Hide-chan

At this second-floor hideaway of a ramen joint, it’s refreshing to find that a party can walk in unannounced and quickly secure a table or a spot at the wooden counter. While the ecstasy of each bowl may not quite equal that at the always-mobbed Ippudo, downtown, it’s still darn good, and after all, a ramen-ya is not meant to be somewhere to wait two hours. The standout here is the soup made with black-garlic oil, an unusual (and incredibly salty) pool of rich, dark, garlicky broth surrounding straight noodles, which cries out for a large mug of beer. Standard tonkatsu ramen is also salty enough to require about a gallon of water, but it’s a perfectly delicious bowl when the craving strikes. In all, a meal here is affordable, quick, and casual, just like a ramen-ya is meant to be.