One slightly rainy Friday, I was on the Upper East Side working my way through some blogging, when I decided I wanted ramen. A quick Google turned up Naruto, not too far away, so I walked over and waited a few minutes before I was seated at the bar.
I’d wanted to try the pork katsu curry, but I was informed they were out of the pork katsu, so I switched to plain chicken. It was interesting watching them cook it, but at the same time, I was disappointed that the chicken is cooked separately and therefore doesn’t pick up a lot of the flavor of the curry.
The flavor it gets is almost entirely sauce-based, ie, you dip it in to get the flavor.
Beyond that, though, the flavor was sufficient and it was a decent sized portion for a half portion. I liked it enough.
Unfortunately the butter in my miso ramen melted faster than I could take a pic – you can sort of see the glob it left in the bottom of the pic, to the left of center – but I was pleased with the bowl placed in front of me.
The ramen itself was of the thin yellow curly kind. A friend of mine prefers these; I find them alright. The broth was heavy-handed on the miso, a bit thick, but the corn and other elements were pretty sweet. Overall, a solid bowl of ramen on the UES, if you find yourself in such an area.
Uh, cuz I’m a pig, I also ordered a small bowl of cha-su rice.
The pork was the same as had featured in the ramen; soft, coming apart easily with just a prod of the chopsticks, and wonderfully flavored. The egg, a slick of soy sauce, and this was a good dish, but I probably won’t order it again. I go to ramen joints to eat ramen…
Yvo says: A solid neighborhood joint; if you’re in the area on a rainy day or night, definitely stop by for some yummy ramen. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here, but I would be thrilled if one of these opened in my own neighborhood… yum.
good neighborhood joint
sarah says
i love ramen so much! what is your favorite ramen place in nyc? im very much into hakata ramen, but…lets face it-ill eat any ramen!
BeerBoor says
Oh, this is up near where I used to live, but I don’t think it was there before I left. Tiny little place? Good prices?
T.C. says
Mmm ramen! Me want a bowl.
Blech to the curry plain chicken. Katsu!!
3 dishes? Good job!!