It's been far too long since I posted. So here we go, a string of updates starting with the lusty temptress known as Ippudo.
Located downtown at 65 4th Avenue, Ippudo is a Japanese restaurant that takes the humblest of Japanese dishes and elevates it to upscale pop culture star status. The dark but glitzy interior entry room houses a hostess stand and small bar where one can order 2 for 1 pints of Kirin or Sapporo for $6 Monday-Thursday. Speaking of weeknights, don't expect to come to Ippudo on a weekend without a potentially multi-hour wait. For that matter, try to get there before 6:00 even on weeknights, and even if your party is small. The icy hostesses won't help matters much if your dining situation is less than set in stone. With forced smiles they decree that restaurant policy is to A) Not seat parties that aren't all present (an increasingly common dining rule, but one I wholeheartedly disagree with), and B) Add-ons are not allowed. Wait, what? So when my party of 5 was seated at a table that could have accommodated 7 or 8, apparently were we to have another guest show up later they would not have allowed them a seat.
Fortunately, the inadequacies in service are limited to the hostesses, acting almost as the restaurant bouncers who may more may not allow you entry past the red velvet curtain into the dining room proper. Once inside things are a different story. Newcomers may be startled at first to hear an entire restaurant's worth of chefs, hosts, and servers shouting at them when they enter the dining room. In (mostly) traditional Japanese form, the entire staff greets each guest with a hearty "Irasshaimase!" (welcome!) upon entry. The decor itself is sleek but warm, with a sit down bar lining the L-shaped exposed kitchen area. Adorning the back wall is a list of names spelled in Hiragana depicting the business's staff, starting with the founder in the top left corner. But enough small talk. Guests flock to Ippudo for one thing and one thing only: Ramen.
Well they don't really just do Ramen. There is an entire menu of hot and cold appetizers, including their famous pork buns, which must be tried to be believed. These juicy little morsels are pricey - about $8 for two buns - but well worth the investment. Served as a sort of sandwich rather than the traditional enclosed bun, the pillowy dough wraps slices of sticky sweet pork topped with a crisp leaf of iceberg lettuce and a dollop of Japanese mayo. Upon first biting into one of these heavenly little guys, I recalled a vague taste memory...what was it these flavor grenades reminded me of? Then it hit me: the pork buns at Ippudo taste exactly like a Wendy's Junior Bacon Cheeseburger. And I mean that with the utmost respect and adoration.
Ramen. It's delicious, and contrary to some tradition-bound naysayers, Ippudo does it REALLY well. The menu consists of 5 different ramens, plus one nightly special. Choices include a fairly catch-all traditional model, a savory and salty soy based affair, a light and fragrant herbal infusion, a nutty concoction rich with roast sesame flavors, and finally the senses and convention shattering Akamaru Modern - a rich blend of pork based soup with Ippudo's spicy "special sauce", red miso paste, and, floating atop this magnificent elixir, a fragrant layer of garlic oil. Each ramen includes several of a variety of toppings, most of which can be ordered as add-ins, similar to the manner in which you would get a pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and jalapenos (at least you would if you were as awesome as me). For example, the Akamaru Modern includes slices of simmered Berkshire pork, cabbage, onions, scallions, and kikurage (wood ear mushrooms). However I have yet to order ramen without the mandatory addition of incredibly sexy kakuni (braised pork belly), and usually a seasoned hard boiled egg or bamboo shoots.
Of course it wouldn't be ramen without the noodles. Ippudo's are a delight - perfectly cooked every time to be slightly toothsome and chewy, but by no means al dente. The best part is that for $2 extra, one may ask for "kae dama" - provided you've left a generous enough amount of soup in your bowl but finished all your noodles, the servers will bring you another portion of noodles to add to your bowl.
Having dined at Ippudo with a Japanese friend of mine, I realized that I am indeed a statistic: apparently something like 80% of the customers who go their first time and order Akamaru Modern return within the same week for a second time. Well having ordered Akamaru Modern, I actually returned twice in the same week. A word of warning however: eating at this ridiculously decadent noodle and broth juggernaut three times in a week leaves one's insides dry and crying for moisture (MSG OD anyone?).
In this eater's opinion, a small price to pay for such bowl shaped bliss.
