Ippudo - NY

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Out of the blue, I was having this HUGE ramen craving.  So I went looking... several NY local sites ran a few Top10 lists for ramen in NYC.  So, I went for it.This is Ippudo NY.  It was not easy to find, but it is by Astor Place.  If you do go, go early.  They do get a line quick at that place.  By the time I got there, the bar was full and wait time was 45 mins at 6:30pm.  Luckily, sitting by myself made getting a spot easy.You can watch the kitchen at work.  You see tons of noodles flipping and bowls flying around.  They do work for tips, feel free to drop a couple of bucks in their tip jar, they do work for tips.For appetizer, I ordered cabbage and potato salad.  The potato salad is yummy and the cabbage complements nicely.  What I was doing was to put the potato salad on top of the cabbage leaves and eating them that way.I ordered Akamuru Modern ramen.  It the silky pork ramen with veggie and their secret miso paste.  I added extra pork topping as well.  What you see here too, is chili paste and some sesame paste, and you should really mix it all up before eating.  They fully expects you to slurp your soup, that's the Japanese way, so don't feel bad.
The menu is not big, but just the variation of topping that you can mix and match there's alot of possibilities.  Not to mention during dinner time, they have more appetizer to choose from, and I did see that the Pork Belly bun is quite popular.  Not to mention that there are a great list of wine and dessert, so if you have room, go for it!
The place is very hip in decor, and when you walk in everybody greeted you in Japanese, even though this is not a fully staffed by Japanese descends.  So if you think about it, that means every time there's a new customer coming in, or an existing customer leaving they are constantly greeting them.  So, that part does get old.  But you'd get used to it.
As I said before, go early, line does form quickly.  I was there around 6:30p thinking I beat the dinner crowd by a little.  By the time I was done, the bar was full, the line outside was in different groups of hungry diners waiting for their noodles.  So, go early or go during non peak hours!   
Ippudo
65 Fourth Avenue (Between 9th and 10th Street)
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-388-0088
http://www.ippudony.com/