Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Ippudo NYC

Wow, I think I've found the most amazing ramen in the U.S.

After much research on Yelp and various blogs, I decided to come here last week to see if all the raves were accurate. And they delivered.

We took the subway from the upper west side to the East Village and it was windy as hell that day. I was trucking along in my knee high boots trying not to topple, thinking about the nice, hot, bowl of ramen I'd be eating soon. Finally, we get to Ippudo, walk in, get a seat immediately and proceed to peruse the menu.

hallway at the entrance




menu


very cool decor


There were so many options that I had to ask the waiter what to get. He recommended the Akamaru Modern which came with slices of berkshire pork, scallions, cabbage, onions and kikurage. I added seasoned bamboo shoots to it, being a Panda and all. I need my bamboo! My bf had the tonkotsu shoyu ramen which came with pork, cabbage, bamboo, 1/2 boiled egg, seaweed and scallions.

Akamaru Modern


Tonkotsu Shoyu ramen


We waited about 10 minutes and the ramen arrived in these huge ass bowls. I was so excited! I dug in and OMFG, it was freakin delicious! I used to not care for ramen much since I ate that stuff in college non stop, but damn Ippudo glamourized ramen! The noodles were thinner and straighter than other ramen I've had, pork was so tender that I barely had to chew it, veggies and bamboo shoots gave it nice texture and the broth was just amazing. It was perfectly seasoned with the right amount of fattiness, yet wasn't salty or greasy. Bravo!

look how big the bowl is!


BF liked his ramen, which I tasted and liked as well. However, mine had better flavor overall.

Service was polite and good. Our waiter seemed to know his ramen, so another plus for him. Prices were $13 per bowl of ramen, and a couple bucks per item you wanted to add. Not bad at all for good ramen.

cool ramen bar area


wall of ramen bowls


Out of all the places we dined at during our week in NYC, Ippudo still ranks in the top 5. I highly recommend this place for ramen lovers. It definitely lives up to its hype!

Ippudo NY
65 4th Ave
New York, NY 10003-5220
(212) 388-0088

7 comments:

Daniel S. said...

Both ramen dishes look good! And yes the portions are GIANT. It's tough to find good both that isn't too greasy/salty and that isn't just plain city tap water either. Looks like Ippudo has their broth nailed. Price is very good for the size, and the interior looks nice, especially the "ramen" bar. Very unique. I'm planning a NY for spring so I'll make sure to add Ippudo to my resto list. Good write-up and good job with doing your Yelp/blog research. It paid off =)

Pandalicious said...

you def have to go here. morimoto and joel robuchon as well!!

thanks!

Justin said...

ok phew, if you panned ippudo, that would have raised some serious doubts...

Pandalicious said...

ahhaa.. i almost went to momofuku, but heard that place wasn't all that. good thing i went to ippudo!!

TastyChomps.com Orlando Food Blog said...

cries.

Tricerapops said...

the ramen bar is pretty awesome!

kit said...

LOL - ramen in our college days was a staple! I have to say, this is a great review. I drooled looking at the tasty noodle bowls. *thumbs up*