Totto Ramen’s Spicy Paitan is Worth The Splurge

Totto Ramen Spicy Paitan Ramen

Since my initial write-up of Totto Ramen, I’ve become somewhat of a regular customer. Customer may be too light of a word – ‘devotee’ is more like it. At the ever so slightly out-of-ML price range, this ever so slightly out-of-bounds restaurant has enraptured me, besting my former #2 ranked ramen shop, Minca in the East Village (Ippudo remains steadfast at #1… for now).

While I was previously constrained to the plain bowl of chicken paitan ramen ($9.25), in keeping with ML cost guidelines, I found true love in the spicy chicken ramen ($10.25), made even more tasty with the added crunch of kikurage mushrooms (+$1), and the opulence of a seasoned hardboiled egg (+$1). Impossibly decadent and deliriously spicy, this nearly perfect bowl of chicken noodle soup is worth the >$10 splurge. They say that perfection has a price, but for $12 and change, I’ll buck the trend of being a lunchtime cheapass and indulge.

Related:
Totto Ramen Is the Closest Thing We’ve Got to the East Village

14 Comments

  • so much ramen when it is so f-ing hot out? you should see a doctor.

    • User has not uploaded an avatar

      Spicy ramen is the only kind of ramen I want when it’s hot out. It has that overheating effect that after you’re done you feel cooler.

  • Comment counter FAIL

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    Any chance these guys will start doing takeout? Or is that completely against their philosophy?

    • I think you would lose a lot in translation by doing take-out. Unless consumed immediately, the noodles would get mushy, the scallions would wilt, and the broth would start to congeal from the high collagen/fat content.

  • True Asians can eat ramen in any season. That and congee.

    • koreans like to eat really hot food when it’s hot outside. something about.. by eating hotter food, you increase your body temperature.. thus making it feel less hot outside. whatever works, i guess. :)

    • silly asians

      • Why do people make such a big deal about not eating hot foods during the summer? Unless you’re going to be eating it outside in the sun or in a space that’s not air conditioned, why does it matter? Practically speaking, it doesn’t. It’s almost like people have an ethical objection to the idea. “Hot food in hot weather?? ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS???”

      • User has not uploaded an avatar

        If you think about it, the spiciest foods come from some of the warmest climates…Indian, Thai, Mexican, North African, etc. I think there are 3 reasons for it.
        1. chilies grow in these areas
        2. chilies kill bacteria which would otherwise thrive in hot climates
        3. sweating (caused by eating spicy foods) is the body’s natural way of cooling you down

      • It’s good to hear from an actual bowl of ramen.

      • because we have nothing better to do?

    • I can def. eat ramen, pho AND congee during ball-sweating weather conditions and wash it all down with Hot green tea. Damn the asian DNA. :)

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