Jun-Men Ramen - Review - Chelsea - New York - The Infatuation
"The problem with all the good ramen places in this city is that they're all right next to each other. The East Village, Midtown East, and now Midtown West are where 85% of NYC's best ramen shops are located, which leaves plenty of other hoods desperate for some noodle loving. Chelsea, your ramen prayers have been answered. Jun-Men is a super hip, super clean, super tiny ramen joint on a strip of 9th Ave that's mainly occupied by new condos and liquor stores. Now though, it's home to one of the most exciting restaurants in Chelsea. This place is impressive, offering up modernized Japanese small plates and delicious, satisfying bowls of noodles worth traveling for. If we lived in this hood, we'd be eating here weekly. Jun-Men wilds out with a brothless uni and mushroom ramen that also involves truffle oil, parmesan, and pancetta, but the rest of the limited menu is pretty straightforward. For the msot part, they're not trying to do too much, but everything they do tastes GOOD. Also, the "Sake-Tails" cocktails? They're great. Every neighborhood deserves a good ramen joint. Chelsea is now taken care of, who's up next? Food Rundown Chicken Buns Jun-Men has got buns, and they are definitely worth ordering. Our two favorites are the two chicken buns pictured here: fried chicken, and BBQ. We're all about the In-N-Out secret sauce-type situation on the fried chicken ones. Chicken Wings Meaty, sticky, crispy, sweet wangs. These aren't life changing, but they'll get the job done. Fried Sweet Potatoes Basically a fancy way of putting sweet potato fries on the menu as a stand-alone appetizer. Sweet potato fries are delicious. Order them. Pork Bone Ramen This is the best ramen here, and the one you should order without question. The flavor of the broth is what stands out - it has a deep soy flavor without being heavy. Just salty enough, just bone beefy enough, and the fixins all work together in sweet harmony. We can't wait to return and eat this bowl again. Kimchi Ramen A thick, spicy broth with tons of flavor, and plenty of thick, tender pork belly. A nice bowl to order if you like things a little turnt up. Uni + Mushroom Ramen This is where they get crazy. A whole lot of uni sitting on top of a big bowl of thick noodles mixed in with pork bits and mushrooms. If you like sea urchin, you're probably going to be happy about it. Just know that it's more like a very intensely flavored pasta than it is a bowl of traditional Japanese ramen. Lychee Cucumber & Ginger Lime Sake-Tails They don't have a liquor license for the hard stuff, so Jun-Men makes refreshing sake cocktails that are a pleasant surprise. Definitely try the Lychee Cucumber option." - Andrew Steinthal
