Kusaka Restaurant

Japan was one of the only types of food ive never tried and when i learned there was one so close to home i decided I had to add it to my food intake list. The staff was extremely helpful figuring out what meal i should choose! I tried Saki for the first time… Yum Yum Yum… Id def. come back to Kusaka!

Ive seriously NEVER been SO mad about a meal. We were the only table there and it took them LITERALLY 40 minutes to come out with 2 bowls of ramen! How is that freaking possible? What were they doing? idk, but it better be the best bowl of ramen EVER… but it was no joke, THEE WORST!!!
My bf got the chicken broth ramen with pork shoulder and I had the spicy miso with pork belly and an egg and an order of gyoza. The broth was COLD, my pork belly was just slices of bacon, egg was simply boiled not marinated as it should be, and the noodles were mushy!!! Oh, and the ramen was not dressed with anything… no corn, veggies, or anything! I thought someone was playing a joke on me. If I wasn’t sooo hungry from waiting on the food, I would have sent everything back. $ 40 later, i honestly have never felt so jibbed.
Stay away from this place!!!

Went as a family on a Sunday for an early lunch. Some of my fam had gone a few times before and talked it up; I don’t think they eat Japanese food often.
Gyoza was very good. Accoutrements were very satisfying and appreciated. The soups/​bowls of noodles were pork heavy in their rich flavor, however not too much meat-​wise in content. Noodles were homemade. I can appreciate that; I do prefer a less slick broth.
Menu differed from previous visits (of my companions), so it lacked a few items I was looking forward to.
Service was not great. Owners weren’t there; I’ve heard really nice things about them — maybe next time. The young waiter struggled with 3 tables, didn’t have silverware, was hard to find. Coffee, although made as they do in Japan — which takes some time — took 30 min. Regardless, in Mineral Point, it’s a highlight for sure and I will return. I expect a different experience each time and I’m ok with that.

Filling but overrated, and way too pricey for what you get. A bowl of Ramen is $ 12…for just the noodles and broth. It was $ 1 more for vegetables and $ 2 more for a hard boiled egg or meat. The «vegetables» were just cabbage as I found out. The miso was tasty but the flavor wasn’t very strong. It was just lacking something to give it a miso punch.
For a Monday night it was steady but not packed. It took about an hour to get our Ramen. The noodles were a wheat type noodle. Good, but not soft like we were expecting – a little undercooked maybe? Service was pretty terrible. We had to ask to get waters and we got one refill in the hour we were there (and only after asking for a refill).
Really wanted to like this place but it just didn’t measure up to the Unilocal hype.

Wait, I haven’t reviewed this place? Shame on me. Bad, bad, bad Unilocal reviewer! You don’t want to read through long-​winded diatribes. Go read the other reviews if that’s what you want. EAT HERE BECAUSE I SAID SO. I don’t know a thing about traditional home-​style Japanese food, but the dishes here remind me of the descriptions from Murakami novels. I’m pretty sure this is as close as you will get to it in the Midwest. Tasty food, interesting ingredients, family-​owned by Japanese ex-​pats, and made from scratch. You may have to wait a bit when the place is busy, but it’s worth it. Sit back and relax. You are in Mineral Point so it’s likely you don’t need to be be anyplace in a hurry. OK, I’ll shut up now so you can go here and eat.

Hands down the best Japanese food I’ve had in the Midwest. The yaki with pork belly and pepper sauce is a divine experience (great for chilly winter days, hangovers, general pick-​me-​ups, etc). Their legendary ramen is always handmade and perfectly cooked. The wait staff is top-​shelf. The cooks devote extreme attention to flavor balance and nuance. And the owners’ story makes the experience all the more valuable. Kusaka is a true testament to the marriage of culture, flavor, and personal experience through truly fresh, local, homemade comfort food. Absolutely one of a kind. Can’t recommend this place highly enough.

Yum, yum, yum! Drank some lychee sake which was delicious and so cheap at $ 3/​glass. For lunch had a vegetarian Ramen with an egg, veggies, and extra garlic. It was out of this world! The broth was just spot on, perfectly bursting with flavor. And the homemade noodles were delicious!

