Jin Ramen, Morningside Heights

Jin Ramen is conveniently located by the 1 station on 125th. It’s kinda hidden behind the down escalator, which creates a bit of privacy. As far as I know, this is the only ramen place uptown. Normally, I’d have to go into Midtown or further south for a ramen fix. Obviously, I’m thrilled that there’s an uptown ramen place. If I’m feeling ambitious, I could even walk to Jin from 145th! Jin just opened in early 2012 (February, I think), and there has been a lot of positive press. It amuses me that this author of this Serious Eats article overheard someone whisper “Are we in Harlem?” now to their dining companion. Hah!

The last time I had ramen was at Ippudo, and the Ippudo experience left this ramen fanatic giddy with delight. I was so impressed with Ippudo that I even declared it King of Ramen. Visiting Jin shortly after an Ippudo visit… Jin, you’ve got some big shoes to fill. We arrived up around 9:30pm (on a Friday!) and were seated immediately. Warm, welcoming space with wood styling and clean lines. The atmosphere makes it feel ike Jin is the easygoing, approachable cousin of all of the famous ramen spots of NYC. Like Hide-Chan, it’s quiet enough to hold a conversation at the table. Jin’s menu is pretty straightforward. You’re not going to get kooky modern interpretations of ramen here, just the classics. Five ramen bowls on the menu, plus a good selection of appetizers. Unfortunately, no gyoza on the menu (yet). We decided to treat ourselves to not one, but two appetizers! Steamed Pork Buns ($7). “Gua Bao buns stuffed with chashu pork, ice berg lettuce, spicy mayo.” Oh my, beautifully presented, beautiful on the taste buds as well. Flavorful, tender pork. Not too fatty. Not too much mayo. Lots of sesame seeds! I like that the buns come with a small salad. Jin’s buns contain more pork than Hide-Chan’s. Flavor-wise, I’d say they come pretty darn close to Ippudo’s. Bonus: these buns are cheaper than Ippudo’s.

Kara-age boneless fried chicken ($6). For $7, you can get the Nankotsu Kara-age, which comes with cartilage, but that’s just not for me. The chicken also came with a mini salad. Tender, crispy and oh-so-delicious with lemon juice. Not as greasy as Hide-Chan’s chicken, which was a huge plus for me. The kara-age was not bad, but if I had to pick between the two appetizers, the pork buns were the winner.

Angela and I both ordered the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen ($12), which is your classic Tonkotsu plus a generous amount of their special spicy sauce. Thanks to the couple glasses of wine earlier, we were in a silly mood and decided to pose with our bowls of ramen. We plan on doing this at every ramen place we visit from now on. Look at me, rocking the new hair! This is what Jin’s website has to say about the Tonkotsu broth: “Tonkotsu ramen is the richest of the four main ramen broth varieties, and the ramen for which Fukuoka is famous. The greyish white soup is made by boiling pork bones, over high heat for hours on end, suffusing the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency that rivals milk or melted butter or gravy.” Oh. My. Goodness. That description totally nails it. The broth was creamy, buttery, and so wonderful. Definitely filled with porky goodness, but not in an ultra rich and overwhelming kind of way. Pretty generous with the toppings. Soft, but bouncy noodles. A good balance of noodles and broth. The charshu was heavenly. It melts in your mouth, but you never feel like you’re biting directly into huge chunks of fat. I’ve experienced charshu like that at Totto Ramen, and believe me, it’s not as pleasant as you would think. The spiciness of the broth was perfect for me and complemented the rich broth very nicely. Nom nom nom! I’m getting hungry just thinking about that broth. Overall, this was a pretty spectacular bowl of ramen. Equally as refined as Ippudo’s ramen and a couple dollars cheaper. Honestly, I’m having a really hard time being critical here! So, Jin Ramen, you have officially stolen the title of King of Ramen from Ippudo. No wait, lovely space, great service, delish appetizers, fantastic ramen, reasonable prices. All this is just a short train ride or a 20-block walk from my apartment. The very first legit ramen place in uptown Manhattan. Amazing! Jin, you and I will be seeing each other again soon.