Ivan Orkin Eyes 25 Clinton Street for Ramen Spot

On the other side of that Taurus, and behind the tree, is the storefront of 25 Clinton Street. It's the former address of Ed's Lobster Bar Annex and the possible future home of Ivan Orkin's first stateside ramen spot. Orkin, a Long Island native, moved to Japan with his wife in 2003. He opened Ivan Ramen in Tokyo in 2007 and, in 2010, Ivan Ramen Plus. At both ramen counters, Orkin strays from tradition and serves his own take on the dish. Homemade noodles (some whole-grain) and adding the protein to his ramen hot are among the signatures Orkin brought to Tokyo. His efforts won high praise from a top ramen blogger in the city and both Ramen and Plus have remain packed ever since.

Orkin recently moved back to the states and started giving New Yorkers a sneak peak, showing up here and there to serve his ramen. Should Ivan Ramen (Japanese food) open at 25 Clinton Street, it'll be a block north of wd-50 (other worldly) and Pig & Khao (Filipino), and two blocks north of Yunnan Kitchen (Chinese), turning the stretch of Clinton Street between East Houston and Delancey into a legit version of Epcot Center's World Showcase, minus the frozen food and humidity.

The decision to open at 25 Clinton is pending a meeting with the Community Board next month in which Orkin will hopefully attain a liquor license. If he does, it's all things go and the 60-seat space will open in the spring. [DinersJournal]

First Bite: The $39 Five-Course Tasting at Pig and Khao

Pig & Khao opened a few months ago on the same stretch of Clinton Street that's home to Yunnan Kitchen and wd-50. The immediate neighborhood, like many in New York, is a concentrated nucleus of popular restaurants and good eats, ie Pok Pok Phat Thai, 'inoteca, and Mission Chinese Food a few blocks away on Orchard Street. One way Pig and Khao stands out is by offering $1 beers and a five-course tasting menu for $39. Pig and Khao introduced both deals last night. The $1 beers are available for happy hour seven days a week, from 5 - 7pm. The prix fixe is available at the bar (six seats) Monday through Wednesday with a menu Leah Cohen put together exclusively for the tasting. We stopped in last night to check it out.

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Yunnan Kitchen Has a One-Star Advantage

whole crispy shrimp at yunnan kitchen - yana paskova for the ny timesPete Wells heads to Yunnan Kitchen on the Lower East Side for this week's review.  He explains the restaurant, previously featured on our Donde Dinner? column, "takes a farmers’ market approach to the cuisine of Yunnan Province in China."  This approach has already proved successful at the hands of Ed Schoenfeld and Joe Ng at RedFarm in the West Village.  Their website describes the food at RedFarm as "inspired Chinese cuisine with Greenmarket sensibilities."

At Yunnan Kitchen, "Mr. Post’s fresh, locavore sensibility leads to straightforward and uncomplicated cooking," Wells writes.  This sensibility in Travis Post ripened during his stint at Franny's in Brooklyn.  Overall, this approach to cooking, along with the access and captial to purchase quality products, plays a significant role not just in the success of Yunnan Kitchen, but restaurants city wide.  Wells describes it as a "revolution," and explains that it "hasn't reached all quarters.  Along Lexington Avenue, great Indian cooks are currying nondescript chicken; Thai chefs in Queens are making do with spongy pork; and in Brooklyn, Nigerian kitchens are stewing farmed fish that bears only a slight resemblance to the original article."  "Those Thai chefs," he continues, "can’t buy Berkshire pork if it means tripling prices and alienating core customers."

The review suggests a set of advantages found at Yunnan Kitchen and "restaurants that have the financing and the cultural wherewithal to bring in customers who will pay for premium ingredients."  Yunnan Kitchen may not serve food that has the same caliber of authenticity found at the likes of Andy Ricker's restaurants, which helped earn Pok Pok NY two stars, but the local, seasonal approach to cooking, coupled with access and funds to purchase quality ingredients from established purveyors is enough to elevate the restaurant to star quality.