# whats the best bowl of ramen in new york?



## panda (Jul 3, 2018)

i'll be visiting for a few days next month and want to have mind blowing ramen. 

to give some perspective of my preferences, my all time favorite is the spicy miso from daikaya in DC. sapporo style pork and chicken combo broth with white miso blended in and some spice. what takes it up a notch for me is the char from wok fried sprouts+onion+ground pork


----------



## bkultra (Jul 3, 2018)

Just follow the hipsters


----------



## Choppin (Jul 3, 2018)

My favorites:

Mokbar (in the Chelsea Market) - you'll like their kimchi ramen if you like yours spicy
Ivan Ramen - my favorite is the Triple Pork, Triple Garlic or Chicken Paitan, but they have a spicy option as well
Mu Ramen (Brooklyn)
Ippudo
Totto

Lots to explore...


----------



## panda (Jul 3, 2018)

would you mind describing what sets them apart?


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 3, 2018)

bkultra said:


> Just follow the hipsters



For god-tier ramen, go straight to Japan...


----------



## panda (Jul 3, 2018)

front runner for me right now looks to be totto


----------



## panda (Jul 3, 2018)

ill be staying in long island, Mu is there i'll check that one out for sure


----------



## Choppin (Jul 3, 2018)

Sure, sorry for the rushed post

Ivan Ramen - it's all about balance, all of their options (the 3-4 I have tried) have tons of flavor but in a balanced, delicate way. In the best sense of Japanese cooking. The Triple Garlic, Tripple Pork, for example, comes in a rich tonkotsu broth with tons of pork and garlic but it's balanced by a citrus/acidity touch. The broth is clean, not fatty. It's mazemen which I love (less broth). Ivan is also known for its Shio Ramen. The broth is lighter in texture than most, but very savory and mineral (lots of dashi and powdered katsuo)

They have amazing craft beers also

Mokbar - ramen with a Korean touch (kimchi...). Very balanced and well made 

Ippudo - I love their tonkotsu broth... Like Ivan's, it's full of flavor but very clean and not fatty. Their buns are great too

Totto - lighter, chicken-based broth

Mu Ramen - I haven't been there but the story is interesting, former Per Se guy, got some great reviews


----------



## panda (Jul 3, 2018)

ooo, ive got to check out mokbar. thanks!


----------



## mille162 (Jul 3, 2018)

Ramen Lab is an absolute must visit, see their schedule online to see who is cooking that month


----------



## DamageInc (Jul 4, 2018)

If you want 20 pounds of pork, this looks like an option.


----------



## Mucho Bocho (Jul 4, 2018)

Panda this place Damage recommended is so you. Now thats ramen w flavor.


----------



## erickso1 (Jul 4, 2018)

Timely topic. I’ll be in nyc in two weeks. Have a solo dinner night before boss gets in. I’ll be staying across from the Rockefeller center though (not my choice.). Thanks for the suggestions.


----------



## Choppin (Jul 4, 2018)

Not so bad, you have an Ippudo nearby (46th and 5th)

BTW I'll be in DC in a few weeks... will check out Daikaya definitely


----------



## panda (Jul 4, 2018)

Mucho Bocho said:


> Panda this place Damage recommended is so you. Now thats ramen w flavor.


you would think so personality wise, but my taste in food i prefer bold but clean flavors, not a big fan of the funky stuff. for example i hate dry aged beef and any strong cheese. that non blanching of moldy bones really grosses me out, lol. that place is entirely way too hipster for me. my favorite broths are predominantly chicken and not too much pork. for stews it is entirely opposite i like very deep flavor more so than crispness.


----------



## panda (Jul 4, 2018)

would love to see this guy make a ramen


----------



## LucasFur (Jul 4, 2018)

Momofuku noodle bar in Toronto is right up there. I know David Chang started out in New York. His TV show is pretty good about his inspirations and such.


----------



## DamageInc (Jul 4, 2018)

panda said:


> you would think so personality wise, but my taste in food i prefer bold but clean flavors, not a big fan of the funky stuff. for example i hate dry aged beef and any strong cheese. that non blanching of moldy bones really grosses me out, lol. that place is entirely way too hipster for me. my favorite broths are predominantly chicken and not too much pork. for stews it is entirely opposite i like very deep flavor more so than crispness.


