Those in search of a complimentary dish to accompany their beer might want to drop by the Brass Eye to get a steaming bowl of homemade ramen soup, cooked up by business owner Bryan Williams.
Customers can now choose from a vegetable broth or bone broth-based soup, with an assortment of pickled vegetables and toppings like pork. The dishes are a far cry from the ramen packets consumed by college students and are available Sunday, Monday and Tuesdays.
“The bone broth I make takes between six to seven hours to make,” Williams said. “I cook all my own pork belly and pickle my own vegetables. Everything is pretty fresh.”
The dishes also include ramps, adding a garlic and onion flavor to the soup. Williams said he hopes to eventually make his own noodles, but for the time being purchases them for the dishes.
Williams has offered bowls of ramen at a cost of $10 for the past month.
Williams recommended pairing the ramen with a light beer or Johnny’s Smoking Gun whiskey. The salty flavors of the hot soup taste great with a cold drink, Williams said.
Inspired by restaurants like Momofuko in Washington, D.C., where top-notch ramen is served with cocktails and beer, Williams hoped to offer the same to Niles customers.
“I was really just falling in love with ramen in general,” Williams said. “I though I would give it a shot.”
The business owner also has wanted to offer food to customers, but said that there is not enough kitchen space in the Brass Eye to do so. Ramen, however, requires very little space to cook.
Williams has been using the Niles Entrepreneurial Culinary Incubator building on Fourth Street to create the ramen dishes, making up to 40 quarts at a time to serve.
As long as it is selling, Williams said he would offer ramen to customers year round. Through out the year, he said he hopes to experiment with new ingredients.
“Because you can change the toppings all the time, it is always going to be something different,” Williams said. “You can use the same recipe and same ingredients, but because you are working with fresh ingredients, it is slightly different every single time.”
Customers have responded favorably. One customer even told Williams he was not charging enough for a bowl of the fresh soup. This past week, Williams sold out of ramen.
Williams is also considering offering a Monday special, where customers can get a shot, beer and bowl of ramen.
“It is a really delicious, easy-to-make thing,” Williams said.

What to know before you go:

Hours: 3 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to midnight Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Address: 205 N. Second St., Niles
Information: facebook.com/thebrasseye