Welcome to the Village: Splurging at Ippudo

I recently switched jobs from one located in the barren wasteland of Westchester County to NYU in the heart of the Village. Lucky for me, my office is just a hop, skip and a jump from St. Marks Place, any Japanese food lover's favorite neighborhood. And, when I say Japanese, I don't mean tempura, sushi and teriyaki. No, give me a hot bowl of fatty, creamy ramen and I'm a happy girl. The East Village has more ramen choices that any other part of the city, but on cold, wintry days I want to splurge and go to a restaurant that consistently places in the top 3 ramen joints in the city: Ippudo.

Ippudo is an American branch of a well-known Japanese chain of ramen restaurants and has two signature dishes - the lighter Shiromaru ramen or the heartier Akamaru ramen. On this day I decided to go for the Akamaru. The creamy, rich broth, seasoned with garlic oil, spicy miso paste and Ippudo's 'secret sauce' makes this ramen stand-out from other local options. Scallions, seaweed and other vegetables float above and house-made noodles. And, the melts-in-your-mouth, juicy Berkshire pork belly falls apart when you pick it up with your chopsticks.

Once I've finished all the noodles, I am always faced with a dilemma. Order a 'refill' of noodles ($2), a practice known in Japanese as kaedama, to put in the leftover broth, or do as the Japanese do and raise the bowl to my mouth and drink the soup until nothing is left.

The only problem with Ippudo is the price. One bowl of ramen will set you back $13, and there is usually a long wait at lunch time. But, if you are looking to splurge on a cold winter's day, Ippudo is definitely a recommended option.

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
(between 9th St & 10th St)
New York, NY 10003
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