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.
