the new york city ramen tour
as told by chris p thompson
if you have only ever had ramen that at one point in its life was molded into a block shape (or a cup shape), you should probably do what you can to get to these places. after all, it is soup weather.
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sapporo and menkui-tei these are unremarkable but authentic places that predate the current fad. i do enjoy menkui-tei's tan-tan ramen. i have never once eaten at sapporo and not been sick within the hour. but this is the price we pay.
menkui-tei is on 56th between 5th and 6th
sapporo is on 49th between 6th and 7th
momofuku hahahahaaa j/k j/k
11th and 1st
minca minca was a revelation when it first opened. wow. i can eat this ramen once a month tops. if you let it sit for more than 30 minutes it turns into solid pork fat before your eyes. i once saw bigcountry eat two full bowls in one sitting. it was not pretty.
e. 5th between ave a and ave b
setagaya the longstanding favorite for me, they made a shio ramen that was light and subtle and multi-layered... highly enjoyable. sadly, they kept changing the recipe and chefs and the multitude of different locations seems to have sort of ruined the place. the staff is actually korean, which is funny (arigatou goJAimasu!)
1st ave between 9th and st mark's
ippudo yes, i know, shut up. hype, hype, hype. it's good. i really actually think it's good. but so do 437 tourists who are in line in front of you. also, that SPACE, i'm sorry NO. it reminds me of what people who open "pan-asian fusion" restaurants in hell's kitchen think is What Gay People Want. dreadful.
4th ave between 9th and 10th
ramen totto hidechan's sister shop. also good!
52nd and 9th
kurichan ramen and okonomiyaki
this is the dumbo ramen and okonomiyaki shop i'm opening as soon as the check clears.
thanks chris!
apparently secret ramen places also exist... maybe if you bribe him he'll tell you where they are.
xoxo
yeh