Ivan Orkin poses in his ramen restaurant.
PHOTO BY KOHJI SHIIKI /METROPOLIS

American chef flexing muscles in ramen world

By Maya Kaneko

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Tahoochi at 04:00 PM JST - 5th June

its.........just............noodles

stirfry: to some, it's just noodles. To others, it's a lot more. I guess it's kind of like pizza (if you like pizza that is)... it's fun to try different kinds, it's always nice to go back to a familiar place, and when it's good, it's REALLY good, but when it's bad... it's still pretty good.

I wish they would refer to it as "Shoyu (soy sauce)" and "Shio (salt)" flavored soup, because "salt and soy sauce flavored soup" just doesn't sound right ;)
john113 at 04:25 PM JST - 5th June

I suppose the Japanese may find this unusual and faddish.

Apparently some gaijin here also found this unusual and faddish.
jonnyboy at 06:29 PM JST - 5th June

Ramen noodles, which originated in China, are probably seen by most Japanese people as a snack representative of their country.

another fascinating irony. so many of the things that make japanese culture tick have their origins abroad (chopsticks, kanji, buddhism, i could go on). it would be nice if this was more actively acknowledged instead of glossed over/denied
beowulf at 07:19 PM JST - 5th June

I am glad to see this guy is doing well. I had some great ramen at a Taiwanese restaurant the other night, completely different to any ramen I had ever tasted in Japan.
USB at 09:35 PM JST - 5th June

Hey noborito

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ivan+ramen

He's even on wikipedia
Sarge at 09:52 PM JST - 5th June

I've been to Ivan Ramen. I recommend his "Buta-Tomato Meshi" - it's absolutely delicious, as well as his hand-made lemon ice cream.
Sarge at 09:53 PM JST - 5th June

Just be prepared to wait 30 minutes or more to get into that tiny place with like ten counter seats!
888naff at 09:55 PM JST - 5th June

‘It’s becoming very popular for fine dining chefs to decide to open hamburger shops...

‘‘It’s nice to serve food that’s accessible to everybody."

nice to hear.

I hear this complaint so much! I think this is what most Japanese miss in certain countries when they live there.... the lack of quick easy don't have to go to a special restaurant ( if you can find one after much time) to get QUALITY food made with CARE that isnt a ripoff price wise.
usaexpat at 11:49 PM JST - 5th June

Good for Ivan, sounds like he's doing a good business.
shawnth at 12:51 AM JST - 6th June

888nav, you can't be serious, the article is using food in the US as an example. We are talking about CRAP not quality. Quanity not quality. which is why so many americans are so damn fat.
SansSouci04 at 07:56 AM JST - 6th June

I probably eat too much ramen (not so healthy), but I went to try Ivan's shio ramen with everything, yesterday.

His noodles and soup are pretty good, but IMHO, his pork was too hard. If done right, they should just melt in your mouth.

Also, overall, the flavoring was very subtle - maybe too subtle for people who eat a lot of ramen. The best ramen shops I have tried in Tokyo tend to have "attitude" or "style" - even if that means their flavors are too strong or the soup is too oily/salty to finish. Examples: Ippudo, Kirala, a "hole in the wall" miso-ramen shop under the train tracks in Gotanda. Ivan Ramen falls into the new type of ramen where they try to be more like a nouveau cuisine kind of ramen - I have found good (probably better) examples of this in Takadanobaba and in Nakameguro.

But I may be overly picky - like I said, I so much ramen that it's probably wrecking my health...
dishdash at 04:55 PM JST - 7th June

This is a very old story and has been in metropolis - I was surprised to see it dug out again
Hotbox08 at 06:01 PM JST - 7th June

another fascinating irony. so many of the things that make japanese culture tick have their origins abroad

True, jonnyboy, but I guess that many countries do this. For instance, it would surprise most Americans that apple pie and baseball have their origins from other countries as well, but we Americans like to think that America invented "apple pie" and "baseball".
GW at 09:56 AM JST - 8th June

hey folks, so yo have heard about him before, do you think he shud turn down publicity, I wudnt.

Sans,

Like booze & cigs, too much ramen can kill you, mderation is a good idea with that stuff.
jason6 at 03:12 PM JST - 11th June

I am pretty sure that his clean taste and unique style of ramen would go well for some people, but I prefer that meaty, oily, salty flavor of the regular stuff. As a quirky lunch out it would be fine, but my ramen craving wasn't properly sated for another visit.