Near Wicker Park’s ground zero at Milwaukee, North, and Damen, Shin Thompson, the chef/owner of the now-gone Bonsoirée and Kabocha, is working furiously to open Furious Spoon (1571 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wicker Park, no phone yet), his ramen bar scheduled for February.

In partnership with Anshul Mangal and Mario Ponce, who own Takito Kitchen and Bar Takito (the successor in Kabocha’s former space), Thompson plans a typical, Tokyo-style ramen house with about 50 seats, including a bar where customers can sit and interact with him. “We really wanted to be a very simple shop, to resemble a more traditional shop in Tokyo,” Mangal says. The menu will offer four to six types of ramen, starting around $7 a bowl.

Thompson tapped tradition for Furious Spoon. His grandfather owned a ramen shop in Hokkaido, Japan, and Thompson traveled to Japan last year to study with a master of ramen. He wound up buying the ramen master’s noodle maker to use at Furious Spoon. Hope he finds it more useful than the Smith-Corona we bought after our apprenticeship.