I’ve had some great meals at 106 King St., including at Kushi Bar Muramoto and The Haze. The recently opened Morris Ramen is carrying the mantle now, and it’s worthy of the location.
The short menu leads off with four choices of ramen–including spicy and veggie–plus a daily chef’s special, which was never offered in any of my visits. The namesake Morris ($14) has a very meaty flavored broth, and I loved that you can see the grease in it. I see why additional toppings are priced out, as you only get one slice of pork, which was tender and had the right amount of fat. Meanwhile, the fermented bamboo shoots provided a nice sour crunch, and the egg carried the flavor of its own marinade.
That same pork was in the pork bun ($4.50); beef, chicken and squash are the other options. The pickle was mildly sour and slightly crunchy, which was a good contrast to the soft and moist mantou. Inside was a drizzle of hoisin sauce that complemented, not overwhelmed, the flavor of the pork.
“Not Ramen” is actually a section of the menu. The chicken wings (six for $8) were thick and moist. The Kimchi Ranch sauce was surprisingly muted in flavor, and it doesn’t stick to the meat, so you will likely do a lot of smearing.
Another item on this list is the chashu donburi ($8), a rice bowl that comes with either chicken, pork belly or beef short rib. That beef was a perfect medium rare. I just wish there was more juice from the beef or a sauce with this bowl because of the high rice-to-meat ratio.
My only disappointment at Morris Ramen was its use of those disposable, flimsy chopsticks common to Chinese takeout restaurants.
Among the cocktails, I tried the Starburst Sunrise ($8). The lychee stands out, and the drink has just enough orange vodka flavor to keep you honest. You’ll also find a small sake selection on the menu.
Morris Ramen is open for dinner Monday-Saturday and lunch on weekdays.
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See more photos in our Morris Ramen Flickr album.
Another build-your-own pizza place opened in the Madison area, a chain restaurant in Fitchburg called 
Nine “classic” pizzas–as in, the toppings are pre-decided, but you can still add more–lead off the menu. The Tristan was relatively light in flavor, even with the generous portion of roasted red peppers and mushrooms (I added spicy sausage). I actually didn’t miss the lack of pizza sauce, thanks to the pesto drizzle.
The Sunset Bowl ($7.50/$9.50) has a blend of pineapple, mango, strawberries, unsweetened coconut milk and MAQ 7 (“a unique blend of nature’s most powerful and exotic superfruits around the world,” according to Bowl of Heaven) and is topped with flax seed granola, shaved coconut, strawberries, kiwis and honey. Obviously, your mouth will experience a breadth of flavors in every bite–for example, the mango brings brightness, and the coconut lingers in your mouth–yet they all harmonize very well.
A special bowl for Madison is the UW Badger Bowl ($7.99/$9.99), which is topped with strawberries in a pattern resembling the Union Terrace chairs. For all bowls, you can add “boosts” such as fresh mint or fresh ginger.
