Restaurants
- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ajito Ism (アジトイズム) at Ajito Ism (アジトイズム)
Recommended bowl: Pizza mazesoba?
Ajito Ism is located down a quiet alleyway in Oimachi. 'Ajito' means 'hideout' in Japanese — if you're not looking carefully, you could easily walk past without even knowing the shop is there. Inside the ceiling is black and the walls are black, red or raw concrete. Dark but slick. There's one long counter with 11... More
Recommended bowl: Pizza mazesoba?
Ajito Ism is located down a quiet alleyway in Oimachi. 'Ajito' means 'hideout' in Japanese — if you're not looking carefully, you could easily walk past without even knowing the shop is there. Inside the ceiling is black and the walls are black, red or raw concrete. Dark but slick. There's one long counter with 11 plush, leather stools — pull up a seat and get to work.
Ajito Ism's master is a guy who goes by the name Mr. M. Trained as a French and Italian chef, Mr. M ran as many as seven restaurants in Tokyo before changing his focus to ramen. He's brought his background in Italian cooking to bear on the bowls at Ajito Ism, creating a weird but compelling Italo-Japanese fusion.
The shop is well regarded for its tsukemen, of which Mr. M serves three varieties: shoyu, rosso (a tomato-based sauce) and pepe rosso (a spicy version of the rosso). The dish that made him famous, however, is even more eccentric: pizza soba.
M's pizza soba is served maze style: high-quality tsukemen noodles from Kanno-Seimen are draped on a bed of tomato sauce made with blended vegetables, se-abura, chicken oil and gyokai dashi. M heaps a pile of classic pizza ingredients on top, including fresh tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, olives, anchovies and garlic. Mix everything up like you're saucing a pasta and dig in. There are a variety of condiments on the counter — salt, pepper, curry powder, Tabasco, garlic chips, etc. Season to taste.
Naturally, this dish calls to mind a hearty plate of pasta, but the chewy tsukemen noodles and mode of presentation are unmistakably of the ramen world. Pizza ramen could easily be some sort of gross chain restaurant novelty item, but Ajito's version is a legit fusion — a well-crafted bowl rooted in knowledge of both cooking traditions. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 千歳烏山 ちとせからすやま at Karasuyama Shokudo
つけめん / Tsukemen / Ramen Tsukemen Sachika — Chitose-Karasuyama, Tokyo
Tonkotsu-gyokai double soup uses pork bones and chicken combined with multiple types of niboshi (including iriko). Noodles are supplied by Asahiya, toppings feature pork chashu and negi.
Master Fukumori-san previously worked under the Setagaya ramen group and was the... More
つけめん / Tsukemen / Ramen Tsukemen Sachika — Chitose-Karasuyama, Tokyo
Tonkotsu-gyokai double soup uses pork bones and chicken combined with multiple types of niboshi (including iriko). Noodles are supplied by Asahiya, toppings feature pork chashu and negi.
Master Fukumori-san previously worked under the Setagaya ramen group and was the shop manager of Chūka Soba Fukumori in Setagaya (now closed) before going independent. Seven seats. Open since March 4th, 2023. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ajian Shokudō (あじ庵食堂) at Ajian Shokudō (あじ庵食堂)
Recommended bowl: New Kitakata style
Master Ebana-san is a bit different from other old school Kitakata ramen masters, because he is always trying to come up with something new. Customers have the choice between standard Kitakata-style medium-width chijiremen (wavy noodles), and thin straight noodles. Shoyu, Shio, and Miso soups are all on the menu,... More
Recommended bowl: New Kitakata style
Master Ebana-san is a bit different from other old school Kitakata ramen masters, because he is always trying to come up with something new. Customers have the choice between standard Kitakata-style medium-width chijiremen (wavy noodles), and thin straight noodles. Shoyu, Shio, and Miso soups are all on the menu, but the Shoyu is most recommended. The shop also offers gentei (limited edition) bowls, with past specials like tori-paitan and other genres that are otherwise hard to find in Kitakata. The shop is run by Ebana-san and his wife. Less
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Recommended bowl: Appareya Disciple
Open since 2014, Kataguruma is an offshoot of the uber-famous Kyoto shop 'Ore no Ramen Appareya'. The master here trained at Appareya, of course, and the menus are almost identical. The soup is a velvety double-blend of tonkotsu and gyokai, and the pork chashu is served pink and encrusted with black pepper, almost... More
Recommended bowl: Appareya Disciple
Open since 2014, Kataguruma is an offshoot of the uber-famous Kyoto shop 'Ore no Ramen Appareya'. The master here trained at Appareya, of course, and the menus are almost identical. The soup is a velvety double-blend of tonkotsu and gyokai, and the pork chashu is served pink and encrusted with black pepper, almost like ham. It's not quite as highly ranked as the original, but still damn good. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 丸龍 at Chūka Soba Maruryū
つけそば / Tsukesoba / Chūka Soba Maruryū — Sagami-Ono, Kanagawa
Classic Tokyo style tsukemen. Shoyu soup is pork based with a light gyokai touch, the taste a triple threat of sweet, salty and sour. Semi-oily finish with white sesame seeds and a pinch of togarashi. Curly, medium-thin flat noodles are soaked in cold water before being served,... More
つけそば / Tsukesoba / Chūka Soba Maruryū — Sagami-Ono, Kanagawa
Classic Tokyo style tsukemen. Shoyu soup is pork based with a light gyokai touch, the taste a triple threat of sweet, salty and sour. Semi-oily finish with white sesame seeds and a pinch of togarashi. Curly, medium-thin flat noodles are soaked in cold water before being served, giving them a cool, smooth and chewy texture. Toppings include chopped negi and pork chashu cut into bite-sized pieces.
