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There’s a bit of a ramen revolution going on in Milwaukee. And this week, CLEAR Bar & Lounge, located in the InterContinental Hotel at 139 E. Kilbourn Ave. has joined the fray by offering up the downtown lunch crowd three new dishes that promise to warm up even the coldest, rainiest (or even snowiest) of spring days.
In addition to its regular menu of small plates, soups and salads, customers can now get steaming bowls of ramen, along with a plate of housemade dumplings.
We stopped by on Tuesday to check out the new offering, and we found ourselves among a healthy group of downtown diners, happily slurping up ramen noodles over their lunch breaks.
A traditional tonkotsu ramen features a silky, slightly sweet tonkotsu bone broth with springy fresh ramen noodles, bamboo shoots, garlic flakes, naruotomaki (fish surimi), chashu pork, scallions, nori, and a slow egg, which has been cooked sous-vide style for six hours, creating a delicate egg with a runny yolk ($9).
Kaiju ramen (Japanese for "strange beast") is Chef Aaron Miles' more modern take on the traditional Japanese noodle soup. It features traditional tonkotsu broth with noodles, a slow egg, Nueske’s slab bacon, scallions, togarashi and bamboo shoots, along with a slightly sweet and spicy mustard green kimchi ($9).
Meanwhile, the current dumpling of the day – which CLEAR plans to have on the menu for the next couple of weeks before changing it out – is filled with duck and served with black garlic ponzu, scallions and toasted sesame seeds (three dumplings for $5).
Ramen and dumplings are on the menu Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
