raji

Well, your experiences are suprising to me; I always found their noodles had the appropriate bite (unlike the uncooked ones I had a setagaya), and Santouka's bowls are pretty small by ramen standards...?? Certainly smaller than anywhere else in NYC. If you only went to Setagaya once, drunk, yeah, it might compare favorably to Santouka, but so would the whopper I had last night, which is the best whopper I've ever had. To pull a Todd36ism, most of my dining companions have been Japanese, and whether or not they are tonkotsu-ramen fans, they seem to all highly rate that place....

Well, hakatmen, the noodles are so skinny, I think that's part of why you might not find it rawer than barikata - you worked at Santoka?! Maybe you can tell us why Santoka is so much better than any other ramen in NYC. I have offered my theories....

Koi holds all the people who couldn't get in to Nobu. Their menu is just about as dated too. Rock-shrimp tempura! hamachi carpaccio! tuna tartare!

If they are looking for more upmarket Korean, and based on the strength of the euro, i bet they are, definitely give Bann a try - http://www.bannrestaurant.com/index2.htm or Woo Lae Oak (same owners)

Really?? Where did you hear that? And where are they opening? If so, then yes, 2008 is the year of the tonkotsu ramen!!! S The Santouka Ramen in Shibuya, on an otherwise nondescript strectch Meijodori halfway between Shibuya and Ebisu train stations had a line out it's door 24 hours day, 7 days a week. I should know as my office in Tokyo was overlooking this destination. People would come from far and wide just to get a bowl of thir amen. NY is to pizza as Tokyo is to ramen - so imagine you were in some far-off land - for instance, LA - and for the life of you couldn't get a decent slice let alone a JOE'S (before the move from bleecker and carming), and now suddenlyl Di Fara's cloned Dom and opened in your hood, and Joe's is on the way, that's a pretty good analogy to what's going on with our ramen iny NYC. night and day

d'oh! eater.com Board Wrap: Art Imitating Crazy Message Boards · One Thing You Can't Say Without Sounding Like an Asshole [eGullet] (links back to Sneak's post)

Clearly a major error on their part! It will be open to the public on 3/31. But I'd really like to grab one while it's still seriously cold outside, so I'm gonna ask around... Either way, I think their bowl of ramen is gonna cost $13. That sucks, but the yen is trading at 97 to the dollar, so, better grin and bear it. Thank you our Premier Bush! If you are a serious shioramen fan, you might still favor Setagaya, but theirs pales in comparison to Santouka. Hakata Ippudo specializes in Hakata-men; kyuushu-style, tonkotsu (pork bones) broth with skinny noodles, which I much prefer. Without tasting, I am still almost certain that they will seriously raise the bar and set expectations from a bowl of ramen in NYC much higher. They're known as ramen artisans; the fundamentals of a good bowl of ramen, which so many seem to have trouble nailing, will be second nature to them.

at 4th Avenue and 10th Street http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/hakata-ippudo/ So, nobody on here went to the soft opening a couple of nights ago? I would have, but I lost my Japanese press credential a couple years ago.

That wasn't the prix fixe + 1 extra entree at JG, was it? If not, what was the damage if you don't mind us asking?

hahaha Kuidaore you were real close. Those Osakans are a funny bunch. They basically produce 90% of the country's comedians. I had the same problem with the Google Maps and the 55th Street location.... apparently, good thing you avoided the one on Cooper Square, I guess it's gone downhill. The 55th street menkuitei has always been a lot beter. There's also a Menchankotei right there that you could have gone to - So you ate at Sushiya - not a bad place, at least it's Japanese sushi chefs... but you do know that Totto was just another 2 blocks westward.....