If you ever come to Denmark, you need to check out Slurp Ramen in Copenhagen. I go there as often as I can. Super clean soup with very well defined flavor, perfect chashu, and by far the best noodles I've ever had. Sounds like it would be right up your alley. Sadly, I've only been to New York once, so the only ramen I know of in that area is what I occasionally see or read about online.


----------



## panda (Jul 4, 2018)

been to momo noodle bar, walked out pretty disappointed


----------



## JDA_NC (Jul 4, 2018)

panda said:


> front runner for me right now looks to be totto



Ippudo is probably the best bowl of tonkotsu ramen I've had.

We tried going to Totto ramen as well but it was a little too packed when we tried, so we just had Ippudo 2x on our trip. 

Yakitori Totto is a good spot as well


----------



## Wdestate (Jul 4, 2018)

I would agree ippudo is very good, consistent and normally turns over quick enough you won’t have to wait for hours. Also has some fun dishes aside from the ramen which are good, 

Minca is also very good along with Ramen-Ya


----------



## parbaked (Jul 4, 2018)

panda said:


> my favorite broths are predominantly chicken and not too much pork.



Ipuddo is one of my favorite ramen, even when I worked in Japan. It's definitely porky...but clean flavors and really fine noodles.

The best chicken broth ramen is the tori-paitan tsuke-soba at Ginza Kagari in Tokyo. It's worth the effort!
The original shop closed & moved under Ginza Station. We didn't try the new location this trip...because we ate at Ipuddo...


----------



## erickso1 (Jul 4, 2018)

panda said:


> would love to see this guy make a ramen




We've been doing a D'Artagnan chicken (our grocery store carries them) on the rotisserie on Saturdays. Towel off and let dry in fridge for a while. The salt inside and out with kosher. Pierce skin all over, throw on rotisserie, baste with butter and let it cook. Chicken comes out amazing. Point being, we use the bones and such the next day in a noodle broth, along with left over meat for the soup. Makes a great broth.


----------



## panda (Jul 4, 2018)

thanks guys, i havent had a truly great tonkotsu one yet so i'll check out ippudo. 

erickso, where is 'we'? unfortunately i am heading to jersey shore on the weekend during my trip.


----------



## rickg17 (Jul 5, 2018)

Chef's Table on Netflix has an episode on Ivan Orkan (Ivanramen) which dives into his influences etc. S.3, Ep. 4.


----------



## panda (Jul 5, 2018)

watching now..


----------



## Choppin (Jul 5, 2018)

I like this episode a lot... 

Ippudo seems to be a favorite!


----------



## panda (Jul 5, 2018)

oh my god, this dude is jewish version of me. i must try ivan's original shio ramen.

after eating hot dogs and burgers and drinking bud light all day, i got a craving for ramen while watching this. made myself an instant bowl to get that fix


----------



## mille162 (Jul 5, 2018)

panda said:


> my favorite broths are predominantly chicken and not too much pork.



Need to try the take-away window at Hearth, “Brodo”, 200 1st Ave. You can get a seasoned cup for sipping, or unseasoned jar to cook at home.


----------



## erickso1 (Jul 5, 2018)

panda said:


> thanks guys, i havent had a truly great tonkotsu one yet so i'll check out ippudo.
> 
> erickso, where is 'we'? unfortunately i am heading to jersey shore on the weekend during my trip.



I'm in Austin. I have a rotisserie for my Weber grill. The we is me, the wife and two young boys.


----------



## rickg17 (Jul 8, 2018)

So, panda, for home ramen, dump the instant and try the Sun Noodle kits (Sun supplies a lot of very good ramen shops with noodles). Overview here - https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/04...om-sun-noodles-will-knock-your-socks-off.html and I found some in the freezer section in an Asian grocery here in Seattle so they seem to be findable if not ubiquitous.


----------



## panda (Jul 8, 2018)

Yeah I've ordered sun noodles for work. I wasn't aware it was available for personal purchases.


----------



## rickg17 (Jul 8, 2018)

I've seen the noodles by themselves and the above kits which come with a tare base. Cheap, too. Not dried instant cheap, but very reasonable ($4/serving)


----------



## ynot1985 (Jul 8, 2018)

was in NY last week... had totto and ivan.. both decent but not cheap .. it was just too hot for ramen


----------



## panda (Jul 8, 2018)

i can go for a bowl of ramen or pho no matter what the weather is. you eat indoors after all..


