Hands down, some of the best ramen in the city can be found on Fourth Avenue in Manhattan at the only American outpost of Japan's Ippudo chain. But to slurp down their noodles coated in that delicious, delicious porky broth diners often have to deal with an endless wait at a crowded bar that can stretch for well over an hour. There has to be another way, right? There is.
Though the house of noodles emphatically won't take phone reservations or let you take their food off site, they will, we confirmed last night, let you make a same day reservation in person. Just drop by in the morning or mid-afternoon and tell the host or hostess that you'd like to make a reservation for that evening. Give them your name, party size and time and as long as you return at the time you said with your full party on hand they will do their best to accommodate you as soon as possible.
But do be kind when you ask! The gatekeepers at Ippudo deal with hundreds of often obnoxious people all day and the last thing you want is to have them "lose" your name because of some attitude. Because really, walk into Ippudo and skip the line and you'll feel like a (very full) rock star all night.
