Ivan Ramen: The American slow-food take on Tokyo noodles

During his 13 years as a chef in Manhattan, Ivan Orkin constantly craved ramen. The iconic noodle dish had fascinated him ever since he'd seen the movie "Tampopo." After living in Japan for a few years in the late 1980s, the Long Island native returned to the States a full-fledged ramen junkie. When he relocated to Tokyo in 2003, the decision to open his own noodle house -- a counter-only shop in Setagaya called Ivan Ramen -- seemed only natural.

Orkin fell in love with Japanese food and culture while working at a sushi restaurant in high school. He majored in Japanese at university and taught English in Japan before going back to the United States to become a chef. After training at the Culinary Institute of America, he worked at celebrated restaurants such as Mesa Grill and Lutèce, but the dream of making a life in Japan never left him. 

"I wanted a second shot," he says. "When I lived here before, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and I ended up leaving."

Orkin's second chance arrived seven years ago, when his wife's job brought the family back to Tokyo.

Opening up Ivan Ramen

He gave cooking lessons for three years and contemplated starting a cooking school, but instinct led him to open his own restaurant. Orkin knew that the concept of contemporary American cuisine, with its myriad immigrant influences and emphasis on local ingredients, wouldn't translate in Japan, where the idea of American food was still synonymous with hot dogs and hamburgers. Ramen represented both an immense challenge and a perfect opportunity.

"Ramen is the one Japanese food that doesn't have any play book," he explains.

Thus began his quest to create the perfect bowl of noodles. He studied stacks of cookbooks, slurped down countless bowls of ramen and took a course at the Ramen School in Shikoku before opening Ivan Ramen in 2007.

Orkin has since appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers and on several television shows. There's even a documentary being made about him for WowWow. The fact that he's an American chef with a ramen shop in Tokyo has undoubtedly brought customers to his counter, but it's the food that keeps them coming back. 

An Ivan Ramen special: slow-cooked pork and roasted tomatoes over rice.

The menu

Orkin's motto, "slow food fast," refers to his artisanal approach to Japan's favorite junk food. He uses all natural ingredients and makes everything from scratch -- the noodles (from flours such as wheat and rye, in different combinations), the soup (a blend of chicken and fish stock) and the char-siu (succulent slow-cooked pork). But he also serves unusual bowls of mazemen -- firm-to-the-bite noodles in a thick pool of dashi laced with a blend of rich fats -- flavored with spicy chipotle chilies or slow-roasted garlic. The soup achieves a resonant depth of flavor without excessive salt or heaviness.

"My goal was to create a feeling of 'manzoku' -- a feeling of blissful satisfaction," he says.

At Ivan Ramen, the only obstacle to satisfaction is the line, often 12 people deep, outside the door. But Orkin has a solution: He plans to open a second restaurant this summer.

Ivan Ramen: Minami-karasuyama 3-24-7, Setagaya-ku, tel. 03 6750 5540, www.ivanramen.com