usa :: new york :: general

[Chicken]

So are you guys into the broth at Minca? I find it to be pretty robust...

i think i like some of the soup at minca, but i don't like their noodles. too straight and not eggy enough for my taste. since their soup is very thick, i think a nice fat and twisty egg noodles will go well with them.

[peteyross]

is that the katsu-curry joint?

i was reading japion and saw an ad for a katsu-curry place....

Yeah this is the place I'm talking about. Plenty of places serve katsu curry (of which I've found Sapporo East to be the best, but it's not that good) but Go-Go Curry specializes in curry. I think this place is next on my list of crappy food to try.

[poly800rock]

i had some tanmen at some place in vegas yesterday. I don't remember it having any vegtables when i had it in Tokyo. Needless to say, it was lackluster at best

[peteyross]

Cross Posted from the Ask an Asian Thread (thought it would stand a chance of getting answered here):

Help needed from the Nihonjin dudes in here who cook:

Which fish broiler should I buy and where the hell can I get one? I'm in NYC and the only place I haven't looked is Mitsuwa in NJ. My guess is that they might have something, but I have no idea if it will be any good. I could probably proxy something from Japan but I'm using that as a last resort. Any internet sources?

[Chicken]

i had some tanmen at some place in vegas yesterday. I don't remember it having any vegtables when i had it in Tokyo. Needless to say, it was lackluster at best

dude, tanmen is all about veggies. it's basically stir-fried vegetables and usually pork slices thrown into shio ramen. in a nutshell.

you must have eaten a strange one in tokyo. not that i'm doubting it wasn't good in vegas, but.

[polishmike]

petey, you must be talking about go-go kare. supposed to be alright, haven't been though.

I eat there when I'm in the area. I'm no expert but it tastes pretty good to me. I also never saw another non-asian person in there. Good deal for cheap food.

I usually eat ramen at Minca or Setagaya. Can you guys suggest other places in Manhattan?

I also recently had some shabu shabu at Naniwa with some friends. Ate a lot and drank even more. Can you recommend other places that are similar?

[herpsky]

It's not ramen but I approve of Sobaya near st. marks. The food is always amazing.

Besides going to barneys, going to sobaya is one of the biggest highlights of going to the city (at least, for me).

I hear Aburiya Kinnosuke in midtown is really good.

I usually get breakfast at cafe zaiya on 41st street. Good ass japanese pastries.

[herpsky]

Cross Posted from the Ask an Asian Thread (thought it would stand a chance of getting answered here):

Help needed from the Nihonjin dudes in here who cook:

Which fish broiler should I buy and where the hell can I get one? I'm in NYC and the only place I haven't looked is Mitsuwa in NJ. My guess is that they might have something, but I have no idea if it will be any good. I could probably proxy something from Japan but I'm using that as a last resort. Any internet sources?

Mitsuwa def. sells fish broilers. When I lived in Jersey 5-6 years ago, my parents robocopped a ++++MIJ Fish broiler by tiger. Also, you can grab one from

http://www.fujisan.com/online/eshopping~se~?navi=1105476

Have you tried the japanese / korean / chinese markets?

I know there's one korean supermarket near herald square that had a bunch of fish broilers.

JAS MART on st. marks might have it. It's right next to st. marks books. it's on the 2nd floor so you gotta take the elevator.

[DaBestSpoona]

Cross Posted from the Ask an Asian Thread (thought it would stand a chance of getting answered here):

Help needed from the Nihonjin dudes in here who cook:

Which fish broiler should I buy and where the hell can I get one? I'm in NYC and the only place I haven't looked is Mitsuwa in NJ. My guess is that they might have something, but I have no idea if it will be any good. I could probably proxy something from Japan but I'm using that as a last resort. Any internet sources?

I bought a sanyo one from mitsuwa, during their electronics sale. Han Ah Reum usually sells them cheaper than Mitsuwa does.

[mizanation]

this just in from a japanese newspaper:

ippudo will open sometime in january.

ichi-ran will open sometime this summer (hopefully).

btw, petey ross, the soup at minca is not bad. like chicken said, the noodles don't match the broth.

ippudo will DESTROY all competition!!!!!!!!!!

ichi-ran will add an interesting twist to ramen in NYC.

