The Onoverse

Yahoo may be about to become Internet history

With so many high-profile ramen-ya setting up shop in NYC of late, the opening of the new Mentoku Ramen on 9th Ave. has flown completely under the radar…

(The awning here says Akanoren, which is a popular ramen chain in Japan, but I am not sure if they’re associated with them or not. Thanks to “Ai Love NY” for the image.)

This small shop, located between 50th and 51st Sts., with just one chef and one waitress, is dishing out big bowls of tonkotsu ramen with bold flavors…

For those unfamiliar with “tonkotsu”, they offer a colorful explanation on their menu…

The one thing Mentoku fails to explain here though, which I hope they fix, is that they actually offer two kinds of tonkotsu, a thick “koteri” style that is heavy in fat, which they call “genryu”, and a lighter “asari’ style of pork broth called “tonkichi”.  We would never have known this is we hadn’t asked in Japanese. It definitely needs clarification on the menu as you really don’t see this at many ramen shops in the States and can be a strong selling point for them.

I went with a bowl of their thicker Hakata Genryu ramen…

Topped simply with roast pork, scallions and menma…

I loved it. Thick, pungent, porky!!

They only offer one choice of noodle currently, a thin, flat noodle made by Sun Noodle, which goes perfectly with the soup…

Mentoku also lists a few appetizers and side dishes, like an outstanding plate of karaage fried chicken for just five bucks…

And this bowl of rice topped with cod roe and seaweed for a reasonable four dollars…

If and when you do hit Mentoku, be sure you drink all your soup so you can check out the fun images you’ll find in the bottom of their bowls…

My buddy had a bowl of their Yuzukosho-Men, which featured a hot pepper and citrus infused soup that I adored and will be ordering myself next time. And for the adventurous, they offer a special “Matcha Ramen” with noodles made from green tea!

With ramen price skyrocketing around the city, Mentoku is also unique in fact that they’re keeping their bowls affordable, all priced around $10.00!

There are no long lines here at Mentoku… yet! But I expect that to change as soon as word spreads about this West Side gem!!

MENTOKU RAMEN

744 9th Ave.

NY, NY 10019

Ramen can make everything better.

We recently traveled to Kanazawa, Japan on vacation for a food tour. On our first night in town, last Saturday night, we hit the town around 9pm… only to find that the town had closed! Nothing was open. On a Saturday! And most every place we wanted to try that still ha their lights on took last orders at 9pm! We were shocked. And sorely bummed.

We did end up finding an izakaya near the station, Chonbei was its name, but nothing on the menu particularly appealed to us. So we ordered a few dishes and drinks so we wouldn’t go home hungry and decided to simply start early the next morning and hope for better luck.

But then we heard the guy sitting next to us order ramen! Our ears perked up. We asked the chef in the open kitchen about it and he told us that yes, they did indeed serve ramen… asari ramen with local clams! Our spirits were lifted.

Wolverine

Honda has built a small electric sportscar prototype, and we’ve driven it

Honda has been quietly beavering away on a compact electric sports car. We’ve just had a brief few minutes driving a mule. This squeezes the new drivetrain under a hilariously flared CRZ coupe. It uses four separate motors, each controlling one wheel, giving it epic traction and control.

The prototype has all the workmanlike charm of a car made for a job. The job being eating corners whole. Fat tyres and riveted-on arch extensions catch the light in Honda’s signature Championship White paint.

Boeing & ANA unveil R2-D2 Dreamliner 

Star Wars theme music played and Storm Troopers held guard as the hangar doors began to open. Within moments, a Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” painted with likeness of R2-D2 emerged to a cheering crowd at Boeing’s wide-body assembly line facility in Everett.The airplane featuring images of the loyal droid from the Star Wars franchise belongs to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) and will begin flying paying passengers Oct. 18. The jet’s first revenue flight is scheduled for a run between Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Vancouver, Canada.

Alert: Business Pikachu at Amazon ⊟ 

It’s the Year of Business Pikachu, right? Nevermind that he’s actually known as “Intern Pikachu” in the U.S., or that Nintendo hasn’t formally announced who the year belongs to – that Poké Ball briefcase and Pikachu’s go-getter demeanor have settled the matter.

Anyway, you can buy the Pikachu plush at Amazon now for $17.99! Other Pokémon Center plush toys are there too. Thanks to Thomas P. for the tip!