newyorkette

You must think I have noodles for brains by now, with all these ramen posts in my T41’s! But you can never have enough ramen joints in a city! Ramen (when it’s not the kind you simply add water to in your office kitchen), real ramen, is healthy, fast, hot, and not as easy to find when you need it as it should be.

So when I was cutting across town to meet a friend at Penn Station (late, as ever), and spotted the Ramen King on 38th Street near 8th Avenue, my stomach growled a little. It growled, “Let him wait.” So I ran in, and ordered the basic: miso ramen. It was perfect, in a classic way. Not innovative (so annoying, those innovative miso ramens!), and perfectly up to par with it’s relatives in Tokyo, with its pinch of slivered red ginger on top. I had to run, so I poured a little into a styrofoam cup and grabbed some chopsticks so I could finish it on my way to Penn Station.

On my next visit, I tried the “Miso Veggie,” the nickname of Miso Ramen with Vegetables uptown at Sapporo (only the waiters call it “miso veggie” as they yell it to the chef). It was, again, perfectly classic. The only difference between the Ramen King and Sapporo’s “miso veggie” is that there’s no cabbage (a little more spinach and wakame instead), and the subtle bite of the red ginger. Otherwise, in quality and deliciousness, they are equals.

Pricewise, a little cheaper, about $6.50 for a typical bowl of ramen or udon. They also have little tubs of kimchi, and japanese desserts in a fridge for you to take out or eat on site. For the kid in you, there’s Calpico (an indescribable, but well-loved drink savored by little Japanese kids everywhere. And me.)
Perfect before or after getting on a train at Penn Station or Port Authority.

As usual, I started eating before it occured to me to snap a pic. This “miso veggie” contains miso soup, noodles, spinach, wakame seaweed, soy sprouts, corn, shredded carrots, scallions, and red ginger.

Ramen King
237 West 38th Street (near 8th Ave).
(212) 764-3118
Hours: 11:30am – 8pm M-F
(closing 7pm Saturdays, and closed all day Sunday)

Posted Monday, June 26th, 2006 at 6:00 am under tables for one: when you vant to/must eat alone. Feel free to trackback from your own site. All images on newyorkette.com are the intellectual property of Carolita Johnson, and you must ask (and receive) express permission to use them or reproduce them in any way whatsoever.