NYCReview
Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop
This spot is Permanently Closed.
There are eight vendors serving food and drink at Gotham West Market, including Infatuation favorite The Cannibal, reputable Brooklyn sandwich shop Court Street Grocers, and El Colmado, a Spanish tapas bar run by the dude from Tertulia. But the Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop is the one that's really got people fired up. This is the first-ever permanent NYC restaurant from international ramen icon Ivan Orkin, and if you find yourself wondering who that is and why he doesn't sound like a Japanese person, allow us to fill you in on that too.
Ivan Orkin is a white Jewish man who grew up in Long Island, majored in Japanese at the University of Colorado, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and ultimately opened up a ramen shop...in Tokyo. And not only did his ramen succeed in Japan, it has become one of the most critically acclaimed and popular shops in the country. As you can probably imagine, that's quite the feat for a foreigner, and Ivan's legend has been steadily growing since he got in the game in 2007. Aside from a few pop ups here and there, ramen fans in New York were relegated to reading about his stuff in places like Ramen Magazine, and yes that's apparently a thing that really exists. But now Ivan is finally here with a permanent Ivan Ramen location.
Like most of the other vendors in the Gotham West Market, Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop is cafeteria-style eating. You walk up to a counter, order your food, find a seat, and wait for your name to be called. Then what gets delivered to you is a bowl (or two) of seriously excellent ramen that we've decided we could eat every single day. The well-balanced chicken-based broth and the excellent rye noodles add up to an incredible soup that isn't nearly as heavy or nap-inducing as something like what you find at Ippudo. We also like this set-up, which is a piece of cake compared to the long waits at some of the other popular ramen spots around town. Here's to hoping that the 11th Avenue location make for manageable crowds. Ivan is also opening a flagship restaurant on the lower east side soon, so consider the Slurp Shop an appetizer to the forthcoming main attraction. Fire up your chopsticks.
Photo Credit: Lana Dai