We Are A Different City/ We Do Different Things
Highlighting Hampton Roads Hidden Gem Alkaline
Article by Danielle Jones of Slice & Torte with photography by Fitz
(Lead photo: Chef Kevin Ordonez making Tonkotsu)
I’m 97% sure that I have seriously burned the roof of my mouth with the first slurp of my Tonkotsu. But I’m also 100% sure I don’t care. Never mind that the soup itself is scalding or that it’s a humid 90 degrees outside…I am in fat kid heaven.
The broth is complex, meaty, rich, and gingery. It’s a little salty for my tastes, but my palate quickly acclimates. The braised and shredded pork shoulder is tender and the yolk from the sous vide egg coats the thick, wavy, yellow noodles making them even more slurpable. Shit, this is good; but it’s much more than a bowl of ramen. Not to get all Hannibal Lecter on you, but this is Chef Kevin Ordonez’s brain in a bowl. It’s an interesting combination of his personal background, classically French trained culinary skills, food philosophy, and overall bad-ass creativity.
Ordonez pre Thursday night prep before Alkaline pops up in Pendulum Friday through Monday
With Alkaline, the pop-up ramen shop operating out of Pendulum Fine Meats in Norfolk, Ordonez is trying to go as far away from traditional ramen as possible, partly because it is difficult to do here. The water is different, which affects the flavor and texture of the noodles, and the freshest available produce is drastically different from that of Japan. Instead of being so concerned with sticking to tradition, Ordonez pulls from his personal background to create food that he thinks is cool and tastes good, like the Tater Tot Okonomiyaki, where he takes the idea of the traditional Japanese pancake that is topped with scallions and pork belly and remixes it using a classic American snack food, tater tots. So while Alkaline is serving food that people are familiar with but will still feel adventurous and uncomfortable eating, he is using local ingredients as much as possible. This creativity and local influence helps take a traditional Japanese comfort food and transform it into something that can’t even be described as “fusion food”, because that doesn’t do it any justice. It’s a whole different animal altogether. Meats are often sourced from the local butcher (Pendulum), fish are caught off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina, and produce comes from several local farms, like Brothers Farm in Elizabeth City. Ordonez even incorporates some produce grown in his own garden into his dishes. By using local products to stock his restaurant, Ordonez is not only adding to the growth in this area, but also helping to change the food scene in a big way.
Tonkotsu by Alkaline
There’s no doubt that the food scene, in Norfolk in particular, is in transition. Gone are the days of a safe menu and here are the days where fried rice is made with bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) and ramen is made with chicken hearts. And these dishes are selling out when they’re put on the menu. Ordonez is among a progressive group of chefs combating the area’s “less than” mentality. It’s the idea that people don’t acknowledge that there are top-notch restaurants here and would rather go out of state to other restaurants, come back and tell you about it. It’s the idea that, food-wise, Norfolk is not as good as New York. Alkaline isn’t meant to help turn Norfolk into New York. It’s meant to help usher in the mentality that New York is good…but Norfolk is also good. We are a different city and, therefore, we do things differently. Chef Ordonez has managed to create a menu that keeps the local community in mind, and at the same time, pushes us out of our comfort zones and on the hunt for Norfolk’s hidden gems. With Alkaline’s one-year anniversary having just passed, we look forward to the next non-traditional food adventure Chef Ordonez comes up with and how it’s going to rearrange Hampton Road’s palate.
For more on Alkaline visit them online Here
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