More than 70 people filled KC Craft Ramen on Monday night, crowding around tables and lining the walls. They were not there for ramen.
At the center of the room sat a 160-pound bluefin tuna stretched across a prep table, its silvery body nearly spanning the length of the space. For one evening, the restaurant transformed into a live demonstration of Japanese culinary tradition.
Since opening, KC Craft Ramen has aimed to do more than serve bowls of noodles. The Overland Park restaurant has built its identity around cultural exchange, regularly inviting chefs from Japan and hosting limited events that introduce diners to techniques and customs rarely seen in the Midwest…