I had awesome noodles with smoked pork belly and farmer’s market fresh greens and a side order delicious homemade Daikon pickles. Can’t wait to try it again — I really wanted to try the okanomiyaki too. Good options for vegetarians too.

We have never been in Mineral Point on a day when MP Dining Company (with its excellent reviews) is open: my days off are Sunday and Monday. For us, the best restaurant in town is Kusaka (open 7 days a week!) We walked over from the Saltbox, a cottage we had rented a couple streets over.
The husband and wife who own Kusaka are dedicated to serving food made from scratch. It doesn’t get any better than that! The dumplings were delicious, some of the best I ever had, and made for the perfect starter. Marcia got a lychee soda (from Japan) and had fun popping the seal (it involved a glass marble.)
I got the pork belly ramen with a side of irresponsible sauce. This well balanced hot sauce had bright, tart, sweet shades of flavor and ultimately satisfying levels of spice. I used all of it, and I’m pretty much a wimp when it comes to the hot stuff.
The smoked pork belly brought a smoky, summery level of umami to the dish. The handmade wheat noodles were delicious. I found myself craving them and later that night I raided and devoured everyone’s leftovers.

So fresh and delicious! The irresponsible sauce has some good heat too. And they stayed open so we could have our noodles! Really nice service. I drank ALL my broth!

We found this place on our way from Wisconsin to Dubuque, and it didn’t disappoint. We ordered aka miso and soy ramen. To those who argues that the aka miso was flavorless, I would suggest that aka miso is not the same kind of miso that you usually have in America. There are many Japanese ramen you can have in this country, but many of the are Americanized, and many does not even have aka miso. It is not fair to say it’s not good only because it’s not the flavor you know. And according to our Japanese friend and my experience as a big fan of authentic Japanese food, these ramen dishes taste exactly the same with what you can have in Japan. This is the highest commend I can give.
The only problem was that it took a long time for them to cook. We waited for more than half an hour. But we don’t care-​it worth waiting.
And this place is not that suitable for those who really loves salty and big dishes. NO Japanese eat like that.
How I wish I found this place earlier…

Kusaka was an entertaining place to eat. We had a waitress on her first day, she was friendly but mostly confused. She came back 4 times to ask us about different parts of our large complicated order. I’m glad she did because she almost always had something wrong. First days are always hard, and she also didn’t seem to have anyone training her. She may have made mistakes, but she was very friendly, apologetic and fun to talk to. She will be a perfect waitress… maybe in a week or two.
Much like the waitress, everything at Kusaka had elements which were incredible. Unfortunately everything also had elements which were either clumsy or poorly executed.
We started with Gyoza. The wrappers were handmade, flavorful and were crispier on the bottom then any gyoza I have ever tasted. The crisp crunchy bottoms perfectly complemented the soft steamed tops. Unfortunately the pork gyoza filling was severely under-​salted and nearly flavorless. With the addition of soy sauce they became more flavorful. However, the size of the gyoza was disappointing; they were barely half the size of most Gyoza. 8×½ bite size Gyoza cost $ 7. There wasn’t enough flavor in the filling to justify this price. For those prices you either need to make a truly incredible dumpling (the wrappers are nearly worth it alone!) Or be in downtown Chicago. In typical Max fashion I forgot to take a picture of these crispy nuggets.
We also tried a few buns.
The buns themselves were delicious! The curried pork bun actually had curry in the dough giving the whole package a wonderful scent. The curried pork filling was tasty, well spiced and very satisfying. I would certainly love to get two of these next time.
The regular pork bun was… just plain pork. The pork itself was nearly flavorless and there was nothing else mixed with the pork to give it flavor. This wasn’t a BBQ pork bun like I was expecting, but it also had lean pork without any herbs, vegetables, or sauce to give it flavor or tenderness. Maybe this is a Ying/​yang thing? The regular pork bun makes you appreciate the beauty and flavor of the curried pork bun?
I got the Miso ramen after the waitress told us that they make their own miso in house. This was one of the most expensive bowls of ramen I have ever purchased, (even in San Francisco) at $ 13 a bowl plus $ 2 for BBQ pork belly, and $ 2 for veggies. The broth was… ok… nothing special and it didn’t have much of a miso flavor. I don’t know if they really make their miso in house, judging from the later experiences with the waitress and the disappointing miso flavor in the broth. My dining companion told me that the $ 9 bowl using a chicken based broth was far far superior on a previous visit.
The noodles they made in house, we actually watched them make the noodles in the kitchen. They were a darker, more whole-​wheat noodle then most ramen. They had a fantastic taste, full of flavor and clearly handmade with love. However, the texture of the noodles wasn’t quite right. They were cut thinner then most ramen noodles giving them a flat shape rather then a square one. This could easily be dismissed as a stylistic thing, however, either they didn’t use enough alkaline, which is what makes ramen noodles hold their shape and firmness when boiled, or else they were boiled too long before they were brought out to the table. They were soft, squishy and didn’t have an ideal texture for ramen noodles.
Am I just a spoiled brat? Sometimes I wonder, there were glimmers of an incredible meal. I’ve heard rave reviews about every element of this meal… but I didn’t experience it. This is one time I really feel like I came in on an off day. There was a brand new and untrained waitress, and Hiroko, the usual chef/​owner wasn’t to be seen in the kitchen.
Everyone is allowed an occasional bad day, there were enough good elements for me to be willing to go back… sometime… probably. This is 40 minutes from Madison! I do love ramen… but if I got the same food for that cost (two eating a large meal was almost $ 75 plus more then 80 miles of driving.) I would be severely peeved…
If I knew the quality was going to be good… every time… I wouldn’t think twice about it. Food may be the lifeblood of a restaurant, but consistency is the only thing that will keep it alive.
–NOM

