Ippudo

65 4th Ave., East Village, NY

8.8

map & more

Neighborhood
East Village

Cuisine
Ramen

Nearby
Webster Hall

212-388-0088

Official Website

By Chris Stang
August 30, 2011

In my dreams there is a Japanese Willy Wonka, and his factory looks like one giant Ippudo. I want to be the fat little German kid that drowns in a river of pork broth and noodles.

This updated review of Ippudo is not here to mark a change in our opinion of the place. I am (clearly) still 100% over the top obsessed with this restaurant. But we felt it necessary to point out a few things that you should know now, and I also realized that I had the writing skills of a third grader two years ago. Who used to read this stuff?

Today, two-and-some-odd years after this Japanese ramen chain opened it’s first US outpost here in NY, Ippudo is as good as it’s ever been. This is one of the best meals you can have in this city. And that’s now become one of the problems. What were once hour-long waits in the beginning have now grown to two hours, almost always. You should not be planning a meal during dining time, unless you have a whole lot of nothing to do, or some kind of golden ticket (how do we get that?). The only way to efficiently rock Ippudo these days is to tell your boss you have a doctors appointment and show up on a weekday at 4pm, ready to do bad things to your insides. Order the red bowl of ramen (Akamaru Modern) and as many pork buns as you can without losing too much respect for yourself.

Food Rundown:

Pork Buns
I’ve been saying this forever now, much to Steinthal’s dismay, but these pork buns are way better than Momofuku’s. This one has just enough lettuce for a crunch, and mayonnaise. Yes…mayonnaise. I am gross.

Shoshito Peppers
Somehow, shoshito peppers are everywhere these days. Pretty sure Brother Jimmy’s even has them, but I think they think they are Japanese jalapeño poppers. Either way, I still love Ippudo’s shoshitos, especially because they give you citrus salt with them, which I have been known to dump directly into my mouth. Again, I am gross.

Ippudo Salad
A delicious, simple salad with gobo chips – and I still have no idea what those are.

Akamaru Modern
This is the best ramen on the menu, and is Ippudo’s specialty. Full of garlic and scallion, and the broth is rich and extra porky. Save enough broth for an extra helping of noodles, which will only cost you two bucks, but they have to deem you worthy (gotta have enough broth left).

Wasabi Shoyu Ramen
This is a soy sauce based vegetarian ramen that used to be only available by request (Mike D knows the deal). It’s now on the menu, and it’s actually really tasty.