There’s a whole subculture of obsessives over ramen and other Asian noodle soups, who exchange tips and make sweeping pronouncements about how this place is the greatest or the whole city of Chicago sucks, man, noodle-wise, compared to [insert city here]. But take a lesson from the master, foodsters: L2O chef Matt Kirkley found an Asian noodle soup joint that beats them all for obscurity (Hammond, Indiana), atmosphere (straight out of James Bond) and authentic Asian diner cred (it was created for Asian customers and is barely mentioned in English by the establishment that owns it). It’s the Foo Noodle Bar…
…behind the Baccarat pit of the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. I stumbled upon (quite literally) this hidden delight at 3 a.m. one evening, and since have become quite addicted… About 3 minutes after ordering, your food arrives. It’s got to be quick, as the majority of the hardcore gambler guests inhale these noodle bowls (that are the size of your head) in about 5 minutes and book back to the tables.
As he notes, most of the diners are comped, but for him, the price of this bowl of noodles can run anywhere from free to a few hundred bucks, depending on how the baccarat table is going. He’s got a couple of pics of the food; he’d show you more, but he was warned to stop taking pictures in the casino. By a large Asian man in a bowler hat, we assume. [Epicurious]
