opened up yet, but I could already tell that I was much closer in line than the previous night. The shop opened fifteen minutes later, and I was a little closer than halfway in line. Once I finally came to the counter to order my food, it was 12:35am, and Chef Lingenfelter had just informed me himself that they had just ran out of wings, going through over forty pounds of them that night. This time, the order taker crossed out the wings on the menu, but I’m not sure if the rest of the line was informed.
Getting the food after ordering was a much quicker process, taking about ten minutes for two bowls of mushroom ramen to come into my hands. From there, all I had left was squeezing myself out of the store, walking in the rain back to my car which was ten minutes or so away in the narrow streets of Cabbagetown, and then a long thirty-minute drive home.
After two days of waiting in line in the cold, with one day ending in disappointment, the time had come to finally learn if my patience had paid off. Could Illegal Food come through with a delicious product yet again? Or would I regret spending $12 on ramen I could get elsewhere for cheaper and with less hassle?
For You Are Mine At Last
The first bite from the bowl was deliciously savory, even if I could barely get any noodles onto my mishandled chopsticks. The tofu had a teriyaki flavor, the wakami seaweed paired well with the noodles, and the vegetable broth didn’t make me miss the meaty pork flavor that would have likely dazzled my taste buds in the tonkotsu ramen.
Personally, however, I wouldn’t wait in line for this again unless I was real close to the front, like within the first ten spots or so. For $12, I’d say it’s fairly priced, especially since I feel that it’s a better bowl of ramen than what Jinya has to offer. Although for that same price, you could go to Food Terminal in Doraville and place your mouth in noodle heaven, but I guess that’s a class or two above ramen.
If you want to try some for yourself, Illegal Food will be open again this weekend on February 2nd and 3rd, 11p-1a, or until food runs out, which it likely will. Chef Lingenfelter spoke to another customer while I was in line, telling him that Illegal Food is setting a more permanent location just two buildings over, at the former location of Cabbage Pie. He expects the shop to be ready around April, and he said that they’d be serving up sandwiches, soups, and salads, so maybe the famous Hank might not come back.
Either way, I’m excited that they’re finally coming back with a new place. I could use without waiting in line for their food. Hopefully the new fare will be as good as their ramen and burgers!
- TL;DR: Illegal Food offers up a delicious bowl of ramen, but you better get in line real early if you want to try some!
- TND-style score: Strong 7 to light 8
- Price range: $11–$15
- Location: Little’s Food Store, Cabbagetown (only on select nights)
- More info: Instagram, Facebook, Menu
- Header image: Executive chef Steven Lingenfelter carefully prepares a fresh bowl of ramen in front of two patient customers.
