Seedy ramen addiction

This is the way it works: You are seated in the cozy Shoki Ramen House II. You tell your server wearing a Japanese bandana that you’d like the Tan Tan Men without meat, the longstanding only vegan bowl of ramen on the menu. She says there’s another option, the Kurogoma Tan Tan without meat, made with black sesame seeds. “Yes, please.” The soup arrives. Its opaque seedy darkness looks like sewage, but in a good way. You taste it. You scarf it. You crave it for days afterward. You last a week until you return and tell your dealer, er, server, to give you the good stuff again. You keep talking about the soup for weeks and finally give in, but you order the gluten-free version of it with yam noodles. It’s delicious, but you’ve finally been released by its addictive hold. Although you kind of want to go back to the restaurant (1201 R Street) anyway until somebody makes a quip about your name being one letter different from its name.