すーぷ道 連 (Supudo Ren in Bunkyo)

すーぷ道 連



A text message on my phone from Nate had me drooling. He was waiting in a long line at Futo, and offered me a lengthy description. My thoughts raced. Dreams of 2 kinds of soup. Visions of an epic collaboration between ramen experts. An image of deliciousness. Limited run until the end of 2009.

But they were closed on Monday. My friend J quickly searched his memory for plan B. Plan B was tsukemen at Supudo Ren, close to my apartment in Bunkyo.



Solid, normal tsukemen.



The addition of some wasabi (can't remember if it was flavored with yuzu citrus fruit or not) was good.



Yum, it's normal tsukemen soup.



Talking with Nate yesterday, he has come up with a theory about tsukemen. Let me paraphrase. Besides the few inventive tsukemens like Keisuke Yondaime, almost all tsukemen is the same. A thick pork and fish soup to dip your huge noodles in. But the subtle differences that make ramen so amazing are almost unnoticeable in tsukemen. Therefore, tsukemen is not an alternative to ramen, but an alternative to udon or soba, which are commonly eaten cold and dipped in the soup. And the other commonality is that almost all soba and udon tastes the same. Nourishing noodles, but you almost always know exactly what you are going to get when you step into an udon shop in Japan.

What do you think of this thought? In 2009, tsukemen really blew up on the ramen scene in Tokyo. But, to me, each bowl was akin to the last. This is in no way a bad thing, as I gotta say that tsukemen is completely comforting.

And the trend for 2010? Apparently it's going to be light, refined tastes. Lots of clear salt broth ramen.

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赤のれん (Akanoren in Roppongi)

赤のれん



I was walking with my friend K, and she wanted ramen. Badly. I was trying to remember the way to Gogyo, as we were walking in the horrid part of Tokyo known as Roppongi, but she wasn't having any of my adventurous ramen hunting antics. We stopped in at this place, which happened to be the nearest thing in line of sight.



It's a chain place. There's one in Shibuya, one in Roppongi, and another near Tokyo station. This is a bad point, as those are all just places to get unknowing suckers to come to the store. Even worse, unknowing drunk suckers, as these are spots for plentiful boozing and, minus the Tokyo area, all night clubbing.



For a boring, underachieving bowl.



The ramen here is not recommended. Drunk club goers in Roppongi might stumble in here at all hours of the night, but I don't want to be part of that. The shop even smelled bad, but that could be said of most tonkotsu ramen shops.

Turns out Gogyo was about 3 minutes walk from this spot.

It's been a bad couple weeks for stinky Kyushu style ramen it seems.

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あ、ガッチャ麺 (A, Gacchamen in Bunkyo)

あ、ガッチャ麺



This is maybe the closest shop to my apartment. But we decided to take the longer, more adventurous route to get there.



First on Keizo, Nate, and I's hit list was Nishio, a hot newcomer on the scene. Luckily we checked beforehand, and avoided showing up at a closed shop. So we started walking. The number two, decided by a hurried research session online, was on holiday as well. Next was a sort of "Asian" noodle place nearby that was voted down upon arrival. The last option, before resorting to Sengoku Jiman, was just down the road.



a, Gacchamen is the name. That's a small あ at the front, by the way. You'll be treated to a decent miso if you come here. The added yuzu wasabi and ginger kick it up a notch. Here is the basic:



But I took it even further. You see, Ebisu, the god of wealth and fortune was smiling on me today. I had just setup and paid for www.ramenate.com, Nate's new website name. The deal was simple. You buy my domain, and I'll buy your next bowl. And it just so happened that a, Gacchamen has an 1800 yen bowl. That's like $20!



Of course, anything this special is going to make the ramen pages of a few magazines. But what is it? ワイントン, Wine-ton.



What the hell is Wine-ton?



Let me explain. As the swine is raised, it is fed a healthy amount of... wine. These booze enhanced pigs have more supple, tender meat. It's true that you can soak meat in liquor to tenderize it some, but this is taking it to another level.



Another level is a good place to go to.



The meat is lean and tender, almost buttery. This is the kobe beef of the other white meat world. But it comes at a price. Each slice adds almost $5 to the total. That's big money for a bite of meat. At least when it comes to ramen prices that is.

The staff was happy to show me the pricey cut of meat.



And stop for the photo that is becoming a standard on this site.



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