Vegetarian & Vegan Ramen in NYC

One of my favorite spots in Tokyo is Tai Shio Soba Touka (鯛塩そば灯花), where the soup is made from Red Sea Bream (often called Red Snapper on sushi menus in the US). Spotted a limited special on Shuya’s menu, the Red Snapper Lemon Shio, so had to give it a try. Whoa! I was blown away. The soup is simply made from water, salt and the fish head and bones leftover after Chef Miyawaki cuts out the filets, and yet the flavor he draws out is simply amazing. Light and nuanced, with acidity from the added lemons slices, the soup is clean, balanced liquid red snapper without any bitterness or aftertaste. The noodles, as always at Shuya, are scrumptious, and pair perfectly with the delicate broth. Unlike Tai Shio Soba Touka, which tops their bowl with pork chashu and then serves some red bream sashimi on the side, Shuya stays true to the theme and serves one of the most perfectly grilled pieces of fish you will ever eat. It is tender and flaky with hints of smokiness, and was well complemented by the peppery stalks of mizuna greens. Outstanding bowl, too bad it is a limited menu item. I hope it stays around a while so I can enjoy it again.

At a whopping $36 a bowl, the Wagyu Black Truffle Ramen bowl comes with high expectations, but it delivers. The Wagyu is sliced thinly and served rare. As it bathes in the broth it becomes medium rare, which itself was pretty cool to taste how the meat changes as it cooks. The bowl comes with a side of onsen tamago (literally hot springs eggs, a consistency between raw and poached), and the idea is to dip the beef in the egg, just as one would do with Sukiyaki. Delicious! Like two meals in one. The soup has intense truffle and mushroom umami, but was nicely balanced with some acidity so it never felt too rich. The noodles are chewy complex multigrain made in-house and for me are the star of a pretty great bowl. Mrs Enthusiast, a fan of the bowl the refined clean style that Shuya uses for its broth, went with the Assari Yuzu Shio ramen, in which the clam and salt broth is accented with the popular Japanese citrus fruit. We yet to try Afuri here in the US, but for us this was the best yuzu ramen we’ve had here. The yuzu played backing vocals to the briny clam frontman. The noodles in this bowl were thicker and less complex than the Wagyu Truffle bowl, soaking up the soup remarkably well and providing a yeastiness to the palette. We began the meal with Tebasaki chicken wings, perfectly crunchy on the outside and moist and well marinated on the inside. Everything I try on the Shuya menu is excellent.

Staple shop for me to recommend to friends visiting. Despite being known for it and being the namesake of the restaurant, I don't recommend the tsukemen. Highly recommend the TonTori ramen and nori fries instead. Very good Tonkotsu where they use a mix of chicken and pork, hence TonTori. Very good broth and solid noodles. Chashu, however, has gotten worse and worse over the years. Regardless still a top bowl.

Solid albeit pricey. Flavor on the tsukemen broth very reminiscent of Chinese black beans. Tonkotsu wasn't anything too special imo. Miso was their most advertised, with the char being a highlight, thought it was solid as well.

Gogyo Ramen, which is part of the Ippudo ramen group, brings fine dining to the NYC ramen scene. Spacious seating at big wooden tables, oshibori wet napkins before the meal, and attentive service that refills your water glass basically after every sip. I tried the Prix Fixe featuring their signature Kogashi Miso ramen, in which five miso blends are charred at 572 degrees F. The soup comes out scalding hot thanks to a generous helping of pork fat, which momentarily masks the miso. As it cools, the complex umami flavors from the miso begin to shine. The first note was smoky, but quickly turned to what I can best describe as a salty toast-like flavor. And toward the bottom of the bowl as the heat subsided it became more sweet and caramel-like. The noodles were thin and flat with some wheaty substance to them. They grabbed the pork fat and soup well and are just hearty enough to match the rich soup. The chashu is the size of a pork steak in both diameter and thickness, offering both tender and chewy bites as one works their way through the savory tasty topping. Hiding underneath was some bean sprouts and minced pork that had a nice little kick to it. The prix fix also comes with sides of edamame and spicy bean sprouts, which were crisp and tasty. It also comes with gelato which on this occasion I did not try. I will definitely return to try the other bowls and the interesting looking cocktails.

Ramen Danbo’s name roughly translates to “warm night”, and the ramen will certainly warm up your night. This chain specializes in Kyushu Hakata style ramen and has other locations in Brooklyn, Seattle and Vancouver. I went with the Classic Tonkotsu and it really hit the spot. The soup is nostalgic creamy pork bone that many places in the US try to emulate but few do it as well as Danbo. A couple of dollops of pureed fresh garlic transform the soup into an absolute elixir. The noodles are the traditional thin and firm, and they had good wheaty taste and bite. And so many of them! The chashu was thin and melted away with a few flavorful chews. Hakata is not my favorite style but when the mood strikes this place is very good.

Menkoi Sato closed its doors a little while back and recently re-opened as Menkoi SAO, after its new owner, Saori-san. Everything appears to be the same with two exceptions. First, there is no alcohol on the menu yet as they are still working through obtaining their liquor license. And there is a new menu item, Fiber ramen, which I decided to give a try. The ramen still comes out piping hot as it always did before. The soup is a vegetable broth with shio koji, miso and a “hint” of spice. It packs a punch. Addictively delicious, the shio koji, which is fermented rice use to tenderize meats and develop depth of flavor, combines with the miso to deliver a rich, deep taste one would not associated with vegetable broths. The noodles are still imported from Nishiyama in Hokkaido and are the star of the bowl. The toppings, which give it the fiber moniker, are cabbage, moyashi bean sprouts, chives, mushrooms, garlic, ginger and minced pork. Delicious and healthy?! This was crazy good, and so unique for the area ramen scene. Phew! Very relieved Menkoi is still a great spot for a great bowl.

While the rest of the Big Apple was crowded into Irish bars, I finally scored a very difficult to get reservation for Tonchin New York on 36th street in Manhattan, just down the street from my favorite steakhouse, Keen’s. While Keen’s is as old school as you can get, Tonchin is on the other end of the spectrum - a modern, culinary school approach to ramen. I went with their signature Tonchin Classic Tokyo Tonkotsu. The soup is rich yet “clean”, with no pork funk and perfectly balanced with a umami-rich shoyu tare. The noodles were medium thick Tokyo wavy made in-house. The chashu was the sous vide roast beef style, but was well seasoned and perfectly sliced. And yes, the egg was a perfect pudding consistency. This is flawless-execution-of-everything-ramen, and while I usually lean toward the more OG style, I very much appreciate a bowl like this. Also tried the fried fish buns, covered in sauces that exploded with flavor, which paired so nicely with crunchy fried fish. And a Tokyo martini that tiptoed down the middle of olive brine and sake sweetness. Worth the hype. And definitely worth a trip back to try the rest of the menu.