If I could move anywhere in the city right now, strictly for eating purposes, it would be the East Village. The diversity of the restaurant scene, the boldness of the chefs, and the accessibility of the experiences (except for Momofuku Ko, I suppose) is unmatched. If you’re young, hungry, and don’t mind dropping your hard-earned cash on night life and good meals, head on over to the land of thin jeans, cigarettes, Bustelo, and barely camouflaged yuppies. Tonight, I sampled two places that had been on my radar for some time, Setagaya Ramen on 1st Ave. at 9th St. and Crif Dogs on St. Mark’s Place near Ave. A.
Setagaya’s ramen is shio style, which means that salt is used as a key flavoring agent in the broth (as opposed to soy sauce). The broth is clear-brown with gorgeous yellow fat globules floating on top. Very flavorful and light-bodied, without the in-your-face porkiness of a tonkotsu ramen broth. After experiencing the blast furnace-heated broth at Ippudo, I was somewhat disappointed in the merely mortal temperature of Setagaya’s. The noodles were the best part of the meal, beautifully cooked, with a nice rebound after each and every chew. The accompaniments (pork, bamboo shoots, seaweed, scallions, egg) were very good but not profound. The pork slices were thin and (I felt) overcooked, but the half egg, teetering on the edge of hard/soft-boiledness (and on its way into my food item hall of fame) definitely got and kept my attention.
Crif Dogs had me at hello. But, admittedly, deep-fat fried hot dogs are not exactly the hardest sell for me. I chowed down on a Good Morning dog, which consists of a bacon-wrapped hot dog, fried egg, and slice of American cheese, on a Wonder-bread soft hot dog bun. The bacon was perfectly crisped and melded to the juicy hot dog like a second skin. The egg and cheese helped round out the subversive, breakfast-as-dinner feeling of eating this dog. Another protein rush, but no aggression this time. The waffle fries were forgettable but the RC cola, dark, lush, co-la tasting cola, was just delightful.
