Sakuramen in Adams Morgan, DC

Confession: I've been on a major Charmed binge lately.

So of course right now I'm on a total "power of three" kick and if there is any power of three manipulating the ramen game in DC, they would be Daikaya, Toki Underground, and Sakuramen (hereafter referred to as "the ramen 3").

While the Charmed Ones are well protected by the Book of Shadows and all the magic of the Halliwell line, the ramen 3 have impossibly long wait times, elbow-to-elbow seating, and the hoards of raving Yelp reviews. Clearly they are doing something right.

Kimchi // 2

Sakuramen's menu offers appetizers such as buns and potstickers as well as pickled side dishes, but what you're really here for is the ramen (and all the toppings of course!) Whether you're in the mood for shoyu, miso, a meat-lover's dream, or vegan Sakuramen has it covered.

Sakuramen // vegetarian kombu broth + menma + corn + green onions + mushrooms // 11

Shoki bowl // chashu + bulgogi + seasoned egg + green onion + sprouts + nori + ninniku dare // 15

Some bowls offer the thick and wavy noodles while others offer thin and straight. Personally I thought that the thick noodles stood up better to my ramen's spicy flavors, but if you want something a bit more mild, thin is the way to go.

Spicy miso // menma + scallions + corn + nori + fireball // 12

Spice levels are totally customizable and I take my spice verrrryyyy seriously. When I told my server that I wanted level 10, he look at me with an "are you sure? this is your time to rethink that decision" warning, making my friends scale down their spice levels. Nonetheless I stuck to my guns got the 10.

Spicy? Yes. For sure. But I loved every single bite of it. Then again, I'm a little insane. The spice is a clean, straight burn rather than the oilier or mala-style spicy flavor I'm used to and I'm glad because the lightness of the soup was still able to shine through!

Compared to Daikaya, Sakuramen's broth is much lighter, less salty, and less oily - undoubtedly the cleanest bowl I've had in a long time. I think next time I'll try a non-spicy version to taste all the complexity of the broth. 

To be honest, I wasn't completely, completely, completely blown away by Sakuramen's food, not enough to wait 45 minutes to an hour for a table at least, but I have to give a quick shoutout to our server Tony. He was attentive, energetic, and made the experience beyond enjoyable. I'm definitely returning again just for the service alone. 

Sakuramen

2441 18th Street NW
 Washington, DC 20009

Ippudo in New York, NY

I feel like ramen is like the social butterfly of the food world; it can jump from 50 cent blocks of sodium-ladden, health-concious-heart-stopping, college budget food (though I am proud to say that in my two years of higher education, I have yet to resort to ramen) to $20 a bowl, imported, fussed-over, long-simmered, two-hour-wait-time cuisine. Talk about that social climbing. 

Ippudo falls closer to the latter end of the ramen social spectrum. At around $15-$17 dollars a bowl before toppings ('cause you know I gotta load 'er up with the extra trimmings), a hour and a half wait time, over six thousand Yelp reviews, it's eating high on the hog. Pun intended.

Ippudo gives traditional Hakata tonkotsu ramen a chic, jet setter facelift; noisy, hectic, and just a bit eclectic, it's a spot that the young professional crowd would love. Don't come expecting a traditional bowl, but trust me, it's still pretty darn tasty.

Tako spicy grill // Grilled Spanish octopus + potatoes seasoned with Ippudo chili sauce and cilantro // 10 

Hirata buns // Steamed buns filled with pork served with Ippudo’s original spicy buns sauce and mayo // 9

Hakata tonpu yaki // A savory pancake with sliced pork belly + cabbage, topped with okonomiyaki sauce + Japanese mayo + hanakatsuo // 10

Because we had a long day of eating planned, my group decided to split two bowls of ramen and get a few appetizers to fill in the gaps. Of the three, my favorite by far was the hirata buns: sweet, slightly smokey, and melt-in-your-mouth fatty - that's all the necessary (delicious) food groups. Sign me up, please!

Akamaru modern // original tonkotsu soup noodles + "umami dama” miso paste + pork chashu + cabbage + sesame kikurage mushrooms + scallions + fragrant garlic oil // 15

Karaka men // original tonkotsu soup + Ippudo’s special blend of hot spices + pork chashu + sesame kikurage mushrooms + onion + minced pork + scallions // 15

Ippudo uses the thinner, straight type of noodles. They aren't as chewy as I like, but the depth of the soup more than makes up for it. It's rich with fat and collagen without feeling too heavy. the akamaru modern is a bit saltier, but I absolutely loved the garlic oil on top. It's like the ramen was kissed with a wet, sloppy, mellow garlic essence.

The karaka men's heat hit slowly. On first bite, I mentally scoffed at the weak kick, but after five or so sips of broth I was feeling it, and I was feelin' it hard. And yes, call me a masochist but I dug that pain. 

I'm not going to lie: Ippudo really is all that people rave it up to be. It's a $15 bowl of ramen, but it's a life-changing $15 bowl of ramen.

Ippudo

East Village

65 4th Ave
New York, NY 10003

Hell's Kitchen

321 W 51st St
 New York, NY 10019