Naruto Ramen on the Upper East Side wasn’t on my noodle radar while I was in New York. In fact it didn’t even make my top 10 list but my friend suggested that we give it a try since it was on the way back from her class at the 92nd Street Y. I was California bound that evening so a bowl of ramen would definitely sustain me for my trip back home and I felt good that I got to visit three ramen restaurants. Could have I tried more places? Most definitely but I would have had to run another half marathon to burn those extra calories. The outside of the shop reminded me of a typical ramen-ya in Japan with its tiny entrance and noren (doorway curtain) welcoming its customers. There was a long bar with hooks underneath reminiscent of Ramen Lab but thankfully there were seats. My friend and I were quickly ushered in and given menus as we watched the chefs in front of us prepare gyoza and ramen orders. I am a sucker for good gyoza but I am also a stickler when it comes to quality and taste of the gyoza and if it isn’t crisped just right or homemade. Well, forget it. We both ordered the lunch set which comes with an order of gyoza and your choice of ramen. I chose the signature Naruto ramen which is a shoyu stock using pork and chicken as the base. This was my first time trying the curly noodles from the ramen brand “Terakawa Ramen” created by RAMEN USA, INC. The gyoza did not disappoint and was pretty tasty. The filling inside was cooked just right with a crispy but not oily skin. The ramen came with traditional toppings of seaweed, kamaboko (rice cake), scallions, bean sprouts, menma (bamboo shoots), half of an egg and chashu. The oily layer on top of the soup nicely coated the noodles and although the flavor was pretty good I found the ramen to be a tad too heavy. Perhaps I had my fill of noodles on this trip and after my spectacular bowl of noodles at Ramen Lab it’s probably not too fair to make a comparison. This was my friend’s first bowl of ramen and she is a purveyor of fine food. She said it was good but I know she wasn’t overwhelmed. Naruto Ramen has four other locations in the city and a pretty cool website. Their lunch set is a good deal but with all of the other ramen joints in NYC I’d be hard pressed to try all of them first before coming back to Naruto. Gomen!
Naruto Ramen
1596 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10128
(Btwn 89th & 90th St)
(212) 289-7803
narutoramenex.com
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