Yuji Ramen + Dominique Ansel Bakery Visited 10/16/2013 4.5 Forks

Yuji Ramen 95 E Houston St., 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10002

Dominique Ansel Bakery 189 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

So this review is kind of unique in the sense that I usually don't re-review places nor do I put two places in one.  But if I had reviewed each of these places on its own it would have been really short and since I went to both places on the same day for an extended lunch field trip and would have rated both of them the same, I figured it was worth putting them together. 

I had been to the original pop-up Yuji Ramen before and liked it but its cold broth-less presentation just didn't make me think of it as ramen, so whenever I wanted ramen, it never really came to mind (plus it left the Williamsburg pop-up location a while ago).  My friend Neel had mentioned that he was dying to try it and we both had time to take a nice long lunch, so we hopped on the subway and gave it a try for lunch.  It's located inside the Whole Foods on Bowery street on the 2nd floor.  I hadn't been to this Whole Foods in a while so I was really impressed with how the 2nd floor has become a bit of a food market with different types of food stalls.  Yuji Ramen is a small bar with about 7-8 stools.  There are only about 4-5 ramens to choose from and I decided to get the special of the day the Uni (sea urchin) mazemen ($11).  Only in the past 5 or so years have I become a lover of uni but it's got to be fresh and from a place I trust. By the looks of this place (and the fact it was in a fancy Whole Foods), I was willing to take that bet.  One of the nice things about sitting at the bar is that you get to see how they cook and prepare the food.  Watching them put such love and care into the food made me want to quit my job and get back there with them.  But alas....the ramen came out pretty quickly mostly because they don't cook the noodles for very long.  Similar to my previous experience, the ramen here is still cold with no broth.  But this time it was covered in delicious, creamy uni and thin slices of seaweed.  It was heavenly.  The noodles were thick and chewy but not in an undercooked way, rather in a really delicious way.  The uni was this fantastic fresh taste of the ocean, which I know sounds like it might be fishy, but it wasn't.  The uni mixed with the noodles was really a stellar combination.  My one watch out with the food here is that the portions are small.  Yes, the noodles will expand and fill you up some, but if you're coming here expecting a full blown meal, you will be disappointed.  It's great for a quick lunch or snack, but don't come here thinking you'll be getting a giant bowl of noodles because you won't be....so this led Neel and I to get dessert and go to Dominique Ansel Bakery in Soho

So yes, Dominique is most well known for the cronut - the half donut half croissant pastry that people have been waiting 3-4 hours in line for.  A co-worker of mine brought one in to work for us to share and while it was definitely a good pastry, I would have never wait in that long of a line for it.  I didn't know what else he was famous for and Neel mentioned that the must have was really the DKA ($5).  This is his version of the Kouign Amman, which is a crusty cake with layers of bread dough made with tons of sugar and butter folded into a puff pastry.  Holy Jesus, this pastry is amazing.  It had this amazing caramelized sugar on the outside and the softest, most buttery layer of dough on the inside.  It was seriously addictive.  I could have sat there and ate 5 of them (and then gone into diabetic shock).  I had actually gotten an almond croissant myself which which was also delicious and had a lot of sweet almond paste inside.  The bakery has this lovely outdoor garden where we sat with our pastries and coffee and it almost made me feel like I was in Paris for a while.  Much to my surprise, Dominique was in the garden as well with this team of bakers and while I didn't hear exactly what they were talking about they had a platter full of cronuts and other pastries that they looked like they were taste testing.   It was nice to see him actively participating in the success of his shop vs. just lending his name/brand and never being there.  I should also mention that my ice coffee was also excellent (it was a bit on the sweet side which is how I like my coffee).  I loved everything about this place and would come back here in a heartbeat to try any of this other pastries, just after the crowds have died down.

Photo Credit:  Yelp and OMGFoodie