Zen Zero in Lawrence is packed every night, regardless of the wind chill factor or whether KU is playing basketball. That’s probably because it serves comforting soups, noodles and Asian specialties in a laid-back setting, with prices that are affordable for the many college students who frequent it. It reminds me very much of Lulu’s noodle shop on Southwest Blvd in Kansas City.

We started with Momos, Himalayan dumplings with charred tomato chutney and spicy sesame dipping sauce. A riff on the traditional steamed dumplings, the only real difference was the sauces that they came with–both were tasty.

I’m not a big coconut milk fan, which is why I was happy to see a curry dish on the menu that didn’t have it. The Dry Red Thai Curry with chicken and served with long beans was every bit as good as the same item on the Thai Place menu.

The Drunken noodles were hearty and flavorful. The flat noodles were tossed with oyster sauce, onions, peppers, tomatoes and Thai basil. Medium is quite spicy, so be ready to down lots of water if you order it that way.

The only downside of the dinner was that there were only two of us and we couldn’t try all the dishes we wanted to sample, but that can be easily remedied by a return visit.