Ippudo

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Ding, ding! It's round two of the East Village ramen slug-fest: This first U.S. outpost of a popular Japanese chain serves up some UFC-style pummeling with five types of ramen, including one with a white-pork broth. (The owner is a “Ramen Hall of Fame” member who’s won several ramen championships on Japanese TV—nope, we didn’t make that up.) Sip the broth and you’ll understand why it’s a contender: It’s cooked for over 15 hours, which lends the stock a creamy veneer. Non-ramen-philiacs can go for bites like pork croquette with bechamel sauce while ogling Ippudo’s quirky bamboo centerpiece, which flanks the joint’s white-on-wood aesthetic.

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NoHo restaurants, New York restaurants, Japanese restaurants, Noodle restaurants