After my first visit to Ippudo Shibuya back in March, I vowed to eat this delicious ramen again! Even if I had to travel all the way to New York! It’s only 5+ hours to JFK from SFO…
So last weekend, I did that. Flew to New York. To eat and drink. Actually, I was in New York for a different event and wound up with some time on Sunday morning to visit Ippudo NY. It’s just north of Astor Place station on the 6 line. Astor Place should be renamed to “ramen place” because this is the station that leads to St. Mark’s place and the East Village. Or as I call it, “ramen central” for the United States. All the good ramen shops are here in this small area of Manhattan (with the sole exception of Ichiran, which has opened up a branch in Greenpoint), both home grown (Momofuku) and from Japan (Ichiran).
There’s no doubt about where you are when you see the front door. It has that rustic feel like the Tokyo location. Until you actually walk through the front door.
As you walk through these doors, you will be transported to Japan…
Then all of a sudden, it’s not rustic anymore. It’s very modern in a neo-japonesque kinda way.
How modern! How big! How modern!
As with all things American, it’s big! Compared to the Shibuya location, it’s at least four times as big. Comfortable chairs and big tables. However, the menu is roughly the same. Which is a good thing. This time I went for the Akamaru Shin-Aji with the signature red glob of pork fat in the middle of the bowl.
the noodles are hiding under the broth…
You’re supposed to stir it up. This is how the broth changes after you stir it up. And I was transported back to Japan and better days. Springy noodles. Rich pork fat reinforced broth. Wonderfully tender (albeit a bit small) slices of roast pork. Garlic and negi in excellent proportions. And a second helping of noodles. Yes, I was very happy consuming lunch. After I finished my bowl, I was experiencing pork overload. Didn’t mesh too well with the slight hangover I was nursing.
orangish porky broth goodness!
Ippudo NY has a cash bar in the front of the restaurant that has various beers (Kirin, Sapporo) on tap as well as Yebisu in bottles and featured sakes.
Now that’s a lotta bowls…
The hella cool thing is that they have a 2 for $6 happy hour beer deal during the week. That includes Yebisu! I had one to balance out my system, which was dealing with a wine induced sneaky hangover and tonkotsu broth overload when I needed to go to the bathroom, which was downstairs. Besides the bathrooms being nice, I discovered something else on my trip to the bathroom…
Two long glass slits next to doors that say “private”. What are they doing inside these mysterious rooms? Why they’re making broth! And noodles! From scratch!
Mmmm…broth!
Here’s the dough…
that turns into noodles in your soup!
So, yes you can get authentic Hakata ramen in the United States. Well, you can get authentic Hakata ramen in New York. This is a “must visit” place when you’re here on the island.
Ippudo NY
65 4th Avenue
New York, NY 10003
1-212-388-0088
http://www.ippudo.com/ny
Musings of a Food and Travel Addict