杉もと (Sugimoto in Koenji)

鶏味噌らーめん 杉もと



Miso plus creamy tori paitan. A recipe for success?



The folks at the Setagaya ramen conglomerate think so. There are quite a few shops and quite a few styles under the Setagaya banner, and this is the newest.



The soup and noodles; decent. A little forgettable, but that just might be me.

The memory here is with the toppings. Chicken offal. Yep, chicken guts, hearts, cartilage, and skin, oh my.



This is Japan . . . this sort of thing isn't rare. But as a ramen topping, this is a first. And a last for me.

These kinds of eats have their place; at your local yakitori spot. Roaster skewers of everything-inside-a-bird. Places where my friends can order the chicken intestine, and I can stick with some run-of-the-mill breast.




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東京都杉並区杉並区高円寺南2-16-2
Tokyo, Suginami-ku, Koenji Minami 2-16-2
Closet station: Shin-Koenji

Open 11:30-15:30, 17:30-22:00

IKEMEN at the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum

IKEMEN



Straight from Japan to America, and back to Japan. IKEMEN Hollywood is the most buzz-worthy thing in ramen in Japan at the moment.



The story started with Nakamuraya being recognized as one of the stellar bowls in Japan. Years later, and Nakamura-san himself made the move to America. Southern California.



What followed is a confusing account of failed ventures ranging from a ramen food truck to a molecular gastronomy ramen shop to who knows what else.

I've heard that Nakamura-san is out in New York now, running some sort of noodle factory. He left in his LA-wake IKEMEN, a shop that I visited sometime last year. I wasn't impressed.

But, to my surprise, Japan wanted to see what was up with this spot, minus the 11 hour flight. There is now a temporary IKEMEN at the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum.



Let's get right to the weird menu item. The Ghost Buster Dip has a roasted marshmallow thrown into the soup. The entire shop smells faintly of burnt s'mores. The taste is what you would expect from melting marshmallows into your soup. Whether that is good or bad is up to you.



I will just leave it at that.



The fiery Backdraft Dip is topped with an entire dried chile! Kind of waste of a chile, but it looks good in photos.

Anyways, about these bowls, they are much better than the Hollywood versions. The reason? It is the noodles. These are sourced from Mikawaya Seimen, the local king of locally produced noodles. A big improvement.



The winner here was the ramen. The mushroom ramen uses a ton of quality bonito for a rich, smoky taste. You can even order an extra serving of the flakes, freshly shaved. Combined with the mushrooms, it is an umami explosion.



I don't think many people will go for the ramen, though, when the tsukemen has names like Johnny Dip, Ghostbuster Dip, and Backdraft Dip!



Official Site Here

BASSO in Ikebukuro

BASSO ドリルマン



Another bowl off my checklist. And another bowl with the Mormons!

I'm not sure if my readers know how the system of doing your mission works. Basically, for two years, you are shuffled around the country you were dealt. Every six weeks or so you are given news; should you stay or should you go. So while I go through my life, the Mormons from the Hibarigaoka Church of Latter Day Saints get a new bunch of kids every couple months. And every new group is told by the old about the local guy who has time on Wednesday afternoons to show them a good ramen shop.



BASSO's homemade noodles are awesome. Some of the chewiest in town.



Although I would say the best point is those noodles, the soup, made from free-range Akita chickens and special Akita shoyu is worth the visit.



There is also a ramen thickened with back fat on the menu and a new item, aburasoba. This shop is a repeater for sure. See you back here soon, Elders!



Official Site


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東京都豊島区西池袋2-9-7
Tokyo, Toshima-ku, Nishi-Ikebukuro 2-9-7
Closest station: Ikebukuro

Open 11:30-21:00
Closed Sundays

味噌屋八郎商店 (Hachiro Shoten in Shinjuku)

味噌屋八郎商店



The name of this shop might be Hachi Roshoten, but to me it is just the nantsuttei-miso-place. Nantsuttei is of course the mega-famous Kyushu-style ramen shop with the biker-turned-chef owner. For a run-down on the dude check out Ramenate.



This one borrows some inspiration from the original, and a heavy pork soup is mixed with miso before being topped with some of the shop's signature burnt garlic oil.



It is decent, and might be the best miso ramen in a three block radius.



If you look at the sheer number of ramen shops in a three block radius, you'll see that that is some sort of a compliment.



I think the odor of Ramen Jiro next door can be smelled inside. It can definitely be smelled outside.



Official Site


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東京都新宿区西新宿7-5-5
Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Nishi-Shinjuku 7-5-5
Closest station: Shinjuku

Open 11:00-23:00

大一製麺処 つけ麺屋ちっちょ極 (Chicho in Shibuya)

大一製麺処 つけ麺屋ちっちょ極



The full name of this popular tsukemen shop is, get ready for it, dai ichi seimendokoro tsukemenya chichokiwame. Which is just kind of a long way of saying that they make tsukemen.



The shop, as expected of this type, is highly ranked. Tokyo people love their tonkotsu gyokai!



But I gotta say, it underwhelmed. Nothing really stood out.



The noodles are made in house. They are nice and chewy, but that isn't enough to make this a recommendation.



I guess if I lived in this hip part of Tokyo, in the residential parts of Shibuya, I might stop by now and then.




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東京都渋谷区宇田川町37-18
Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Udagawacho 37-18
Closest station: Shibuya

Open 11:30-16:00, 17:30-23:00

富士芝桜祭り (Fujizakura Pork Ramen)

富士芝桜祭りの富士桜ポークラーメン



Festivals in Japan are a mainstay.

Limited festival ramen is nothing new.



If you don't mind the glaring HDR photos, this annual flower festival on the west side of Mt. Fuji is quite nice. The flowers were only at 33% on this day, but it was still striking.



Local Yamanashi food aplenty.



Including ramen.



This, folks, is Fuji Zakura Pork. This cured pig is well known for the smokey, salty taste, and hunks of it can be quite pricey.



Which is perhaps why this bowl only came with two razor thin strips. Very delicious pork. The pork was made even more delicious by the bland soup and noodles.

Yeah, so this bowl served only to highlight the amazing slices of chashu.



Pretty flowers, though.



Official Site of the Event

ガキ大将ラーメン (Gakidaisho in Fujiyoshida)

ガキ大将ラーメン



A bike trip to Mt. Fuji is a great excuse to eat some local ramen.



Menu overload! Gakidaisho suffers from too many menu items. I guess if you want variety, they have it.



But no one in the ramen world has succeeded at being a jack-of-all-trades.



Especially not this place. The number one ramen item was a forgettable bowl of shoyu with some seabura back fat.



When I asked the staff who the old man on the sign was, she replied,

"Ummmmm . . . the owner?"




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Open 11 to midnight . . . maybe