Lot of comfort in that bowl of noodles.
Poppy has hit the streets, and its bringing noodles along for the ride.
The people behind the success of Melt, first as a food truck then as a brick and mortar restaurant, have brought chef-inspired Ramen to Birmingham in the guise of an attractive, custom-designed food truck nicknamed Poppy.
Melt founders Harriet Reis, Paget Pizitz, and Chefs Cory Bolton and Addison “Cobra” Porter loved the idea of doing a mobile ramen truck. With the popularity of ramen and the lessons Covid taught restaurateurs to think of ways to reinvent themselves, Pop Ramen served from the colorful food truck “Poppy” seemed like a natural.
Ramen is a late night comfort food, and the Pop Ramen chefs, accustomed to late nights in the food business, set about spicing up your typical packet of ramen noodles and creating fun food. Chef Cobra has a particular love for all things noodle so Pop Ramen was a great fit for him.
Bolton and Porter are two chefs truly well versed in all aspects of food, having worked the full spectrum, from BBQ to fine dining. The duo is also known for their YouTube videos. They brought their appreciation for creativity to the humble noodle, creating dishes like Chicken and the Egg: food court chicken, wok fried chicken leg, soy cured egg, carrots, edamame with lemon grass chicken broth—finished with a sweet chile sauce. The Breakfast at Midnight Rice Bowl features honey-glazed pork belly, soy cured egg, bacon, cucumber, carrots, spiced mayo and sweet soy. The Loaded Dumplings are pork and onion dumplings with spicy mayo, scallions, sesame seeds, and bacon.
You can find Pop Ramen at Neon Moon on 2nd Avenue every Thursday for a late-night bite. They post on instagram.com/pop_ramenbham and facebook.com/meltbham about their upcoming locations.
