Miso ramen at Ippudo is good
Even after a couple of years of being open in New York, you can still find people on the sidewalks outside of Ippudo around dinner time because the waiting area is too full. It makes sense that this 61-chain international ramen noodle powerhouse would open a second location in New York City, and Crain's has reported that Ippudo has already finalized where this second restaurant would be. While the second location of Ippudo is not slated to open until Winter 2012, you can get your ramen at the original NY location on Fourth Ave. The best time to go is when they open for service. Even at 5:45 though, there was a ten minute wait. Most restaurants are barely open at that hour, but for Ippudo, they're already humming.
I've always heard good things about the pork buns here, but never really tried them until this visit. They're two for $9 and is a three-bite affair. They're glazed with a house sauce that's overshadowed by the mayonnaise that's also accompanying the bun. I might still prefer the ones at Baohaus or Momofuku Ssam Bar. These are still tasty though and priced competitively in the pork buns market.
The $15 Miso ramen is "Soybean paste and pork noodle soup topped with pork chashu, cabbage, kaiware radish, menma, fresh grated ginger, and scallions." The dominating taste in this bowl is miso and ginger. They pack on a good deal of grated ginger, therefore if you're not a ginger fan, skip past this bowl of ramen noodles. Being a good chink, I happen to love the taste of ginger. It makes me want to grow my hair long in the back for braids, bow to an emperor, and maybe build railroads for white people. No but I really do like ginger and it brightens the soup, which is pork based. If I were the noodle slurping sound type of person, you'd probably hear a lot of sounds if you sat next to me, but good thing I'm not. It's still delicious though, even without slurping sounds.
Compared to the Miso Ramen, the Akamaru Modern ($15) is probably way more popular. You often see bowls being carried around the dining room that has the little red paste in the middle. The noodles for the Akamaru Modern is thinner than the noodles for the Miso Ramen. Both are well-matched for the soup types, and both are good.
In other news, I was on a plane recently. It was a small one that is considered regional jet. It's pretty cramped in coach, and I just thought of how it reminded me of Louis CK's stand up bit about white people problems and airplanes. See it here at Videosift (starts at the 3:35 mark). I know it doesn't make sense for a plane that flies through turbulence to offer noodle soups like Ippudo's ramen, but I think comforting foods could go a long way to helping people on planes in tight quarters to feel better about being restricted to a seat, even if the seat is flying through the air.
Ippudo
65 4th Ave.
New York, NY 10003
212-388-0088
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Those two bowls of ramen look might fine! Not only should airlines serve Ippudo ramen, but they should serve good bowls of noodle soups period.
Christine
December 3, 2011 6:32 am