Ganko Ittetsu Ramen, Osteria Posto: Reviewed

Ganko Ittetsu Ramen opened in Brookline in October. Chef and owner Ken Iwaoka strives for simplicity in his ramen, according to The Boston Globe's Catherine Smart.

The menu has just four items: a "delicious sesame cucumber salad" and three types of ramen. They are made Sapporo-style, meaning "the elements of the dish are caramelized and combined in a hot wok, rather than assembled in the bowl," Smart wrote.

The house specialty miso ramen showcases this method, Smart wrote, noting that the "springy noodles are perfectly cooked." The straightforward shoyu ramen is "rich and savory with a pleasant lip-coating smack of fat, without being overly greasy," Smart wrote. Finally, the tan-tan ramen with its kick of sesame sauce "is warming but doesn't scorch." Overall, the ramen is "simply delicious."

The Improper Bostonian's MC Slim JB also gave Ganko a try and found "a gorgeous, sophisticated trio of ramens."

Slim wrote that the cucumber salad was "eminently simple yet boasting a subtle richness." As for the quality of the noodles in the ramen, "Ganko hits a high bar on that score, serving a slender, kinky, straw-toned alkaline noodle purportedly made to its custom specifications by Sapporo's Nishiyama Seimen Co."

He found the shoyu ramen light and unassuming "soul-nourishing comfort," and the tan-tan ramen had a buttery and nutty broth that made it "homelier, heavier, less multi-dimensional" thank the other bowls. He said the house specialty was the star — "in a word, glorious."

Kerry J. Byrne of the Boston Herald visited Waltham's Osteria Posto and found "a rare but decadent cut" of cap steak that he felt was "uncommon even in Boston's most luxurious steakhouses." The steak is served in a bone marrow fat broth, with vincotto, and has a rich flavor, according to Byrne. He wrote that it was one dish at the new Italian-inspired restaurant that just jumped off the menu.