Ippudo NY
65 4th Avenue
New York, NY 10003-5220
I had read about this restaurant on the Travel Channel and The Food Network. We attempted to go for lunch, but there was a 45 minutes wait. So we tried again at dinnertime, this time we faced an hour wait, but figured it was worth it. And it 100% was worth the wait. It's a Japanese Ramen noodle chain, with it's first American chain in New York City.
We started with the Hiarata Buns with pork. They were seriously to die for. Best pork bun I've ever tasted, hands down! And being half-Chinese, I've tasted a lot of pork buns. The boyf doesn't necessarily love pork, and hates mayonnaise, but LOVED these! The bun was the softest I've ever felt or tasted. It literally melted in my mouth. The "original spicy buns sauce" added the perfect amount of spice. And the lettuce added a great crunch to round out the appetizer. And the pork was perfectly cooked and flavored. Oh man, these were out of this world good.
Next up was the Ramen. We got the "Karaka Kogashi Miso Ramen", or spicy Miso. It had a great charred flavor with a good amount of spice. It was really delicious! We also got the "Shoyu Ramen", soy flavored Ramen. It was also really good! I added some spicy broth to this to add some flavor and spice. The noodles were perfectly cooked, and apparently are made downstairs. And they give you this huge soup spoon, which is really fun. Now I need to find where I can buy them!
We also got sake which came in really fun shot glasses with boxes around them! The atmosphere at Ippudo is really fun. It's upscale, but also relaxed. There are separated booths, and communal tables around a fire. The waitresses all yell in Japanese, I think they yell Thank you and Goodbye, when people are leaving, but it's really fun to hear and watch. I loved this place, and will definitely try to go back everytime I'm in NYC!
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I think this was my favorite place although it's a really tough decision. The food was great all around. I really do have a talented meal/trip planner!
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