Location: Home > food > Ramen Setagaya: Oishii desu!
Ramen Setagaya: Oishii desu!Posted Aug 6th 2007 3:27PM by Joe DiStefanoFiled under: East Coast, Restaurants, Far East, Pork, Raves & ReviewsLast week I wrote about Rameniac, a guide to all things ramen so detailed and descriptive that it left me jonesing for a hot bowl of the stuff. As promised, I did indeed trek from my native Queens to Manhattan's East Village that same afternoon to satisfy my urge. Rather than head to one of the neighborhood's longstanding ramenyas, I decided to try out Ramen Setagaya, a new spot that opened in mid-June amid much fanfare and accompanying long lines. Part of the reason for all the buzz surrounding Setagaya's opening lies in the fact that it's the first U.S. restaurant of a popular Tokyo chain. And a large part lies in the fact that they make one kickass bowl of soup.I made a point of getting there before they reopened for dinner at 4:30, just in case the joint was a still a mob scene. Thankfully, it was pretty mellow inside. I took a seat at the counter facing the action. It soon became clear that these folks are serious about ramen. Perhaps it was the documentary that involved touring 77 ramenyas all over Japan playing on a flat-screen television. Or maybe it was the rack of seven kitchen timers arrayed on the wall above the noodle station that showed the cooks could easily handle a crowd. Ah, heck, who am I kidding, it was the ramen itself. And not just because of all the hype, either.I ordered the shio ramen, or natural salt flavor, since I thought it to be the most basic on the menu. To be fair there's only one other soup offered, BBQ pork salt ramen. But back to the bowl at hand, which when placed in front of me had all kinds of goodies floating in it, including half an egg and several bamboo shoots. Setagaya's broth is by far the most flavorful and complex I've ever tasted. The noodles had just the right amount of give. As I slurped my way to the bottom of the bowl, I was awash in waves of flavor and aroma. I should point out that I rarely ever drain an entire bowl.Just what makes Setagaya's ramen so good? As I was eating it I was able to parse out some of the notes: meaty pork broth, some really good seaweed and, more obviously, a few pieces of fatty pork. A quick look at the back of the menu allowed me to further appreciate the Tampopo-worthy creation. Three types of seaweed, Raus, Rishiri and Aosha are used along with a host of other ingredients, including flakes of dried scallops and dried anchovy. The soup is also topped with scallop oil upon serving. It bears pointing out that all of the components harmonized perfectly.Setagaya also offers the option of having the noodles and the soup served separate. I have a feeling I'll be going there sometime in the very near future to try the deluxe BBQ pork ramen served in this fashion. Also I need to give back the menu that Taka, the executive chef, was kind enough to lend me for almost a week.
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