This is What Clam Chowder Udon Looks Like

Earlier this week I had a chance to fly out to Cleveland, Ohio for Certified Angus Beef’s 2012 Culinary Ideation and Trends Session. The post for all that is coming soon, but while I was there, I also caught wind of at least one food item I never thought I would hear about, ever.

I im’ed my editor immediately:

“Clam. Chowder. Udon.”

This explosion of East meets . . . further . . . East comes from Cleveland-based restaurant Noodlecat, which opened in August 2011. Branded as a “slurpalicious Japanese-American mash-up from Chef Jonathon Sawyer,” much of Noodlecat’s menu looks like what happens when a college student decides to go to culinary school and comes back to make the exact same foods he made before, only a million times better.

To be honest, the whole menu is jaw-dropping, so expect this to turn into a continuing series of posts, but to kick us off, the Clam Chowder Udon pictured above is a fusion-inspired soup made with udon noodles, potatoes, onions, celery and bacon, in a creamy clam and bonito broth.

Truth be told, the official menu actually says the bacon is “optional,” but if you’re a regular Foodbeast reader, you should know by now that bacon is never optional. And if you’re a regular Foodbeast reader from Ohio, neither is paying Noodlecat a visit. Like, right now.

[Photo via Noodlecat]