It was time for another ramen adventure with a student of mine. This time, however, I had no guidebook or (outdated) GPS system to help us. To the 7-11!
There is always, at every convenience store in Japan, some sort of new ramen publication for sale. The latest trend will be... beef ramen. Seriously, they just pull these trends out of a hat, I think.
Using this great map in the back, we found the one nearest to us. Naoji is on the edge of Shinbashi Station, in a very busy businessman-rich part of town. I think I was the only one not in a black suit in a 50m radius. We both settled in for the special tsukemen with extra memna piled on top.
I'd seen this shop's name before, and only after searching past entries to this site did I realize that Naoji was at one of the recent ramen festivals. At the time, the giant slabs of pork weren't the best. But in the shop they were just right.
Those are my shoes. Did I mention, this shop is standing only? Well it is.
Being 6'4". the one size fits all counters were a bit on the short side. Despite the inconvenience of that, it's a solid tsukemen here. But there has to be a bit more of an appeal.
150 yen highballs. Now we're talking. A cocktail doesn't come much cheaper.
Unless you go for the all you can drink special. 30 minutes for 400 yen*.
*This is actually at a nearby izakaya. Naoji is strictly eat and get out.
Looks like someone had a few too many and high-fived the poor maneki neko a little too hard.
Thanks for the recent features on shops in the Shimbashi area. I usually stay at the Tokyo Park Hotel in Shiodome when I visit Tokyo. Good to know there's good eats nearby.
ReplyDeleteI've always found Shinbashi to be a bit thin on good ramen joints - ironic given that it's ground-zero for salarymen.
ReplyDeleteIt is about time somebody opted to try beef ramen!
ReplyDeleteWith all the varieties instant ramen comes in here in the U.S.A. (including shrimp & fiery-spiced versions of chicken), I wondered why real ramen restaurants haven't more varieties.
Is it pronounced & spelled Shimbashi or Shinbashi? 3=}