9 Bowls of Ramen in NYC to Slurp Right Now, in GIFs

If you're slacking on your noodle game, it's time to nix the Pad Thai and toss the salad (erm, pause?) in favor of familiarizing yourself with NYC's ever-changing ramen landscape.

Rather than proclaim one bowl the king of them all (and endure hate mail and angry @ mentions about how we snubbed your neighborhood noodle shop) we're highlighting some of our personal favorites. I can say with confidence that these are nine very satisfying, supremely delicious bowls of ramen that you shouldn't skip. 

That being said, if you're the easily enraged type, and we've made a serious blunder here, feel free to send strongly worded emails to cityguidetips@complex.com.

Words by Shanté Cosme (@ShanteCosme)

Photos and video by Liz Barclay (@liz_barclay)

RELATED: 9 Bowls of Ramen You Should Be Slurping in L.A

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Ramen

RELATED: The 25 Best Cocktails in NYC Right Now, in GIFs

Akamaru Modern Ramen

Where: Ippudo
Neighborhood: East Village / Hell's Kitchen
Address: 65 4th Ave. / 321 W 51st.
Website: ippudony.com
Ingredients: Dashi, tonkotsu pork broth, house-made noodles, cabbage, scallion, kikurage mushrooms, chashu pork, umami paste, garlic oil
Cost: $14

Ippudo is a turning point for many ramen fiends. You had this vague, misguided conception of ramen as that plastic-wrapped slab of noodles with rehydrated vegetables, and then you experienced Ippudo, and you realized just how flawed your thinking was. Ippudo's soulful tonkotsu broth is the stuff of ramen fantasies. Subtlety is eschewed in favor of full-on pork flavors, creating a layer of fat that shimmers seductively. Noodles are slim and tender, ideal for slurping without regard for rampant splashing, and the chashu pork is unapologetically hearty. Act like this isn't everything you're looking for in a bowl of ramen, and you'd be lying. through. your. teeth.

Totto Spicy Ramen With Char Siu Pork (Egg Added)

Where: Totto Ramen
Neighborhood: Hell's Kitchen
Address: 366 W 52nd St. / 464 W 51st St.
Website: tottoramen.com
Ingredients: Rayu chili sauce, spicy sesame seed oil, char siu pork, scallions, bean sprouts, nori
Cost: $10.50

Come to Totto on a rainy Tuesday or even mid-blizzard (sadly, I've tried) and the scenario is the same: a swarm of people crowd the stairs leading down into the tiny subterranean shop, spilling onto the street and sidewalk, rapidly growing. Rising to the rallying cry of devoted fans, Totto recently added a second outpost a block south. Still, even before the shop's 5 p.m. opening time, a crowd will amass. Don't let the throngs of devotees deter you, though: Totto's ramen is the best in NYC. (Yes, I said it, even though I said I wouldn't). The chicken paitan broth is everything wonderful in the world, and the full-flavored chicken broth, perfectly al dente noodles and blowtorch-charred pork is only elevated by the peppery, sesame oil drop-kick of rayu chili sauce. Totto is on fire in terms of flavor and fanfare. Believe the hype.

Hakata Kuro Ramen

Where: Hide-Chan
Neighborhood: Midtown East
Address: 248 E 52nd St.
Website: hidechanramen.com
Ingredients: Charred garlic oil, braised pork, mushrooms, scallion
Cost: $9.75

Hide-Chan is like your ex-boyfriend: you know it's terrible for you, but it won't stop you from going back every night. Not that I, uh, know from experience. But, this ramen—this ramen is my favorite mistake. Your chest instinctively squeezes when you catch a glimpse of Hakata Kuro's thick, almost opaque broth, a seductive splat of black garlic oil pooled on its edges. The delicate, springy noodles and moist slab of pork are both great, but it's the silky, intensely robust broth it's swimming in that will capture your spirit for overindulgence. Best yet, you choose your own adventure here: err on the side of moderation and go NY style, or shamelessly go no-holds barred with the full-on pork fat version. Try it once, and you won't be able to kick the habit easily; trust.

Momofuku Ramen

Where: Momofuku Noodle Bar
Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 171 1st Ave.
Website: momofuku.com/new-york/noodle-bar
Ingredients: Pork belly, pork shoulder, nori, scallions, fish cake, Bamboo Shoots, seasonal vegetables, poached egg
Cost: $13

"Everyone says ramen is rigid; that it has to be one exact thing. It isn't, and it doesn't," says David Chang, the chef and brains behind the Momofuku empire. Chang's mentality is all about "making it taste good" which might explain why Momofuku's eponymous bowl has the depth and complexity it does. Take the broth, for example, which uses a classic base of roasted pork bones, but eschews other staples, like bonito, in favor of less-than-traditional ingredients, like bacon. Or, substituting a plain 'ol boiled egg for a poached egg. The overall effect is a wildly robust soup: unctuous slips of pork belly and moist shoulder meat, bouncy noodles, and a broth with richness and clarity. And while it may not be the city's best, there's no denying its deliciousness.

