Like many caught up in this global food trend, I love ramen. I love the chewiness of the noodles, the rich broth, the varied toppings, and the ability to eat a truly one dish complete meal.
However, unlike many global ramen lovers, I am also vegetarian and finding truly vegetarian ramen (made with vegetarian broth) can be a bit of a struggle. Thankfully, there are a few strong vegetarian ramen options scattered through NYC’s five boroughs that can meet the needs of vegetarians and their meat-eating friends alike.
Ippudo, one of the most popular NYC ramen restaurants - if not the most popular NYC ramen destination - fits that bill. Ippudo has been serving vegetarian appetizer and ramen options for years, and their new-ish location in Hells Kitchen now serves a vegan and gluten-free ramen called Sho-jin that changes seasonally. AND it gets better - Ippudo actually marks on their menu the vegetarian and vegan options available.
Among their vegetarian starters are the cucumbers with a spicy sesame oil (pictured above), a dish that combines spicy, salty and crunchy into each bite.
Earlier this fall at the Hells Kitchen location, I had the seasonal cold Sho-jin that was rich, satisfying and refreshing. While not the rich, creamy hot vegetarian ramen served at the downtown location, this ramen hit a few other culinary notes including light sweetness from the goji berries.
Definitely check out Ippudo - great, great place for vegetarians!
Two Locations: East Village (65 Fourth Avenue, btwn. 9th and 10th Streets) and Hell’s Kitchen (321 W. 51th Street, btwn. 8th and 9th Avenues). Both very accessible by several subway options (for East Village - 6 at Astor Place or 4/5/6/L/N/Q/R at 14th Street-Union Square; for Hell's Kitchen, C/E at 50th Street).
Manhattan, NY