[DaBestSpoona]

yeah, the other noodle options in nyc are a better bet. i had some good udon the other day at udon west. japanese owned. all japanese work force. mostly japanese clientelle. good stuff.

Udon West in flushing?

Go Go Curry is pretty good by ny standards

[lestat]

JAS MART on st. marks might have it. It's right next to st. marks books. it's on the 2nd floor so you gotta take the elevator.

thats Sunrise... Jasmart is the one next to BAMN!

[herpsky]

you're right. my bad.

[herpsky]

the jas mart next to BAMN isn't that great.

[peteyross]

Guys, I'm not an idiot, I've looked in all those places. Any cookware at JASMart and Sunrise is severely overpriced if they do have anything at all. Also, I have no idea if what they're carrying is of decent quality relative to what else is available in Jersey or online.

Thanks for that website. That thing you posted was a grill though, not a broiler. You know what I'm talking about right? I had one when I lived in Japan. There's always a small, narrow fish broiler in a Japanese oven but I also had a small one that I could put on the countertop.

Edit: this is more what I'm talking about: http://www.fujisan.com/online/eshopping~se~?navi=1105475

[mizanation]

best bet is getting it online. the japanese markets here are overpriced. also, try the korean market on 32nd street. they have warez. also, try chinatown, some of the stores have that stuff, too.

spoona, i'm talking about the the Udon West on St. Marks. i think it's new.

btw, did i mention that ippudo will likely open shop in january?

also, ichi-ran, which i am told is private single ramen booths. don't know how that will do here...

[poly800rock]

dude, tanmen is all about veggies. it's basically stir-fried vegetables and usually pork slices thrown into shio ramen. in a nutshell.

you must have eaten a strange one in tokyo. not that i'm doubting it wasn't good in vegas, but.

i stand completely corrected than.

So what's the ramen with the white pork bone broth? the one I had never had veggies

[heBAY]

damn i need to get out more.

[mizanation]

i stand completely corrected than.

So what's the ramen with the white pork bone broth? the one I had never had veggies

that's tonkotsu ramen. usually no veggies. all pork.

[Chicken]

^ yup. and the nagasaki (kyushu) style is chanpon, where it's that tonkotsu broth filled will all sorts of random shit -- like meat, seafood and veggies.

petey, i don't think you'll get insightful answers for your questions here, because japanese dudes don't cook, especially that hard core. we're all spoiled by our women.

[corporategrunt]

I went to Rai-rai ken few weeks back for the first time...man that was a disappointment to the max. I got the Shoyu ramen and gyoza...gyoza was pre-cooked and soggy, ramen was bad, i had to dump lots of pepper, vinegar and ra-yu in a pathetic attempt to just add something to teh soup. cha-shu was rubbery and not tasty. one of the biggest problem i had was with the attitude of the Japanese guy working behind the counter at teh time...he was grumpy but not in the way some ganko-oyaji type get, he was just a disgruntled worker who didn't give a fuck about what he cooked. i saw lots of people ordering miso, maybe that is what i was supposed to order.

I had minca's cha-shu don for the first time last week. They do make the best cha-shu among all the ramen shops in NY. and like someone posted earlier, their noodle isn't that great...so unless i have a ramen craving, cha-shu don may be a better choice. as for the accompanying soup, I can see why they stick with Tonkotsu-miso style if one were to pour that over the rice maybe 2/3rd into the don...but with pretty strong flavored chashu, perhaps gyokai (fish, shellfish, seaweed) type soup my go better if one were to drink the soup separately.

I think setaga-ya opened with Japanese staff, and so did san-to-ka...i went to san-to-ka relatively recently as well and was thoroughly disappointed in the decline...

i was in japan recently and i did eat good ramen several times, so maybe that is why my standard is bit higher...

damn you people for reviving this thread!

[peteyross]

^ yup. and the nagasaki (kyushu) style is chanpon, where it's that tonkotsu broth filled will all sorts of random shit -- like meat, seafood and veggies.

petey, i don't think you'll get insightful answers for your questions here, because japanese dudes don't cook, especially that hard core. we're all spoiled by our women.

I see your point here. But who said I'll be using it? My girlfriend will likely be the one cooking, but I'm taking charge of actually getting the appliance. Maybe I'll head out to Mitsuwa to pick one up.

[Chicken]

i think in the new york area, that's your best bet.

and maybe you could ask random japanese women at the store for advice. they would definitely know.

