When people ask me what the best ramen place in NYC is, my answer is simple: Ippudo. I have been to this place for so many years and not once have I been disappointed.

It is a great experience. First, as you enter the restaurant, you are welcomed in Japanese (that always makes me think about an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm), and you are given the choice to sit in the dining room or at the large U shape table, that give you a communal experience while watching the magic happen in the kitchen.

We always start our meal with buns. Vegetable for Jodi (this one was made with eggplant) and chicken or pork for me. These steamed buns are nice: slightly sticky, fluffy and pillowy, the inside always smothered by sauce or mayo.

For the ramen, there have a couple of vegetarian options like the nirvana Akamaru that is made with a sesame mushroom broth, and served with thin noodles, tofu chashu, scallion, bamboo shoots, garlic oil and topped with their secret « Umami dama » paste. I have to admit that their vegetarian ramen is pretty good: earthy, the only negative for me was the thin noodles that I never found as good as the thick ones that usually have a nice bite. In fact, the ramen I chose (Potara miso ramen) had Tokyo wavy thick noodles. It was composed of pork tonkotsu broth with various kinds of miso and seasonings, a spiced ball, slow fried onion chips that has a nice crunch at first, boiled spinach (fortunately not too much as I am not a big fan), corn, bamboo shoots and pork chashu. I asked for an egg also, an add on I always get with ramen. This was so good! The broth was rich and tasty, a bit silky, and the entire thing was quite comforting.

But if you do not want ramen, they have other alternatives like the Mori-Mori salad that has green salad with 11 kinds of vegetables tossed in a house made citrus matcha dressing. To keep it vegetarian, you can add an avocado or tofu; if not, chicken chashu.

So, after all there years, Ippudo remains on top of my list. I love this place and will certainly go back.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Ippudo - 321 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019

Ippudo in NYC

I Just Want To Eat!