Foods that New Yorkers are obsessive about: pizza, burgers,
bagels... ramen? In the past few years, spurned on by the general mania of all
things
Momofuku, ramen has become a big deal around these parts. The
stalwarts—
Rai Rai Ken,
Minca,
Menchanko Tei—have been slinging noodles for
years, but lately, the clamor for a killer bowl of the classic Japanese noodle
soup has reached a veritable fervor. Following the hype that surrounded the
opening of
Setagaya last year, another Japanese transplant,
Ippudo, has joined
the ranks of top-quality ramenyas in
New
York City.
Ippudo NY is the first American outpost of a
successful Japanese chain (the owner
boasts the title of Ramen King). Rightfully famous for its rich, intense
tonkotsu broth (a style of soup that's slow-brewed with a combination of both
meat and bones), and with the quick, casual service of ramen shops around the
world, Ippudo has proven to be enormously popular straight out of the gate.
Waits of up to two hours are not uncommon. On a recent day,
25 people—couples on dates, Japanese expats, food bloggers and groups of NYU
kids—milled around on the sidewalk 10 minutes before opening, waiting hungrily
for the doors to unlock. Within 15 minutes of the first
konnichiwa, every single seat in the restaurant was filled: the six
high-backed chairs at the counter, the three glassed-in booths along the wall,
and the three communal tables (all very good for checking out what your neighbors
are eating).
The façade brings a Japanese wood-block effect to an
otherwise dull stretch of
Fourth
Avenue, and the front bar area is a pleasant place
to drink away the wait; thankfully, a full bar and many interesting sakes are
available. But the back dining room suffers from sensory overload—mirrors,
columns, lights and snaking bamboo branches divide the space confusingly, and
the cacophony of shouted greetings, hollered orders and banging pans can be a
bit much to an oversensitive diner.
A bowl of ramen will always be the star of the show here,
and appetizers remain supporting players, however talented. An updated menu
offers a plate of shishito peppers served with a powdery yuzu salt, which made
a nice pucker over the blistered, not-too-spicy chiles. The kakumi (pork belly
with daikon) is seductively velvety, while crispy chicken karaage makes you
want all chicken fingers to come from
Kyoto.
Western-style starters of caprese and Caesar salads are less successful, though
the vegetable-laden tofu salad is a hit with non-carnivores.
Of the ramen varieties, go straight for the akamaru. A large
gumball-size dollop of chili-soy-miso paste sits on top of each bowl, and
stirred into the wildly porcine broth, the complex flavors really sing, adding
even more depth to the opaque, almost creamy liquid. Noodles are thin and
perfectly al dente, never soggy. This is a sparsely dressed dish; where most
ramen shops load your bowl with vegetables, egg, seaweed and the kitchen sink,
the akamaru version comes with merely a few strands of mushroom, cabbage and
scallions. The single piece of tender,
Berkshire
pork is fatty and fine, but the $3 charged for an extra strip is bit of a rip.
The miso, shio and shoyu ramens are all excellent examples of the form, but
it’s that flavor blast of the akamaru that is downright addictive.
Service is fast and friendly—expect
your ramen to be delivered within 10 minutes of being seated—and though the
hungry hordes are waiting anxiously outside for your seat, diners shouldn’t feel
rushed through the meal. Take your time and slurp at your leisure.
The net results: what people are saying online
[
Chowhound]: “It might be good, but is it worth it, and with
the long wait?
[
New York Times]: “The akamaru modern ramen builds on the
shiomaru template to make a bowl of noodle soup about as good as any in the
city."
”
[
Yelp]: “There was only one drop of soup left in my bowl by
the time I was done, and that's only because I was too embarrassed to lift the
bowl to my mouth.”
[
Village Voice]: “I got the basic bowl, the Shiromaru ramen
original recipe ($13). This is a serious, substantial broth…It's a contender,
that's for sure.
Ippudo NY65 Fourth Ave.
Between Ninth and Tenth Sts.
212-388-0088
Ramen: $12–$16
Photo by Sam Horine
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