[the_state]

so, for a "virgin" ramen eater (read: i thought momofuku was legit up until this post), what would you guys recommend?

[mizanation]

I went to Rai-rai ken few weeks back for the first time...man that was a disappointment to the max. I got the Shoyu ramen and gyoza...gyoza was pre-cooked and soggy, ramen was bad, i had to dump lots of pepper, vinegar and ra-yu in a pathetic attempt to just add something to teh soup. cha-shu was rubbery and not tasty. one of the biggest problem i had was with the attitude of the Japanese guy working behind the counter at teh time...he was grumpy but not in the way some ganko-oyaji type get, he was just a disgruntled worker who didn't give a fuck about what he cooked. i saw lots of people ordering miso, maybe that is what i was supposed to order.

I had minca's cha-shu don for the first time last week. They do make the best cha-shu among all the ramen shops in NY. and like someone posted earlier, their noodle isn't that great...so unless i have a ramen craving, cha-shu don may be a better choice. as for the accompanying soup, I can see why they stick with Tonkotsu-miso style if one were to pour that over the rice maybe 2/3rd into the don...but with pretty strong flavored chashu, perhaps gyokai (fish, shellfish, seaweed) type soup my go better if one were to drink the soup separately.

I think setaga-ya opened with Japanese staff, and so did san-to-ka...i went to san-to-ka relatively recently as well and was thoroughly disappointed in the decline...

i was in japan recently and i did eat good ramen several times, so maybe that is why my standard is bit higher...

damn you people for reviving this thread!

hey whatsup corporate-g!

yeah, rai-rai ken SUCKS!!!! they are the worst in new york. not only does their ramen suck, everything else on their menu sucks donkey balls. it gets great reviews by dumb-ass idiots who don't know shit. everytime i've been there (not by my choice) it's been a complete waste of money.

i hope there is a special ramen hell for the people at rai-rai ken.

FUCK THEM!!!! fuck them to hell!!! fuck them AND the USPS!!!!

[culturalmulatto]

dont know if somebody mentioned this earlier, but there is a yoshinoya on 42nd st. if you can handle the enormous annoyance of that area, not a bad place for ramen served up waffle house style.

i've had food at this restaurant in both america and japan and remember the food tasting the same, so if you are feeling nostalgic...

[Chicken]

so, for a "virgin" ramen eater (read: i thought momofuku was legit up until this post), what would you guys recommend?

actually, momofuku is the place i might recommend, if you've never had a ramen in your life. i figure it might be a very easy ramen for people to eat. but that's like eating cup-o-noodles, too.

you might want to venture out now and try places like menkuitei, setagaya ramen, santouka and minca. and see for yourself what you might like and what you don't. but if you've been following this thread, none of these places are considered "great". eventually, the road will lead you to japan...

dont know if somebody mentioned this earlier, but there is a yoshinoya on 42nd st. if you can handle the enormous annoyance of that area, not a bad place for ramen served up waffle house style.

i've had food at this restaurant in both america and japan and remember the food tasting the same, so if you are feeling nostalgic...

they serve ramen? what?!

[Chicken]

It's not ramen but I approve of Sobaya near st. marks. The food is always amazing.

Besides going to barneys, going to sobaya is one of the biggest highlights of going to the city (at least, for me).

belated, but another yay for sobaya. the soba itself has been hit-or-miss with me, because they sometimes undercook the noodles -- they leave it way too hard.

but otherwise, all their food and side dishes are legit -- you can taste good dashi.

and some of them can mix a nice calpis soda for you too.

and yay for japanese pastries.

[peteyross]

belated, but another yay for sobaya. the soba itself has been hit-or-miss with me, because they sometimes undercook the noodles -- they leave it way too hard.

but otherwise, all their food and side dishes are legit -- you can taste good dashi.

and some of them can mix a nice calpis soda for you too.

and yay for japanese pastries.

Sobaya sucks, sorry guys. No comparison to Soba Koh, Sakagura or the late great Honmura An.

Used to be a regular at Sobaya circa 2002 but it's gotten quite bad in recent years, catering to more american tastes (or Chinese? there are tons of Chinese patrons these days). I haven't seen Japanese patrons there in years...

[Chicken]

but were you the same guy who said sapporo east was good?