Tucked away in the off streets of the Lower East Side is this unassuming Ramen spot with only one chef and a menu that puts veggie options in the forefront alongside your traditional ramen fare.
This is Ramen Ishida, brightly lit with clean interiors, wooden counter tops, and an open kitchen where you can see chef and owner Yohei Ishida(formerlyof Ippudo) prepare his creative dishes.
The menu is small and about half of the offerings cater to vegetarian and vegan pallets. Chef Ishida has artfully crafted two kinds of vegetable stock that serve as the base for his red and green ramen. The red stock is made of beets and tomato and the green stock is made of a mix of leafy greens like spinach and baby green watercress. All ingredients are organic and locally sourced from the NY area or from Japan.
The noodles are handmade from Ipuddo in Chef Ishida’s original recipe using spinach and tumeric. What results is a unique bowl of ramen bursting with flavor with the upside of being healthy and rich in nutrients. Each bowl also claims to have certain health benefits to fight fatigue, aging, and increase your metabolism.
For the meat lovers, the menu also offers the chef’s take on the classic Shoyu Ramen with a chicken, truffle, and porcini mushroom based soup topped with chasu pork, chicken, mushroom paste, egg, and light flour noodles. The broth is
surprisingly light, flavorful, and satisfying.
For a heavier option you can get the spicy mushroom ramen topped with pork and bok choi(vegetarianscan also order this topped with tofu). The broth is rich and creamy and the flavors have a spicy kick.
While the noodles are indeed the highlight of the menu, don’t snub the appetizers. According to our resident model/foodie Sophie, these little guys are line up worthy. She recommends the pork buns and potato salad. Both are light accompaniments for the ramen. The pork buns are authentic, the sauce is divine and the potato salad is fluffy.
With all these line up worthy dishes, it’s a wonder that this little ramen shop doesn't have a line forming around the block. We love the dash and dine vibe and the fact that you don’t need to call in a reservation. You can even have their food delivered(aservice not all ramen joints offer)!
It’s clear in the way Chef Ishida designed his menu and prepares his food that a lot of thought and creativity went into make a truly unique shop that offers hearty and healthy ramen for everyone. And with only 10 seats around theshop you can be sure that the same amount of detail and care goes into preparing every bowl.
Model Eats Manhattan is our food blog that pairs our favorite neighborhood restaurants with our favorite models. Who says fashion and food are mutually exclusive? Models eat too! If you would like your restaurant or know of someone who would like their business featured in our blog, email sophie@tastecollection.com.
