National Noodle Month: 5 Best Places To Celebrate In NYC
March is officially National Noodle Month and we've narrowed down the five best places to celebrate. By Carly Petrone.
Stop into Sapporo if you're in a hurry because they'll serve you up a bowl of piping hot ramen in minutes. This tiny restaurant, located in the heart of Times Square, has a large menu filled with ramen options that are both hearty and delicious. They import their ingredients straight from Japan to bring the authentic taste of ramen to New York City. The base of each bowl is an organic chicken stock that is made by separately slow-cooking sections of the chicken to strip the stock of excess oils while trapping in its natural flavor. The noodles itself include 100% imported Japanese flour to give it an authentic texture while the "Kaeshi" – or the chef's special combination of ingredients – give each bowl a distinguished characteristic. Our favorites include the Tan-Tan Men (Spicy Sesame Flavored Ramen), Sapooro Miso (Fermented Soy Bean Flavored), and Spicy Miso with Fresh Thai Chili. Vegan eaters can also enjoy their Vegan Miso with seasonal vegetables. Your entire meal will only cost you between $10-$16, but they're cash only, so be prepared.
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It's worth a train trip up to Harlem to grab lunch or dinner at The Handpulled Noodle. Chef and owner Andrew Ding has opened up a noodle bar like no other with its star item being his amazing Ding Ding Noodles. These are a regional specialty of Northwest China that are chopped (almost like a mini Chinese gnocchi) and can be prepared as a soup or a traditional stir fry with vegetables. All you have to do is order your choice of beef, chicken, lamb, or seitan. They also offer other types of noodles including Lagman (conventional noodle shape), Ribbon Noodles (flat & wide), and a Rice Noodle (not handpulled). Each dish is packed with robust spices and flavors, making it taste like true Chinese soul food.
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Xi'an Famous Foods has an incredible menu of both hot and cold noodles as well as lamb soups filled with mung-bean noodles. The stir-fried cold-skin noodles are made with chewy wheat flour noodles and then quickly stir-fried with bean sprouts, cucumbers, cilantro, and cubes of spongy gluten tossed in a mixture of soy sauce, black vinegar, and chili oil. They also offer a variety of handpulled noodles including the decadent Concubine's Chicken, Stewed Oxtail, and Pork "Zha Jiang" hand-ripped noodles. These are also available as a soup for just about a dollar more. This place sure has come a long way since opening a 200-square-foot basement stall in a shopping mall in Flushing.
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If you're craving Pho then make your way downtown to An Choi in the Lower East Side. It's one of the few places in the city that you can eat a bowl of pho with oxtail in in it. The Beef Deluxe Noodle Soup comes with oxtail, tendon, meatballs, and wo style onions (white scallions poached in lard and sliced pickled onions). Vegetarians can nosh on the Vegetarian Noodle Bowl, filled with bok choy, cauliflower, shitake mushroom, tofu, and flat rice noodles in a mushroom broth. Each pho is served with a fresh herb plate of bean sprouts, cilantro, Thai basil, lime, and long hot pepper. Add a French Baguette on the side and you've got yourself one tasty meal.
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The udon menu at Samurai Mama is extensive and available three ways: Kake Udon Noodle (served in hot soup), Tsuke Jil Udon Noodle (dipping style), and Bakkake Udon Noodle (dump style). The Ume Oroshi Udon is a vibrant vegetarian option, made with plum, shiso, and daikon radish, while the NIkujil kake Udon with cooked pork belly and scallion is a great take on traditional udon. A variety of menu items can also be served cold, including the Ebi Tempura Udon with shrimp tempura, Sansai Udon with Japanese edible wild plants, Kitsune Udon with cooked bean curd, and Wakame Udon with seaweed. The simple Bukkake Udon comes with the sauce poured on the noodle along with a poached egg – delicious. Another plus? Their entire menu is free of MSG.
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Carly Petrone is a freelance writer living in New York City.
