Ichiran

If you've ever sat in a ramen shop by yourself and thought, "This is cool but I wish I could do this without having to interact with other humans," then Ichiran is the ramen-eating destination of your dreams. A famous chain from Japan, Ichiran is well-known for its "flavor concentration booths." They're sort of like a study carrel in a college library, but for solo ramen eating. You fill out a form to place your order, press a button to order it, and basically avoid dealing with humanity for 30 minutes. You can lower the partition between booths if you don't fly solo, and there's also a regular dining room, if you're really afraid of loneliness.

The ramen comes in one variety - a pork-y tonkotsu broth - which you can customize to your liking. We'd recommend going for "medium" richness.

The restaurant feels like it could be in Midtown, but is actually located right off the Morgan L Stop in East Williamsburg/Bushwick, a few blocks down from Roberta's. If you're in the area, this is good soup, and the experience is a novelty worth enjoying at least once.