St. Louis, MORamen

Menya Rui makes its own noodles and serves brothless styles such as tsukemen and mazemen. Its tantanmen combines chewy noodles, ground pork, chile oil, sesame paste and numbing spice. Pork Shoyu outsells the other five varieties in this 24-seat shop, which placed second on Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat list.

Qui Tran of Mai Lee and Marie-Anne Velasco opened this noodle shop after years of planning. Its compact menu has cold starters such as spring rolls and kimchi, vegetable sides, two banh mi, four pho varieties and ramen. Try the tantan men with fragrant sesame sauce.

At this Manchester Road room in Maplewood, order miso-corn ramen, a northern Japan specialty. The kitchen also grills izakaya-style snacks such as beef tongue and bacon-wrapped scallops. Add a pour of unfiltered sake.

Ben Sawyer rebuilt the former Blue Ocean sushi room as a Japanese pub on Manchester Avenue. The ramen and sushi menus go beyond familiar versions, starting with snacks. The 60-seat room holds bar and high-top space for walk-ins.

HongMing Wang brought a rotating sushi bar to St. Louis. This room has booths and minimalist decor for a long sit, with ramen alongside the conveyor belt. Take tuna, salmon or yellowtail as it passes; order ama shrimp, salmon roe or eel from a tableside tablet for delivery on miniature go-karts.