Ramen Club had its first meeting last night at Ippudo NY's soft opening. Tucked away on the quiet strip of 4th Avenue that funnels Astor Place into Union Square, Ippudo's doors open onto a packed bar of eager patrons. Black paint, a wall of rough cut lumber, another wall geometrically covered with someone's proud collection of dozens of ramen bowls-- Ippudo doesn't look like your typical ramen shop-- it promises ramen turned fine dining buzzing in the back room. Down a narrow corridor into the main dining room we're greeted by loud shouts of welcome from every server and cook behind the long, open kitchen. Rock n Roll. Ippudo has a lot of energy.
It's good Ramen. Much praise for the Akamura from around the table. But it's not cheap Ramen. Five items to choose from at about $13 each. The sake selection is good across a range of prices. Having been the first club meeting with a critical eye to slurpy noodles, there's little comparison yet to be made. Good appetizers; nice deep fried shrimp with a mayo sauce, and the omelet with Ippudo's logo literally branded onto it was memorable. Ippudo's got a lot of style. Long wooden tables, beautiful shirts worn by the cooks, intense braided rope work under the glass tables and a long wall of extruding plastic characters. It looks good. Is it good Ramen? Yeah, I think so, but let's leave it to comments and posts from the RamenClub crew to set the bar.
Welcome to Ramen Club!
2 comments:
The ramen great all around!! My personal favorite was the Akamaru, which had a rich, spicy, garlic broth. Second place went to the Shiomaru, which was delicious, but so rich I had to have help finishing mine. The restaurant itself was a little too noisy for my tastes, although one of the other members mentioned it felt like the famously raucous, Tokyo-ramen shops, so I guess it can't lose points on authenticity. The boisterous chefs' wild, mixed-patterned costumes were a perfect example of how the Japanese can take something as dull as a chef's uniform and make it a decorative delight. They resembled a crew of Japanese pirate costumes, and I loved it! The mayo shrimp appetizers were out of this world. But I'd say try another spot for desert - what we had was rather unimpressive after those awesome noodles!
This member of the Ramen Club gives Ippudo NY an excited: OISHI KATA!
Best wishes,
E.J.
Delicious! The ramen was excellent (akamaru and shiromaru took the prize); the pickles, chicken and mayo shrimp were yummy, too. The style here was not your typical tossed-off ramen shop stop-and-slurp stuff but an exuberant, over-the-top, kinetic, almost theme-y explosion of color, material and sound. It's pricey (for ramen) but worth the splurge.
OISHI!
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