I was having a hard time imagining what this Ippudo ramen would taste like. Would the wasabi over power the dish? I was worried the first bite would be heaven, then slowly peter out, the flavors too intense. There was so much going on! But after peppering the waitress with questions, I decided to order it. Tonkotsu ramen is my favorite, so we also ordered that—just in case.

I was right about the first bite. Heaven! But this ramen was so refined and complex that it was pure pleasure from start to finish. The wasabi didn’t overwhelm the ramen at all, despite my initial hesitation. The waiter suggested mixing the toppings when the bowl arrived because the wasabi leaves have kick and you’ll want to distribute them for less impact.

Their tonkotsu ramen was also very tasty. The noodles were thinner and cooked to perfection. The flavor of the broth was deep and rich. It was a solid take on a classic tonkotsu ramen. Both this and the new flavors of the wasabi shoyu ramen made my tastebuds sing. It was all perfect.

Everything at Ippudo was beautiful, from the ramen to the decor and lighting (check out the ramen bowls!). The service was flawless—the waiters were really helpful and you could tell they take their ramen seriously. This is an experience I wouldn’t mind shelling out a few extra bucks for.

Ippudo
65 Fourth Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-0088

I also want to thank those of you who took the time to vote for my recipe on Food 52. I didn’t win, but hope you’ll have a chance to make Bacon and Shiso Fried Rice. I promise it won’t disappoint! Congratulations to the winning recipe, Shrimp Biryani—it looks amazing!

Oms/B has a beautiful selection of omusubi. This isn’t your run-of-the mill umeboshi or okaka. The selection is vast and imaginative. Take a look at their menu—it’s not easy to settle on just three. For a quick, on-the-go lunch, Oms/B was quite good and the line was perpetually long. I was impressed.

After talking with the woman behind the counter, we chose the Crab Salad, Mackerel with Yuzu, and the Ippudo Pork (below) and the Shrimp Pop Corn, Gorgeous Football Rice, and Spicy Tuna (above). Yum. The rice was cooked just right, something you can’t take for granted. Even the mackerel with yuzu—something I wouldn’t have chosen on my own—was a pleasant surprise. The pungent yuzu cut the flavor of the mackerel nicely.

Here in Los Angeles, Little Tokyo desperately needs a hot bento shop. Even something like the Hoka Hoka Bento chain in Japan would be a reasonable alternative to the chilled boxed bentos sitting in the grocery stores. Stale tonkatsu, soggy tendon, cold rice… not very appetizing. When I visited Oms/B, something inside me said—YES! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about—we need a place just like this.

Oms/B
156 E. 45th Street
New York, NY 10017
(212) 922-9788

On our trip to New York, we came armed with a 7-paged list of restaurant and things to do, mostly suggestions from friends and research we’d done ourselves. Soba-Ya wasn’t at the top of my list, but after a recommendation from John’s brother (and NY local) as a well-frequented restaurant, we decided to head there for dinner.

There’s something very basic about soba because there are really just two things that make the dish: the dashi and the noodles. Sure, you can have kitsune, tanuki, or tempura soba, but that stuff they pile on is just ornament. If the foundation isn’t good, then it’s not good soba, no matter how you try to disguise it.

We started with the yuba sashimi as an appetizer. I love yuba (it’s the skin that forms on the surface when they make tofu) for its delicate, but firm texture. This yuba sashimi was tofu was wrapped inside sheets of yuba. A little dip in shoyu, a dab of wasabi, and the flavor was at once sweet, soft, salty, and with a kick. Simple and delicious.

I’m not one to get super excited about soba, but this soba was amazing. The dashi had an assertive katsuo flavor that, when mixed with the grated yama imo, thickened it and made it so savory. The broth wasn’t too salty, as it tends to be at other places, and they really balanced all the flavors perfectly. Just writing this makes me want to fly back and slurp up another bowl. Ahh, heaven.

Sobaya
229 E. 9th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 533-6966