Our guest is Mike Satinover, the chef/owner of Akahoshi Ramen in Chicago, which opened in November 2023. Mike joined us on Episode 280 in November 2022 and shared his fascinating story of how a young man who grew up in Chicago got into Japanese culture, ended up living in Japan, and discovered the profound world of ramen. Among ramen connoisseurs and aficionados, Mike has been known as Ramen Lord on Reddit and Instagram. He has been generously sharing valuable knowledge and educating whoever wants to learn about ramen so that they don’t have to find out how to make a good bowl on their own. Ramen has become very popular in the U.S. in the last two decades or so, arguably becoming a part of American food culture. Akahoshi Ramen has been gaining huge attention since its opening and represents the potential of ramen as a global cuisine beyond a Japanese traditional noodle dish. On this episode, we will discuss how Mike got into ramen, why he decided to quit his successful job as a market research analyst to open a ramen shop, the challenges he has faced in opening and running a ramen shop in Chicago, the soulful ramen he offers at Akahoshi Ramen and much, much more!!!