Kimchi Ramen

Where: Chuko Ramen
Neighborhood: Prospect Heights
Address: 552 Vanderbilt Ave.
Website: barchuko.com
Ingredients: Pork and chicken broth, miso kochujang, saam jang, kelp soy butter, soft egg, scallion, cabbage kimchi, spicy ground pork, curly yellow noodles
Cost: $13

Chuko's creative rendition of ramen isn't your standard bowl by any measure. And, that's exactly the point. The brainchild of two Morimoto alums, Chuko seems to have an intuitive understanding of what makes for a satisfying bowl of ramen, but dares to take it a step further with unexpected details. Their Kimichi ramen is an excellent example of that, taking a savory pork and chicken broth with springy noodles and adding kimchi for a tanginess that's unusually satisfying. With bowls being served 'til 2.am. on Friday an Saturday in a nabe that was formerly ramenless, Chuko feels like an answered prayer.

Tokyo Shoyu Ramen, Fully-Loaded

Where: Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop 
Neighborhood: Hell's Kitchen
Address: 600 11th Ave.
Website: ivanramen.com/en/ivan-ramen-slurp-shop/
Ingredients: Soy sauce, chicken and dashi double soup, pork chashu, rye noodles, sea salt, soft boiled egg, roasted tomatoes, scallions
Cost: $13

If you live in New York and take eating seriously, you've heard about Ivan Orkin, the American noodle god who perfected the art of ramen in Tokyo. His first brick and mortar outpost in the U.S., situated in gastro-wonderland Gotham West Market, is merely a counter affixed to an open kitchen. But in truth, with fantastic ramen like Orkin's, fanfare (and, uh, actual seating) is unnecessary. The double-soup, soy sauce broth that anchors the bowl manages to be incredibly subtle and light while still maintaining the depth and richness all ramen should aspire to. Delicate, chewy rye noodles are offset by a soft, fatty slice of pork belly, proving Orkin's fine-tuned ability to turn up the savory while still remaining ethereal. It's safe to say slurping doesn't get more satisfying than this.

Ganso Ramen

Where: Ganso
Neighborhood: Downtown Brooklyn
Address: 25 Bond St.
Ingredients: Soy broth, pork belly, Ajitama egg, scallions, charred cabbage, yu choy
Cost: $13

"Ramen is not fancy food, but it's taken very seriously in Japan, and we try to honor that commitment by the way we approach our ramen," says owner Harris Salat, food writer/cookbook author turned ramen restaurateur. Salat's insistence on authenticity reveals itself in the shop's namesake ramen, which starts with a double soup grounded in a classic Japanese stock that includes chicken and pork bones, kobumu, dried shitake mushrooms and shaved bonito. The bowl is then rounded out with more rich umami flavor courtesy of a sizable slab of slow-braised pork belly and Ajitama egg, while yu-choy greens add a pleasantly bitter bite.

Shinobi Ramen

Where: Shinobi Ramen
Neighborhood: Bushwick
Address: 53 Morgan Ave.
Website: shinobinoodle.blogspot.com
Ingredients: Chicken broth, roasted chicken breast, char sui pork, cabbage, sprouts, corn, scallions, egg
Cost $12.50

Shinobi's narrow space is slick and modern, anchored by a communal table and pendant lights dangling from its vaulted ceiling. It makes for an intimate ramen experience, which is exactly what you want when you're funneling hot broth with friends. The shop's signature bowl, the Shinobi ramen, is a soy sauce-based (Shoyu, for the aficionados among you) chicken broth that's slow-cooked with green apples, yielding an intensely comforting bowl of noodles. Two hearty servings of protein—moist slices of roast chicken breast and tender slips of char siu pork—are balanced by zippy cabbage and the vegetal crunch of bean sprouts. Bring cash and the early spring cold you're hoping to annihilate. 

Jinya Tonkotsu Black Ramen

Where: Jinya Ramen
Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 4 Greenwich Ave.
Website: jinya-ramenbar.com
Ingredients: Pork cashu, kikurage mushrooms, egg, green onion, scallions, garlic chips, dried seaweed
Cost: $14

Delicate and subtle are two words you'd never use when describing Jinya's tonkotsu black ramen. The broth is opaque and almost creamy, with firm, toothsome noodles, punctuated by a soy-marinated egg and a well-marinated discs of pork cashu. And of course, there's that alluring swirl of black garlic oil, which takes the bowl to a level of umami you didn't think existed. This L.A. ramen chain may not have as much of a foothold in the noddle scene as staples like Ippudo and Totto, but it does churns out an impossibly delicious bowl of ramen.