Rockin’ Ramen

10% noodles; 90% love. Via.

To compliment today's SOLD OUT ramen discussion and tasting (featuring Masahiro Nakano from the Shinyokohama Ramen Museum and Serious Eats' J. Kenji Lopez-Alt), Japan Society staff put their hungry heads together to highlight a caboodle of the best noodles in NYC. Spoon, sip and slurp away!

Donburiya: 137 East 47th Street (212-980-7909)
Go for the tonkotsu ramen—a solid, simple rendition of the style, and all ingredients are cooked to perfection.

Hide-Chan Ramen: 248 East 52nd Street (212-813-1800)
Hide-Chan’s floating globules of glistening fat overwhelm even the most hardened rameniac; authentic, native-approved fare.

Ippudo NY: 65 4th Avenue (212-388-0088)
One of the best executions of tonkotsu style ramen in NYC. Warning: the restaurant’s popularity makes getting a bowl quite an ordeal.

Ise: 151 East 49th Street (212-319-6876)
Delicious standard Japanese dishes fill this restaurant with expats. Try their niboshi (dried fish based) ramen, but call ahead because it’s not always on the menu.

Izakaya Riki: 141 East 45th Street (212-986-5604)
The 45th St. restaurant has a wealth of great noodle dishes. Try the su-ra-tanmen (noodle in Chinese style hot & sour broth.)

Kambi Ramen House: 351 East 14th Street (212-228-1366)
At least one JS staffer says their soy tonkotsu is the best anywhere.

Menchanko-Tei Midtown East: 131 E 45th St # 2 (212-986-6805)
Great ramen, but guests can expand their noodle horizons by trying the sumo-wrestler-in-training specialty, menchanko—giant cast-iron bowls of noodles with a wide selection of add-ins.

Menkui Tei: 60 West 56th Street (212-757-1642)
A tiny, cozy restaurant with hearty, filling ramen. Great stop after a visit to nearby MoMA or the American Folk Art Museum .

Naruto Ramen: 1596 3rd Avenue (212-289-7803)
A small, bar style ramen shop like you see everywhere in Japan, with good gyoza and solid miso and tantanmen. The service is fast and presentation is simple.

Rockmeisha: 11 Barrow Street (212-675-7775)
A late-night rockabilly izakaya haunt offering much more than Chinese noodles—including a jukebox, friendly staff and a host of creative appetizers.

Ramen Sanshiro: 249 East 49th Street (212-355-7722)
Japanese businessmen, nightowls and ramen enthusiasts know that after 11pm, the upscale restaurant SEO transforms into Ramen Sanshiro. The late-night limited menu includes two ramen choices - shio (salt) and shoyu (soy sauce). Cash only.

Souen (East Village): 326 East 6th Street (212-388-1155)
Vegetarian ramen with extras like kale and yuba that win over meat-eaters. The black sesame ramen is the best, but all worth trying, including seasonal offerings such as seafood ramen.

A.M., C.J., D.S., J.N.A, R.Y., S.J.