Menya Jiro Brooklyn

I'll be honest - I wasn't expecting this place to be amazing. I was staying at the hotel around the corner, and didn't want to go too far for lunch before heading to the airport. The front desk recommended this place, and I am so glad that they did - WOW. My wife had ramen and it was rich, delicious and a solid amount of food. We shared the spicy fried chicken which was both delicious and spicy. I was in more of a sushi mood, and while most places that do soup and sushi tend to delivery mediocrity on at least one Menya Jiro killed it. The quality of the fish was fantastic, and the presentation of the rolls shows they are confident in their quality (no cream cheese or fluff). For ~$7 a roll these were a slamming deal, and that sentiment applied to the experience as a whole. Don't sleep on this spot because it delivers on every level - amazing food, great prices and overall good service. A must visit, even if you've gotta go an extra subway stop or two!

Kagoshima - $17.00 (only ramen, bean sprouts, and broth.) Add ons - Soft boiled egg ($2.50), Age Gyoza ($4.50), extra noodles ($3.50), extra cha shu ($3.50), fish cake ($3.00), tofu nuggets ($3.50), and grilled cha shu ($3.50). Spam Rice Ball - $5.00 Japanese Fried Chicken - $9.50 Pork Bun - $5.00 Total - $60.50 (Yeah.....) My rating is solely on the ramen and not the side dishes. If you would like to know what I give the side dishes, I'll add it as a side note in the end. This is my first time having Kagoshima style ramen. Second day of having another ramen from the Kyushu Region of Japan. Ideally, ramen should already have the cha shu, egg, menma, nori, and scallions with the noodles but in the case of this place, you need to purchase them as add ons. I will reevaluate my rating once I've researched and tried this ramen from Kagoshima myself. Broth - 3/5. Clean, yet delicious and tasty. Lacking the creaminess and heaviness that I'm craving for in a ramen. This is perfect for those who wants to eat a healthier and lighter version of tonkotsu ramen. Cha shu- 3/5. Pulled pork. Tough chew, quite lean and not even fat. Noodles - 5/5. Thick noodles. The way I like it. Besides the fact I ordered a lot, as you can see in my last photos, a lot of the food was left uneaten and bought home. I believe this is the first time I ever left the cha shu untouched in a ramen. For me, this place is average. There was the "Ibusuki" ramen with richer broth I have my eyes on, but we'll see... Side dishes: Karaage - Thumbs down. While the pieces were big and juicy, it was quite bland. They didn't know seven spices and I make it better at home. Pork buns - Thumbs down. It's the pulled pork that caught me off guard. I prefer the thinly sliced fatty pieces of cha shu than the pulled pork. Spam onigiri - Thumbs down. It's actually an oversized musubi. While the thick layer of rice was new, I would skip this.

I heard about this restaurant from friends and visited to see what it was like. Service was quick and attentive. I ordered Sakurajima ramen with yaki gyoza and a genmaicha; the ramen was just the right level of spicy! The gyoza were also crispy and not burnt or soggy like at some other places. The genmaicha was a nice palate cleanser after the really hearty ramen. Prices were pretty good by NYC standards: $15+7 for ramen and extra toppings, $9.5 for gyoza and $3 for tea. Would definitely come back with friends.