Staff are friendly and chatty. Atmosphere is laid back and progressive. Restaurant is CLEAN!!! Trout Fried Rice was amazing. Perfectly seasoned. So fresh. SO FRESH. GAH!!!

Came in on a secondhand recommendation from a stranger. I’m no expert on this kind of Japanese food so I asked owner Chris to steer us a bit. My girlfriend got the Yaki (chicken, scallions, egg, ramen, more) and it was fantastic. I went with the special, a porkbelly soup with Ramen noodles. Also very good. The fried rice was not the usual Chinese restaurant fare. It was light & flavorful. You can really the the owners care about their food! We like Kakusa and will definitely be back.

Bakauma! «Foolishly delicious!»
That’s Kusaka, the highly unlikely (but superb!) Japanese restaurant in Cornish-​to-​the-​bone Pasty-​Burger-​Pasty Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Mae and I decided to give it a go last night (on our way to Coleman’s warm and moving presentation of Dylan Thomas’s «A Child’s Christmas in Wales» at the Gundry House.)
«Kusaka» (Under the Sun) is named for the Haruko Kusaka, grandmother of co-​owner Hiroko Messer. Hiroko and her husband Chris Messer opened the restaurant in July of 2012 after leaving their home and «Maji Coffee» shop in Japan which had been ravaged by the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent radiological trifecta.
They chose this area because Chris’s Mother lives in near-​by Dodgeville. Chris says they insist on using local foods as much as possible: thus Weber Meats from Cuba City, locally grown organic heritage grain flour from Lonesome Stone Milling in Lone Rock and seasonal vegetables sourced in the Driftless Region. Chris’s ramen noodles are made by hand and get rave reviews from ramen aficionados. (I’ll try to take my friend Masao Tanaka, former head of the Wisconsin Development Office in Tokyo, to have a meal the next time he stops in Wisconsin on one of his round-​the-​world business trips. Maybe Jim Schussler — who worked closely with Tanakasan on international development issues — will join us.)
I had the evening special Spicy Pork with Udon Noodles (Korean inspired) and the Shrimp-​Avocado Maki roll. Mae opened with Gyoza — 8 pan fried pork dumplings — and had a bowl of Salmon Fried Rice. Of course the table was a swirling food-​go-​round of passing dishes, tasting, passing back and sharing again. My Spicy Pork reminded me of some of the wonderful Kimchi I’d tried in South Korea with Midwest Travel Writers in 2006 — a great portion of pulled pork in a moderately spiced red broth of cabbage and veggies. The Gyoza were tender, adente and the pork filling was nicely season with Asian spices. The salmon friend rice («single serving» — enough for two sharing everything) was an inspired variation with lots of egg, carrot, scallions and perfectly prepared rice.
Five kinds of Sake are on the menu, Asahi and Sapporo Beers, Ramune (Japanese) Soda and various American sodas. They’re open every day for lunch 11 – 2 and dinner 5−9PM.
Kusaka is casually decorated with some Japanese scrolls and art work and a waving chrome kitty on the counter. It’s 148 High Street (the main street of Mineral Point, if you don’t know) close to lots of art galleries and the Opera House.
Tonight (Dec. 6) is the last Art Gallery Night of the year so the street will be lit with glowing candles and there’ll be lots of shoppers moving about. Coleman does another recitation of Dylan Thomas tonight (and a Matinée tomorrow.) Kusaka, along with other favorites like MP Dining, Gray Dog Deli and Brewery Creek will be ready to serve the hungry, bustling, art-​loving shopper-​crowd. Mineral Point, a favorite place in for art, pastys and now — ramen! Bakauma — indeed!