Actually, now that I think about it, a Setagaya Ramen might really hit the spot AFTER consuming a fatty Katz's Pastrami. And they're a short walk away from eachother - 11 blocks but the blocks are really compressed in the EV and fly by. Eat like the Japanese, with a ramen betsu-bara! (second stomach)

+ 1

I want to stock up on tasty morsels that I can bring back to nc, or at least eat on the plane, or perhaps equally likely, in the airport (Sunday: mixed wintery weather). This may be good for doing just that. I really don't want to have to buy a slice of Sbarro. ← I make it down to NC at least once a year. Outer Banks, but a similar commute, albeit longer drive... gonna be tough to make it down with anything requiring refrigeration unless you take a cooler with you... I'd stock up on Bagels. They cost over a dollar a piece AT the H&H Factory at 45th and 12th, but if you go to the Stiles market at 41st and 9th, they are 40 cents a piece and I'm pretty certain they're the same bagels. Whatever they are, they are damn good. Buy a couple dozen, when you get him slice them in half and freeze them. That's the gift that will keep on giving

That sucks! Next time call me up I'll chew them out in Japanese. ano baka . I find the ramen much more consistent in midtown. FWIW most of my Japanese dining cohorts who were not Setagaya fans in Japan, which is most of them, would much rather go to Menkuitei, or even Minca, Menchankotei rairaiken. Conversely, EVERYONE seems to rave over Santouka's. I guess go try it out, and enter the great ramen debate. Please report back!

You're leaning on RUB because after a week of HAUTE cuisine, you'd like some down home Americana. That said, I'd recommend going to Daisy Mae's over Rub. Their Memphis dry-rubs are amazing as are all their sides. Get a mini-ramen at Setagaya and try out Menkuitei on the Bowery just south of St. Marks. Setagaya was always way overrated and has since gone downhill fast.... Prepare to be disappointed!

They're known for the canolis, but I bet Veniero's is pretty bad ass. Why not do a Junior's? http://www.venierospastry.com/

I'd throw in Devi's $25 prix fixe lunch as well... 18th and 5th... got that a week ago and it was pretty good, altho we were there on the early side, 12pm, and for whatever reason, the food that was coming out a bit later looked better. BTW they usually throw in a bunch of free amuses and dessert

Saravanaas and Madras Mahal are great, but for a date, you might want to go for Pongal. South Indian vegetarian; in particular a mildly spicey dosai and masala potato, is really the only vegetarian meal that doesn't leave me craving protein. That masala potatoe really sticks to your ribs...

Jesikka, apparently you don't speak for all regulars. Sure, some will follow Chang to the gates of Hell in his grand egalitarian experiment (unless of course it's just a facade), but some are already fed up and it's only day two. ← Yeah, what he said. This is entirely equivalent to a doorman at a nightclub. Those guys make good money and are important because they know the regulars and VIPs and keep out the riff-raff. Chang's opened a small-ass nightclub with no doorman. Those don't tend to last. And yeah, I'm pissed cuz their shite website didn't even give me a poor man's chance at a res.

- Daioh Sushi - NO!!! nicknamed "day-old" - East of Eighth - NO! unless you want to see the epitome of drama-queen service - Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop - yes, if you can't make it to katz's or afford Carnegi or Pastrami queen - Pongsri Thai Restaurant - REGIONAL is better, but all shite compared to Hell's Kitchen - RUB - Righteous Urban BBQ - still not a fan - Toasties Delicatessen - see eisenberg's - Shake Shack - how about STAND or BRGR? - Famous Original Ray's Pizza - which authentic, original, one-and-only Ray's? You're searching wayy to localized. For instance, extend your range a block westward and you got Tia Pol and Izakaya Ten

The site simply doesn't work on a mac for me... the bot-denying image won't load. Anyone else?

IIS is shit. Thankfully they're concentrating on the food not the website. Well, thankful until it's time to do business...

David (Chang) - http://www.mediatemple.net/webhosting/gs/ (MT's Grid Server hosting is located on a computing cluster. Bandwidth, storage, and CPU demands increase ON DEMAND. Not so much relevant because they went with a Microsoft web server, which just sucks overall, but honestly, the site is not exactly rocket science....) thank me later!

Ha! I was out there on Saturday. Downed a Santouka toroniku shioramen and ikuradon set. Damn good stuff. Puts Setagaya to shame shame shame. There is a feature in the current CHOPSTICKS on ramen that is very good and informative. But CHOPSTICKS and NYJAPION and their ASIAN FOOD DIGEST have a major credibility issue; they only list and promote those who advertise with them - the more, the more of a shill. It's pretty shameless.

Yah I don't think it gets much cheaper than boxes of Morton's kosher salt. But I'd try International Grocery at 39th and 9th, they buy in bulk and therefore their prices are really low - most spices are 1/4-1/2 pound for 99 cents