The Ramen Wars: Jin Ramen
In Ramen Wars posts, I’m examining the broth, noodles, pork and the egg.
I’d like to thank Memphis’ own Jimmy Ishii and Sekisui for introducing me to authentic ramen (the kind that doesn’t come in a 25-cent plastic package). I never knew how good it could really be.
Over the last few years there has been a boom of ramen shops popping up in New York City. As a new New Yorker and new ramen lover, I’ve taken on an important project: find the best tonkatsu ramen in the Big Apple.
Tonkotsu is made by boiling pork bones on high heat for hours, which results in a rich, unctuous, creamy broth. It is my absolute favorite type and style of ramen.
I’m calling this series of posts “Ramen Wars,” and for each delicious bowl I’m looking at four criteria:
- Broth — Is it rich and creamy? Does it have a lot of depth of flavor? Is it soul-satisfying?
- Char Siu Pork — Is it well cooked? Does it have too much fat? Does it have a great, meaty flavor?
- Noodles — Are they undercooked or overcooked? Do they have enough chew? Are their enough of them? (I’m a noodle gal
4. Egg? Is it overcooked? Is it well-seasoned?
Price, value, wait time (to be seated) and service will all be taken into consideration, but really, this is about a delicious bowl of soup.
Ramen typically comes with extra stuff (bamboo, seaweed, corn, scallions), which I consider bonus material and these will be treated as such. Not every ramen restaurant serves tonkotsu style ramen, so I’m skipping those for consistency in comparisons.
Ramen is scarce in my neighborhood (Harlem), but it’s a great starting point. Jim Ramen is probably Harlem’s most popular ramen spot.
A bowl of tonkotsu at Jin Ramen will run you $12 ($13 for the spicy version that comes with spicy soybean and garlic paste and spicy sesame oil).
Broth — The broth is rich and creamy without being thick. It definitely has a long-cooked, complex flavor.
Pork — Jin Ramen grills their pork, which adds smokiness and a nice bit of texture. The pieces can get a little overly fatty.
Noodles — While some of their ramen is served with wavy (or curly) noodles, the tonkotsu comes with straight, thin noodles. The noodles are well-cooked and have just the right amount of chew.
Egg — Most ramen restaurants call their soft-boiled, seasoned egg nitamago. Jin serves theirs with one-half of a well seasoned, perfectly prepared soft-boiled egg. If you’re like me, and you want more egg, it will cost you an extra dollar per half.
Service is efficient at Jin Ramen, but the restaurant is very small. Even so, the wait never seems to be longer than 30–45 minutes, even if you show up at prime dinner time. Dine early (5:30 p.m.) or late (9:30 p.m.) for shorter wait times (and happy hour specials).
Extras included menma (bamboo shoots), nori (roasted seaweed) and negi (scallions).
Final Verdict — With the price per bowl coming in a couple of dollars cheaper than ramen spots further south (even with the extra egg), the value is most definitely there. Jin Ramen may not be NYC’s best ramen, but they do everything uniformly well, and I’ll definitely be a returning customer.
Jin Ramen
3183 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
(646)559–2862
Originally published at www.tiffanytastes.com on January 1, 2015.