This place has a touching story about how it got started, and fresh made food to match. This is an unexpected find in this beer & cheese country, but well worth the drive.
Most of the dishes are not spicy (unless so marked), but the kids still didn’t like the ever present ginger. Unlike Japanese fast food at Mitsua (Arlington Heights, IL), these dishes come hot and they just taste different (good kind of different).
The place is small and tastefully decorated, with G-​Pop station streaming. Daily specials board is easy to miss. Menu is pleasantly simple. Parking is on the street. Since the orders are cooked fresh, it takes somewhat long time. The place is probably busy on a weekend.
I plan to comeback the next time I end up being west of Madison.

Homemade Japanese food in rural Wisconsin? I am not kidding!
I have been to Kusaka twice and everything was delicious. The food is nothing like what you taste in a typical Japanese restaurant. Sushi and tempura is only a small part of the menu. Instead, the menu offers ramen, udon, donburi, to less common items like okonomiyaki. You should totally step out of your comfort zone to try everything new here.
The best part of Kusaka is the «homemade» part. The food may look mild, modest, even plain some time, but it is super good. You can really taste the «hominess» the restaurant tries to its customer.
It would be a five-​star restaurant because 1) as some has complained in the review, the service is on the slower side, and 2) I feel the food is priced slightly higher than I want to pay for (ramen noodle could be around $ 15 if you add meat).
Overall, I am a big fan of Kusaka! I would go much more often if it is closer to Madison. I am so glad that it adds diversity and excitement to the beautiful southwest corner of Wisconsin. If you travel on hwy 151, you should definitely make a stop here support this wonderful place.

Wasn’t really impressed. Not bad, just nothing to «Wow» over. Their Kimchee was very good though.

Fresh Salmon fried rice was tasty. Yaki noodles with shrimp and lots of veggies, egg, ginger is salty with zingy black pepper! Good! Mugi cha roasted ice tea a nice addition. Serious comfort food. Enjoyed looking at the red retro stove, next to turquoise 1950s chairs. Comfy but a bit of a din w/​ice machine right next to the dining area. Really kind staff. Vacuum coffee maker a piece of art.

After waiting months to go this place, it’s about an hour drive from Madison, I finally made it last weekend. And I was disappointed.
It took us over and hour to get our food. AN HOUR. I understand that there was larger party being served before us. But when something like that happens it is nice to provide a gesture. Either offer an appetizer, a dessert, a beer, really anything instead of having us sit there and not acknowledge the fact over an hour and just refilling our waters.
Their potato pancake is doused in too much tonkatsu sauce making it taste like BBQ. Their ramen tasted fine. I wasn’t blown away but maybe that was because my experience was already souring. I got the pork shoulder with miso soup and ramen. It is a pretty basic dish unless you ask for a lot more additional stuff.
I can’t say I will make the hour drive again to come here. I assume it’s difficult with only one cook in the back and when there is a rush it’s hard to have dishes come out in a timely fashion. But they need to come up with a solution. My experience would had been a lot better had they at least said something about the situation.
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