Chūka Soba Maruryū has direct connections to the legendary Maruchō in Ogikubo and is a member of the Maruchō Norenkai. Run by a master and his wife. 12 seats. Open since March 1960. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Aburatei (あぶらー亭) at Aburatei (あぶらー亭)
Recommended bowl: Tokyo aburasoba
This semi-grimy spot along the koushu-kaido roadway doesn’t look like much, but it serves a mean aburasoba and is open until 4am every day. Load up your bowl with vinegar and chili oil before digging in. They also have fried gyoza, curry rice, fried rice, and some other tasty treats. A bit of a dive but the food... More
Recommended bowl: Tokyo aburasoba
This semi-grimy spot along the koushu-kaido roadway doesn’t look like much, but it serves a mean aburasoba and is open until 4am every day. Load up your bowl with vinegar and chili oil before digging in. They also have fried gyoza, curry rice, fried rice, and some other tasty treats. A bit of a dive but the food delivers. Pretty much the go-to spot when in the area late-night. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at うずとかみなり at Uzu to Kaminari (うずとかみなり)
地鶏の味玉醤油RAMEN + チャーギュウ / Jidori no Ajitama Shoyu Ramen + Cha-gyū / Uzu to Kaminari — Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Soup contains black Satsuma free-range chickens from Kagoshima, Seto Inland Sea niboshi and Rausu kombu. The soup is simmered and quickly chilled so that it can age. Served with chicken oil. The tare uses a blend of... More
地鶏の味玉醤油RAMEN + チャーギュウ / Jidori no Ajitama Shoyu Ramen + Cha-gyū / Uzu to Kaminari — Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Soup contains black Satsuma free-range chickens from Kagoshima, Seto Inland Sea niboshi and Rausu kombu. The soup is simmered and quickly chilled so that it can age. Served with chicken oil. The tare uses a blend of six types of kioke (barrel-aged) shoyu. Noodles are house-made with five varieties of domestic wheat— Kataoka Nouen Haruyutaka, Haruyokoi, Kitahonami, Yumechikara and Sanukinoyume. Low-tempurature cooked pork loin chashu, ajitama, Kyoto Tomohichi brand kujo negi, nori and limited Kuroge A4 wagyu cha-gyu. All natural ingredients, no MSG.
Master Yoshimi Onishi-san is the son of a ramen master and the elder brother of Yuki Onishi, founder of the legendary Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta. He first opened the shop Menya Bar Uzu in this same space in 2006. In 2014 Yoshimi opened a 2nd store, Menya Uzurai. In 2018, Menya Bar Uzu closed and was reopened by Onishi-san's mother as Men Bar Hachikin (produced by Tsuta). In June of 2020 Hachikin closed, and in December of 2021, Uzurai closed. Uzu to Kaminari open since March 17th, 2022. 16 seats. @uzutokaminari Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Aburasoba Gachi (油そば専門店 GACHI) at Aburasoba Gachi (油そば専門店 GACHI)
Recommended bowl: Spicy, oily noodles
This is the only outpost of the Menya Shono group to specialize in aburasoba, or soupless ramen. The bowls of chewy handmade noodles come with tare sauce and various toppings, along with vinegar and chili oil on the counter. Add desired amounts of each to taste, mix, and slurp.
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at GRAVITY EKODA BASE (ぐらびてぃ えこだ べーす) at GRAVITY EKODA BASE (ぐらびてぃ えこだ べーす)
Recommended bowl: Legit bowls
Open since 2015, this shop serves up solid bowls of shoyu ramen, tsukemen, aburasoba and rice bowls. The main go-to is probably the chūka-soba, a clear shoyu-based pork and gyokai soup, topped with chashu and your typical fixins', including choice of with or without a shower of pork back fat. Noodles supplied by Mikawaya... More
Recommended bowl: Legit bowls
Open since 2015, this shop serves up solid bowls of shoyu ramen, tsukemen, aburasoba and rice bowls. The main go-to is probably the chūka-soba, a clear shoyu-based pork and gyokai soup, topped with chashu and your typical fixins', including choice of with or without a shower of pork back fat. Noodles supplied by Mikawaya Seimen. Not a super famous shop but all around solid. The aburasoba seems quite popular as well. Limited-edition specialty bowls are sometimes available too. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 大塚駅前 at Denny's
特製醤油蕎麦 / Tokusei Shoyu Soba / Chūka Soba Kifu — Ōtsuka, Tokyo
Tanrei soup uses chicken, pork, kombu and vegetables. Five types of shoyu are in the tare. Choice of thin or thick noodles supplied by Kanno Seimenjo. Topped with Ajitama, low-temperature cooked chicken chashu, pork shoulder roast chashu, menma, mustard greens, negi and... More
特製醤油蕎麦 / Tokusei Shoyu Soba / Chūka Soba Kifu — Ōtsuka, Tokyo
Tanrei soup uses chicken, pork, kombu and vegetables. Five types of shoyu are in the tare. Choice of thin or thick noodles supplied by Kanno Seimenjo. Topped with Ajitama, low-temperature cooked chicken chashu, pork shoulder roast chashu, menma, mustard greens, negi and wontons.
Chūka Soba Kifu is a new brand by the well known shop Ramen Waizu in Kanda. Located in the space previously operated by Hope-ken Honpo. Six counter seats plus about 4-5 more spaces at a separate counter for eating while standing. Open since May 20th, 2023. Less