[Photo: Kathy YL Chan] Rai Rai Ken doesn't rank in the ramen leagues of Ippudo or Hide-Chan, but I've still been a faithful diner at this East Village ramen shop for years. It's not the traditional ramen I come... More

It's hard to argue with a huge bowl of steaming hot, salty, meaty broth with a pile of bouncy noodles to slurp and tender, slow-cooked pork belly. But there's a difference between ramen-I'd-eat-for-a-quick-and-filling-meal (any), and ramen-so-good-it's-worth-a-national-obsession (rare). These days, there are Manhattan neighborhoods that are almost as dense with ramen-ya as a Tokyo train station. Our goal: to cull the good from the great. More

Photograph of Morimoto at Setagaya from Melissa Hom at Grub Street Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto rates the East Village's best ramen shops on Grub Street today, and his top choice is Momofuku Noodle Bar, followed by Ippudo, Minca, Setagaya, and... More