hi all, thinking of taking a trip to new york in the near future, to sample some of the fineness out there. any recs? so far i’ve got:

sapporo ramen
menchanko-tei
men kui-tei
rai rai ken
momofuku
ajisen (chinatown)

on the brain. if anyone’s reading from the tri-state area and can give me some opinions on either those places, or others, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

oKarma is going to New York City where he was born too, in about a week. I saw many Japanese joints in the East Village, last time I was in The City. Perhaps oKarma can get some ramen recommendations as well. He may very well get tired of all the hot dogs, pizza, pretzels, bagels, and pastrami sandwiches…

rameniac - 16 May 2007 04:22 PM

hi all, thinking of taking a trip to new york in the near future, to sample some of the fineness out there. any recs? so far i’ve got:

sapporo ramen
menchanko-tei
men kui-tei
rai rai ken
momofuku
ajisen (chinatown)

on the brain. if anyone’s reading from the tri-state area and can give me some opinions on either those places, or others, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

sapporo - okay, but its 10 years since I’ve eaten there
menchanko tei - okay
men kui tei - their tan tan ramen, jar jar ramen are very good, avoid the village location, the owner is the chef there, middle age guy with mustache, the 56th street location is much better when the old guy is cooking.
rai rai - okay
momofuku - disgusting take unseasoned shredded berkshire pork with no flavor, soggy noodles,a onsen tamago and chinatown dish water and you have momofuku, probably the worst ramen in the US.
ajisen - instant ramen taste, but better than momofuku
rockmeisha - best hakata ramen, outside of fukuoka but its really salty, try the tonsouku, deep fried pigs feet.
minca - never been but I’ve heard that when the mexican guy is cooking, the broth is always off and lukewarm, when the japanese guy is cooking, the broth is perfect
santouka - best in the area
setagaya - not open yet, but my brother in law who used to live in setagaya say its good
ippudo - not open yet, but if its the same as the tokyo branch, it should be excellent
saburi - my friends like their ramen, but I like their different types of cold ramen.
chikubu - best shoyu ramen in the area, but owner retired and move back to japan

wow thanks. any word on when that ippudo is supposed to open? i’d heard it was supposed to open in 2006 ago and then… nothing.

is rockmeisha new? i don’t recall it being there the last time i was in NY (in 2004) but if it does an even halfway-decent hakata ramen i’m definitely there!

dabestspoona - 26 May 2007 07:34 PM

ippudo - not open yet, but if its the same as the tokyo branch, it should be excellent

WHAT?!?!?! Ippudo is opening in NYC? Where? When? References?  This is great!

I’m going to answer my own question here.  I did a little research and it looks like Ippudo has applied for a liquor license and will be opening in the Village (65 4th Ave), hopefully sooner than later.

Future home of Ippudo NYC:
http://tinyurl.com/3xv3cp

rameniac - 27 May 2007 10:52 AM

is rockmeisha new? i don’t recall it being there the last time i was in NY (in 2004) but if it does an even halfway-decent hakata ramen i’m definitely there!

I went to rockumeisha last winter and I was not impressed at all.  And I think it was expensive.

dabestspoona -

rockmeisha - best hakata ramen, outside of fukuoka

Wow, that is a very bold statement.  Now I’m curious to see how it stands up against Kyusyu Jangara.  But thanks for the list, now if I ever visit my brother in NY I have some places to check out.

So happy to find this website and forum!
I’m always on the hunt for great ramen in NY—to add my 2 cents:

sapporo - in midtown - the first place i had ramen in NY—it’s decent.
menchanko tei - terrible!
men kui tei - been to the one near st. marks.  the traditional ones are ok… nothing to write home about.
rai rai - terrible.
momofuku - i don’t understand what the hype is about.  ramen here is not that good.
rockmeisha - hmmm it was ok.  I wrote more in in-depth about it here
minca - it’s pretty good.  Sometimes soup is overpowering, and the chashu is extremely salty.
setagaya - looking forward to this!!!  apparently pp are lining up down the street for this.

also one other place to consider:
ISE has nice flavored soup—the niboshi ramen has a strong fish flavor and is delicious.

I meant nyc not fukuoka, my bad

But it’s the closest rendition of traditional Tonkotsu ramen I’ve had in the states

Have you guys gone to Setagaya yet??  It opened last week I think, and there have been people lined up down the street to get in! Fortunately I haven’t had to wait that long.  More about is here.  I’ve been there twice in the last week, and was very pleased.  I was always a fan of shio-ramen, and they make their really full-flavored and satisfying.  MUCH better than Momofuku, hands down!

^^^I was there today and was very happy with my experience.

awesome! i’ve been hearing good things about setagaya. man, setagaya and ippudo. with a santouka in new jersey. you new yorkers are getting it good these days, better than the west coast even…

i guess ill give those restaurants a go. rameniac has been bugging me about it.  i think you know more about nyc ramen than i do

I got into a heated discussion with my Japanese hairstylist about the best ramen in the NYC area.  He vouched for Satouka in the Mitsuwa shopping complex in Edgewater, New Jersey.  He said he even preferred it over Setagaya!  So I went to check it out for myself.  We ordered both the shoyu ramen and the shio ramen.  The first 7 bites were great.  The soup was flavorful, they tasted like the archetypical standard Japanese ramen.  But towards the end of the meal, we started feeling kind of ill.  There was too much artificial flavor or something, everything began to taste overwhelmingly bland and greasy.  For my money, Setagaya still has the best soup and perfectly made egg.  Will also try Chanto on 7th Ave, another place my harstylist was raving over.

Santouka isnt for everyone, especially if you get heartburn easily due to the high pork fat content.

Another Fukuoka chain, Ichiran is opening up in Brooklyn soon.