ForkAndPen

Sex, Ramen, and Long Tang

The second day of my trip to Japan, I was surrounded my more neon then ever in my life. Tokyo is like nothing I have ever seen before. I had a nice hotel (thanks mom) and was rather tired. I thought I'll go for a walk and find some food. I started walking around west Shinjuku. I had a map but couldn't really find anything. People were out and having a great time. My eyes were wide open and just amazed at everything I saw. Of course I was hungry, but where to eat. There are so many restaurants. I didn't yet know that I probably would have been happy with 90% of the restaurants. So I kept looking for THE place. I ended up going to Kabukicho - the red light district. A large man with a thick African accent followed me through the crowd. He kept saying " Come on man you know you want it - the girls here will do anything". It creeped me out some - probably the most of the whole trip. While weaving through the strip clubs and love hotels, I saw a simple ramen place. Ramen was perfect.

I eat ramen in New York every once and awhile and it is always fine, but I was really looking foreward to having it in Japan. And boy are there a lot of ramen shops. The Japanese love these chinese noodles in broth. The place I stumbled into was almost empty and I guess this helped ease the intimidation factor. I sat at the bar (most ramen places look like the one in Tampopo) and through broken Japanese ordered shoshu (soy sauce based) ramen with roast pork, pork gyoza, and a beer. The cook and waitress were joking with me. It was exactly what I needed. This random ramen joint had better ramen then any I had tasted in NY ( hmm maybe not Momofuku ) and the gyoza was hand made. Much better then I had ever had. I didn't care that this was not even close to the best ramen I was going to have on the trip or that I wasn't eating something crazy or new. This meal showed me that it was going to be an exciting month.

Click below to see some more pictures of Long Tang.

Haten the foodies

New York Press' annual 50 most loathsome people list is out - here is one of my favorites:

34 The Foodies

Homo Omniverus

Anonymous sex is no longer fashionable New Yorkers’ preferred form of instant gratification. Instead, they’re filling their mouths with less likely substances—namely, fried mayonnaise paired with pickled tongue and tomato molasses. Welcome to New York’s new food order, wherein plebeians are derided for munching medium-rare burgers unless Daniel Boulud has topped them with truffles. Now, we’re hardly hating on chefs and their miso-encrusted cod (though flame-haired Bobby Flay could certainly stand to sit and spin on an habañero-tipped knife). They’re merely Culinary Institute of America–taught coke (Coke-marinated tuna?) dealers to foodies, the insatiably trendy eaters who are sucking the life out of supping like flesh from Zak Pelaccio’s chili crab. With Frank Bruni and Chowhound.com as their leaders, foodies roam Columbus Circle and the Meatpacking District like packs of hungry wolves, salivating over offal and similarly overpriced tripe. Afterward they retreat to their cave, 14th Street, buying $6-a-pound heirloom tomatoes and compassionately raised veal at Whole Foods, Balducci’s and newcomer Trader Joe’s. Here the foodies wait, like lemming-inching toward a cliff, in 20-deep lines to snag budget-priced Pad Thai and tamales. Whether loathsome or just plain ludicrous, we have to wonder: What happened to the days when New Yorkers subsisted on ciggies, caffeine, party drugs, booze and slices of greasy street pizza? Condos and luxury apartments aren’t the sign of NYC’s Armageddon: It’s six-pack abdominals (these creatures’ mantra is Jackie O’s “exquisite food in tiny portions”) and the nauseating quote, “I got seated right away.”