Before it opened, I must’ve called the proprietors behind Alvarado Ramen in downtown Monterey every week or two for 30 weeks. The day I finally got word I could stop by for a pre-opening taste of the 11-hour-simmered pork-belly broth – which proved better than I hoped – I was attending the Sustainable Foods Institute hosted by Seafood Watch and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The scariest number to emerge from the institute, among many: By the year 2020 there will be more plastic in the ocean, by weight, than fish.
So when I returned after opening and had a dynamic and satisfying meal – hot tonkotsu-broth ramen, cold sake, chicken karaage, kimchi, edamame – my appetite was undermined by the 14 pieces of plastic in front of us.
I love Hank Kim, the man behind the noodles, and I love ramen. He says they are working on a way to wash porcelain dishes without a water credit. I’ll be back when they figure that out.
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