This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter. To get the full newsletter every Wednesday, subscribe at sltrib.com/newsletters.
Hello, Eaters! Recently, I ate at an incredible new ramen spot: UT Craft Ramen, which opened at the end of May at 7662 Union Park Ave., in Midvale.
The chef, Ken Ota, studied ramen-making in Japan, where he is from, and he also established his own ramen school in the United States. Ota, along with his wife, Aki Ota, and Dustin Pham — who is from Vietnam and is one of Ken Ota’s ramen students — are three of the several co-owners of UT Craft Ramen.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Little claw toy machines UT Craft Ramen at 7662 Union Park Ave in Sandy is pictured on Tuesday, July 7, 2025.
Ken Ota’s first solo restaurant was KC Craft Ramen (KC as in Kansas City), which he said is a “brother/sister restaurant” to UT Craft Ramen, with the same concept and food.
With UT Craft Ramen, “our ultimate goal is we want to bring Japan to Utah,” Pham said. That goal is reflected in the restaurant’s decor as well as the shelves of Japanese snacks, candy, toys and drinks at the front. But it’s really evident in the authentic ramen, which he and Ota describe as the “soul food” of Japan.
As a soul food, ramen should be a “basic” but high-quality food that’s not “crazy expensive,” Pham said (at UT Craft Ramen, a bowl of ramen is $15). And “it’s supposed to soothe the soul of whoever’s eating it,” he continued.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The handmade pork gyoza at UT Craft Ramen, 7662 Union Park Ave in Sandy, Tuesday, July 7, 2025.
At UT Craft Ramen, they focus on quality, Pham said, “meaning that everything comes nice and fresh.”
Every part of their ramen, from the broth to the noodles to the toppings, is made in-house. I ordered the UT Black ramen, which Ota said is one of their “signature” ramen, along with the spicy UT Red.
To make UT Black, they start with 100% bone broth, made with pork and chicken. Then they add to that a concentrated seasoning called “tare,” which in this case is made with soy sauce.
(Note: Ota said 90% of ramen restaurants cheat and use a packaged soup base to make their broth. Not so at UT Craft Ramen. “Our ultimate goal is to deliver the best bowl of ramen that Utah has to offer,” Pham said.)
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) UT Craft Ramen at 7662 Union Park Ave in Sandy is pictured on Tuesday, July 7, 2025.
Then they add their housemade wheat noodles to the broth, then two pieces of pork chashu, bean sprouts, wood ear mushrooms (the texture is really something else), atijama (soft-boiled egg), shredded green onion, corn and bamboo shoots, which they marinate in-house as well.
As the bowl of ramen is being assembled, the chef adds black garlic oil as a finishing step. Ota said they make this black garlic oil by roasting garlic until it’s blackened, then infusing oil with that smoky garlic.
To read more about what I thought about this bowl of ramen, scroll down to the “Dish of the Week” section of this newsletter.
If you want to change the meat in your bowl of ramen, or tweak the broth, Pham said they welcome requests for customization.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) UT Craft Ramen at 7662 Union Park Ave in Sandy is pictured on Tuesday, July 7, 2025.
He also said they are working on coming up with a gluten-free ramen option that doesn’t sacrifice taste. UT Craft Ramen currently has gluten-free noodles, but be aware that the ramen isn’t 100% gluten free because the toppings are all marinated in soy sauce.
UT Craft Ramen is celebrating its grand opening on Aug. 1-2 with a special ramen, made with A5 wagyu chashu imported from Japan. Tickets are $19.98 to this limited event and include a bowl of ramen.
UT Craft Ramen opens at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; on Saturday, it’s open for lunch from noon to 3 p.m., then for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m.
Live deliciously,
Kolbie
Food News
Openings:
• Kura Revolving Sushi Bar opened a couple of weeks ago on the edge of Sugar House at 675 E. 2100 South, and will be holding a grand opening on Friday. The sushi chain has 78 locations in the United States, but this is its first in Utah. The menu includes nigiri, rolls, hand rolls, sides, soup, noodles and desserts, all served on the revolving sushi bar.
• Houston TX Hot Chicken is opening a new location in Farmington at 254 N. University Ave., according to a news release. On Saturday from noon to 3 p.m., there will be a grand opening event that will include free food and drinks for the first 250 guests in line, a spice challenge and an exotic car meet.
Closings:
• EastWest Connection, at 1400 Foothill Drive in Foothill Village, is closing permanently on Friday due to the ongoing construction in the shopping area, an employee said. EastWest Connection has been open for decades in that spot, serving a variety of Asian fusion dishes.
Booze (and Drink!) News
• Dry Cut, the debut cider from Dendric Estate cidery in Kamas, was released last week. True to its name, it contains zero grams of residual sugar and will be available in two sizes: a 375-milliliter bottle — perfect for two glasses — and the standard 750-milliliter bottle, wrote The Tribune’s Samantha Moilanen. Dry Cut will be available at Dendric Estate, and on menus in select restaurants and bars in Park City and Salt Lake City later this month, a news release said.
• The Mountain Mixer Park City cocktail contest has begun, according to a news release. Park City bartenders and mixologists invite people to sip their way through a lineup of creative cocktails that are available on menus through July 31. Some of the participating restaurants and bars include High West Saloon, Handle, Tupelo Park City, Twisted Fern and many more. Secret judges will visit each spot throughout July and pick 10 finalists, who will move on to a live, in-person competition on Aug. 21, where judges and a live audience will pick a winner.
Dish of the Week
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The UT Black ramen with handmade pork gyoza on the side from UT Craft Ramen at 7662 Union Park Ave in Sandy, Tuesday, July 7, 2025.
Dustin Pham at UT Craft Ramen urged me to start eating my UT Black ramen as soon as it arrived, while it was still hot, so all the steam would hit me right in the face as I slurped up the noodles. I’m now sure this is the only way to enjoy ramen.
There are a lot of flavors and textures going on in the UT Black, and they work together really well. My favorite part was the soft-boiled egg, which the team at UT Craft Ramen marinate overnight in a sweet soy sauce. Doing this makes the yolk “gooey, jammy, soft and very buttery,” Pham said.
The dark droplets of the black garlic oil were also striking against the pale tonkatsu broth. This ramen was a feast, for the eyes and for the belly.
P.S. Do not miss the gyoza, made in-house from a recipe in Ken Ota’s family.