Midtown Lunch

I wouldn’t blame people for accusing me of a bias towards soup in general, and Asian noodle soup in particular. I will say this, though – while I’m willing to point fingers at bad examples, we need to hold the front runners to the same standard as well. Tabata debuted almost a year ago to much acclaim from me and decent receptions from others, and their ramen has held the course of being consistently high quality and delivered properly and swiftly.

The onset of our heat wave-stricken summer has some interesting looking cold noodle options on their menu: some cold noodles with dipping sauces a la zaru soba, some cold noodles in light, brothy sauces, and one or two proper cold ramen options, broth and all. Is this another option other than gazpacho from the major soup chains out there, or is it just a cheap exploitation of the weather at the top end of the Midtown Lunch price range, seeing that no cold noodle option is less than $9.99?
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Summer is not when I crave ramen, but we are about to blessed with some serious noodle additions to Midtown. Grub Street announced yesterday that the second locations of both Totto Ramen (on 51st and 10th), which we mentioned a few months back and Tabata Noodle (39th bw 8th and 9th) will be opening very soon. Both are just slightly out of bounds, but if the food remains as good and the locations are indeed larger, it will certainly be worth the walk. Back in Midtown proper, but a bona fide splurge, comes the exciting discovery that Ma Peche now seems to be offering both beef and duck ramen on their delivery menu.

One of the things that I love about ramen joints in New York City, is the sheer variety of options and riffs on noodle soup that one finds on the typical menu. Walk into Ippudo, Men Kui Tei, or Sapporo, and you’ll find the traditional, the experimental, and in the case of Tabata Noodle, a truly multi-national take on ramen. According to Julia Moskin of the New York Times, the owner of Tabata, Linn San Maung, as well as most of the staff are Burmese. Thusly, the ramen at Tabata seeks to marry Chinese, Indian and Thai (the primary flavors of Burmese cuisine) influences into a happy handshake with traditional Japanese ramen procedures. And with over a dozen variations of ramen, ranging from the more traditional Tan Tan Men to a crazy coconut based concoction that Danny seemed to enjoy, there are plenty of reasons to come back time and time again.
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Thanks to Lunch’er Michael for letting us know about this one!  You might remember his report on the ramen at Ronin (on 37th btw. Mad+5th).  Today he files this report on the newly open Tabata Ramen.

Okay, it’s about time that Midtown West had a really good ramen place, and this one’s even doable for a quick (albeit commute-challenging) dinner pickup to bring home to Jersey and beyond if you go to Port Authority. One of my co-workers found out about Tabata Ramen (on 9th Ave. btw. 39+40th), and he knows how crazy I am for noodle soups and how I lament the lack of good ones thereof.

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