I was in town for the New York Marathon. By the time I finished spending way too much money at the Expo and attending the course strategy session at the New York Road Runners (NYRR) headquarters I was famished. My plans were to uber to Ramen Shack in Long Island City but having arrived on a red-eye flight with very little sleep I didn’t have the energy to venture out there. Ippudo was a safe bet and just a couple of blocks away. I was lucky – it was early and I was seated immediately at the bar. I prefer this over a table since I like to eat and run when it comes to ramen. To me it just isn’t a meal to linger over.
Thanks to ramen boy I have already eaten my fair share of Ippudo Ramen in Tokyo. When we lived in Japan he was such a picky eater that ramen was always the favorite go to meal and we ate there more often than I’d like to admit. We have slurped all kinds of ramen – we were in Tokyo for years – but he is a creature of habit and loves his Ippudo.
The two things I like about Ippudo Ramen are their thin noodles which taste perfect al dente (katame) and that it usually comes out steaming hot. So steamy that it’s impossible to take a good picture of your bowl of noodles. Which is just as well since in my opinion Ippudo Ramen isn’t very Instagram pretty. My advice – forgo taking a picture and just spend time slurping.
Gochisosama deshita.
Ippudo Westside
321 West 51st Street, (Between 8th and 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 974-2500
