Sip. Slurp. Repeat. Yes, please.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is a new ramen place, Ani Ramen, in Jersey City {on 218 Newark Ave.}, so of course we had to try it out for you. We heard news from afar {and by afar, we mean their first brick and mortar in Montclair and a delicious night at Mana Contemporary in the fall} that Ani Ramen was one of the best Japanese ramen houses in the area, and after our visit, we have to say — we definitely agree. In case you’re new to the world of ramen, it’s a traditional Japanese soup dish made with noodles and either meat, chicken, seafood {or veggies}, in delicious beef or veggie broth. {Be warned: you’ll get vicious cravings for it, especially when you have a hankering for soup.} Check out what we ordered {and what we loved} when we visited Ani Ramen.
We started with the drink menu, which has signature cocktails and highballs.
^The Ginger comes garnished with some greenery.
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With cocktails in hand, we hopped over to appetizers — one of them was the night’s salad special, one was the crispy gyoza, and one was the shrimp buns.
But really, we need to tell you about these shrimp buns. And telling you they are made with tempura shrimp, shredded cabbage + pickled cucumber with sake soy glaze doesn’t quite do them justice, but telling you we wanted to order about 17 more might get close.
And now, let’s have ramen talk. We got the No. 6 Ani Ramen {traditional pork bone broth, soy tare with chashu pork, kakuni, spinach, kikurage + scallions}, and the No. 3 Spicy Miso {classic chicken broth, miso tare with chashu pork, kakuni, bean sprouts seasoned with roasted chili oil}. If your only experience with ramen is out of a styrofoam cup with boiling water, you are in for a very welcomed awakening because you’ll really enjoy these tasty and hearty dishes. But if you’re a bit of a ramen connoisseur, then call the Uber STAT and get over to Ani. Their broth isn’t overly oily {like some –ahem – other ramen houses in the area}, the noodles are hearty, and all the veggies are fresh. The flavor is a little spicy, a little sweet, and because it’s not oily, the broth is {for lack of a better word} — clean. Serious nom.
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Oh, and by the way — if you’re ever in the mood for some late night ramen, Ani in JC has a special midnight menu from 12pm-1am {until 2am on Fri + Sat} along with a full bar.
Yeeees. So, overall verdict? Yeah, we approve. Welcome to the neighborhood, Ani Ramen, we cheers to you!
Have you been to Ani? What did you order and what did you think? Tag us in your trip there on Insta @HobokenGirlBlog or #HobokenGirl!
