Ramen is an essential word in every college student’s vocabulary. Perhaps because it is possible to subsist on the noodle packed soup with a limited income for four whole years (alternating with tuna), but also because it’s just so damn good. But in their relentless cultural superiority, the proverbial hipster will never settle for your run-of-the-mill, Safeway bargain bin, sodium-overdose-inducing ramen.

And for exactly this reason, Uncle, located at 2215 W. 32nd Ave. in the momentarily hip Highlands neighborhood, is precisely the place for those who won’t settle for anything less than preeminence.

With streamlined wooden interiors, self-serve chopstick and napkin set-ups and a wooden bar surrounding an open kitchen, Uncle is the very picture of a ramen restaurant, only, somehow better.

With a salivary gland activating menu, Uncle has filled a niche as comfort food for the eternally fabulous. While mere mortals indulge in canned soup and discount ice creams gallons in their times of need, Uncle provides a haven perfectly suited to hipsters in need of pricey consolation.

Any visitor to Uncle must start with an obligatory order of steamed buns, which come in charming pairs and are each doused with the ideal combination of meat, sauce and a veggie of some sort.

In their lust for mouthwatering steamed buns and ramen, patrons to Uncle may overlook their small dish menu, which includes options like Crispy Duck Gizzards and Chilled Tofu, but it might not matter.

The Ramen menu, with its five equally mouth-watering options was affirmed not only by our Grind writer’s enlightened taste buds, but by the exclamations of nearby modsters giving compliments to the chefs. Braised pork belly, shredded pork, spicy chicken, duck and veggie are the subtly varied options, and each come with different but equally complementary garnishes.

Uncle offers Churros for dessert, but it’s likely that dessert will be unwelcome or just plain superfluous after two steamed buns and an entire bowl of ramen.

The drink menu offers a worldly selection of beer, sake, cider, cocktails and wine, but like dessert, the drinks are mere distractions from the main event.

Despite its minimalist set- up, Uncle does not have minimal patronage. The restaurant fills to the brim on most evenings, and right-handed visitors would be best advised not to sit next to a lefty so as to avoid elbow brawls provoked by amateur chopstick wielders.

With a friendly staff, the open kitchen indulges food gawkers who love to see how their food is prepared, perhaps in hopes of recreating it at home.

Uncle’s typical patrons are the quintessential hip-mongering, craft beer guzzling, recently self-proclaimed foodie Denverites, and in the pursuit of hipness, are able to justify the pricey menu. Most will be able to do the same, after that first dainty slurp of aromatic broth.

However, for hipsters on a budget, there are plenty of Buzzfeed articles that explain how to make regular ol’ ramen into ramen super food (hint: always add an egg.) Head over to Uncle for some ideas on how to DIY in the future.

And if comfort is your goal, keep in mind that jam-packed restaurants provide the perfect opportunity to ‘accidentally’ bump into the excessively tattooed, ironic t-shirt clad hipster who has chilled sake still glistening in his impeccably facetious handlebar mustache. The noise will surely dictate close proximity in order to have a conversation, so go all out (or in, as the case may be).