----------



## ynot1985 (Jul 8, 2018)

I went to the totto on the east side.. the front half of the restaurant was so hot from the kitchen that they had to send everyone to the back.. still way too hot even with ac on. the triple pork at ivan didn't come with soup, just sauce to mix with


----------



## mille162 (Jul 8, 2018)

rickg17 said:


> So, panda, for home ramen, dump the instant and try the Sun Noodle kits (Sun supplies a lot of very good ramen shops with noodles). Overview here - https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/04...om-sun-noodles-will-knock-your-socks-off.html and I found some in the freezer section in an Asian grocery here in Seattle so they seem to be findable if not ubiquitous.



Sun Noodle used to do tastings for new restaurants opening up so they could pick their best noodle option. Too many foodies found this out and would go in under that guise to just eat awesome ramen. Sun opened up Ramen Lab in NYC to give those foodies somewhere to go. Every month a different guest chef (and Sun Noodle customer) from around the world comes in and prepares their best bowl.


----------



## panda (Jul 8, 2018)

from ivan i got my heart set on trying the tokyo shio fully loaded
from totto miso paitan


----------



## erickso1 (Jul 9, 2018)

I'll probably hit Ippudo next Tuesday for dinner. I'll be skipping lunch as it's a 9 am flight out of Austin, with a 2:30 Newark arrival. By the time I travel to and check into the hotel it'll be dinner time, and it's right around the corner (but realistically, so is totto). Should give me enough time to be hungryish again by 8 or 9 so I can go search out a good slice or two of pizza. Never had pizza in NYC.


----------



## chinacats (Jul 9, 2018)

You won't have to do much searching to find a couple good slices of pie in the City


----------



## erickso1 (Jul 10, 2018)

Watching the Ivan Ramen episode. Really looking forward to this. Panda, thanks for starting this thread.


----------



## btbyrd (Jul 22, 2018)

Sun Noodles needs to stop using riboflavin as its coloring agent because it makes their noodles taste like ****ing vitamins. At least in the formulations available direct to consumers. That **** turns my boiling water bright yellow after just one or two bowls. The texture's great though. If anyone has a good suggestion for non-garbage dried ramen noodles that aren't made with enriched flour or dyed yellow with Vitamin B2, please let me know. For now, I'm back to using instant packets. I hate (and love) those for different reasons.


----------



## panda (Jul 31, 2018)

ericks - so did you end up going to ippudo? i'll be in NY next week!


----------



## erickso1 (Jul 31, 2018)

Ippudo was great. 

Full story. 2 weeks ago today I arrived at Austin airport at 8 am for 9:30 flight to Newark with plans to hit ippudo or Totto for dinner. This was the day all those storms were rolling through the east coast. After repeated, hourly delays I finally left Austin at 4:30 pm. Got checked into hotel around 9:30 pm and was starving. Set off with plans to eat at ippudo or Totto, whichever case first. Ran into Ippudo Westside , popped in and got seated immediately (going solo). 

Co worker recommended the Japanese cucumbers. 

I ordered those, chicken buns and a bowl of the classic. 

Cucumber was good, nice and refreshing. Actually ended up using it as a palate cleanser, when I wanted a change up. 

Buns were awesome. That chicken is really good. 

Ramen was awesome too. I haven’t had a lot of ramen, but this was really good. 

There was a Japanese businessman next to me. We didn’t look at each other, didn’t talk, just ate and slurped. I ate everything, including extra noodles. Took me about 20 mins. I’d like to go again when I wasn’t so hungry, and maybe try to slow down a bit.


----------



## Gjackson98 (Jul 31, 2018)

You guys got me. I am gonna flight down to New York next weekend just for the Ipuddo ramen lol.


----------



## panda (Aug 22, 2018)

so things didnt go as planned and i never hit up any of the ramen spots!! i did however got to enjoy the best pizza from di fara in brooklyn. waited an hour in line in the rain to make an order, then waited another hour for it to be cooked. the owner himself was making the pies that day so it was well worth it.


----------

