THE NOODLE MAN.Byline: Andrea Damewood The Register-Guard Toshi Ishibashi is his ramen ra·men n. 1. A Japanese dish of noodles in broth, often garnished with small pieces of meat and vegetables. 2. A thin white noodle served in this dish. . For the past eight years, he has spent 15 hours a day, six days a week - always in his signature blue bandana - inside his restaurant, Toshi's Ramen on Pearl Street, dishing up hot bowls of savory broth and handmade noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. . On his days off, he can be found in his minivan, running errands for the shop. It's his name, after all, on the sign out front. "My life is here," Ishibashi said. "I'm a control freak control freak Slang n. One who has an obsessive need to exert control over people and situations. Noun 1. control freak - someone with a compulsive desire to exert control over situations and people . I can't actually trust people, I can't depend on somebody to cook my ramen." So much the better for his customers. His nonstop perfectionism per·fec·tion·ism n. A tendency to set rigid high standards of personal performance. per·fec  tion·ist adj. & n. (before sitting down to talk, he
can't help straightening a nearby picture frame and adjusting the
table below it) has earned him a cadre of loyal regulars - during cold
winter days, he serves about 200 bowls of ramen.
But Ishibashi's obsessive nature was born of necessity: He couldn't afford to hire help during his first few years of business, as he fought the American image of ramen as deep-fried blocks that go 10 for $1 and cook in three minutes "Three Minutes" is the 46th episode of Lost. It is the twenty-second episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. It first aired on May 17, 2006 on ABC. . "When people think ramen, they think cheap," he said. "After they eat my ramen, they realize what it really is." Ramen is served in his restaurant in three varieties, miso (Multiple Inputs Single Output) Pronounced "my-so," it is the use of multiple transmitters and a single receiver on a wireless device to improve the transmission distance. See MIMO. , shoyu sho·yu n. Soy sauce. [Japanese sh  yu; see soy.] (soy) and shio (salt) bases, accompanied by noodles and a variety of
toppings including seaweed, corn, garlic and pork.
Ishibashi adheres to the tradition of Japanese ramenya - typically hole-in-the-wall restaurants that are devoted to the noodle arts and are open late. He makes no concessions, save one: vegetarian broth. "Since I'm in Eugene and there's lots of vegetarians, I decided to go with it," he said. "I still don't go for tofu tofu Soft, bland, custardlike food product made from soybeans. Believed to date from China's Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), tofu is today an important source of protein in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia. , though." Asians looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a taste of home constitute between 30 and 40 percent of business - Chinese conversation and Korean-language newspapers are as much a part of the ambiance am·bi·ance also am·bi·ence n. The special atmosphere or mood created by a particular environment: "The noir ambience is dominated by low-key lighting . . . as the red walls and paper lanterns. "It's good, it's very delicious," said Jungjin Kim, who moved to Eugene eight months ago from Korea. "I've tried ramen back in my home country; this is like home." Ishibashi - who at age 37 is still carded for alcohol - is involved in every process, purchasing vegetables, preparing broth, cooking and moving through his kitchen like a 20-year-old sprinter ladling sauce and scooping rice. Even personal fitness has a place in his shop. During breaks, he does pull-ups on a bar installed over a door in the kitchen. But he says he's planning to slow down, even if it means relinquishing a bit of control. The divorced father would like to spend more time with his sons, Sebastian, 11, and Rudy, 8. He's only been back to Japan once in the past eight years. Television, movies and reading are all distant memories. "I forgot about the word dating," he said with a laugh. Though ramen is his favorite food, Ishibashi said opening his own shop in a relatively obscure town in Oregon was far from his mind while growing up in Isesaki, a city about 155 miles northwest of Tokyo. After earning a business degree in Tokyo, he moved to Portland in 1993, where he studied English at the University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university located in Portland, Oregon. It is specifically affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross and is the sister school of the University of Notre Dame. Founded in 1901, UP has a student body of about 3,200 students. . It was there that he met his wife, a Eugene native, and the couple soon moved back to Japan, where they married. He joined the family's business in Pachinko pa·chin·ko n. A Japanese gambling game played on a vertical pinball machine. [Japanese.] Noun 1. gambling, a popular pastime similar to pinball reputed to have strong ties to the Japanese mafia and government. "I guess I wasn't the type of person who runs that type of business," he said. So he quit. With a move to the United States in mind, Ishibashi began learning the art of ramen, apprenticing at two ramenyas, where he learned secrets through close observation. "They don't teach their recipes," he said. "I just had to steal what they were doing." He and his wife moved to Eugene, and Ishibashi selected the site of a former gas station and deli for his restaurant, which opened in 1999. Though now single, Ishibashi said Eugene is now his home as well. "I love to see regular customers," he said. "I have a good time with my employees and I guess I like making ramen everyday." EUGENE'S RAMEN MASTER Who: Toshi Ishibashi, owner of Toshi's Ramen, 1520 Pearl St. Age: 37 Number of hours he works a week: At least 90 Favorite ramen dish: Shoyu (soy) Wakame wa·ka·me n. A brown seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida) native to the coasts of China, Japan, and Korea, having a short stipe and pinnately divided blades, extensively used in Asian cooking. [Japanese.] (seaweed) Bowls of ramen eaten daily: At least one, but often more Family: Lives in Eugene with his mother, Chieko, and two sons, Sebastian, 11, and Rudy, 8 Symbolic: The Japanese characters used to spell his name mean "Echo of Happiness" |
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