Ramen Realness at Okidoki — & Away We Went

Jeremy's rating: ★★★★☆

I'm a sucker for ramen, and Ramen Okidoki delivers delicious huge bowls in spades. The ramen is not all the different from any other quality ramen offered elsewhere; HOWEVER, everything else Ramen Okidoki serves is amazing. That was not a figurative or hyperbolic statement — literally everything is great and reminded me of Japan.

Jen's rating: ★★★★★

I fell in like because of the name itself: Okidoki. Then I fell in love because of the friendly service from beginning-to-end, the adventurous and delicious menu (still drooling over those flavors), and the modern, narrow restaurant space. A "no second thoughts" choice in my book for sure.

*Spicy tuna onigiri, a sweet and sour rice ball appetizer.*

A few months ago in April 2017, Ramen Okidoki had a chef and menu update, giving the restaurant a slightly more adventurous and diverse menu selection, including BBQ pork items (buns, ramen, etc), mushroom broths, and noodle salads. As we had only stopped by once before, two years ago, we knew we had to experience these changes for ourselves.

We resisted the urge to order the pork buns - our favorite - and went for the spicy tuna onigiri. Let me tell you...it was the most well crafted and shaped onigiri I've seen to date, and this is after our trip to Japan earlier this year.

For our entree we were both craving ramen because I mean, come on, when aren't we craving ramen? But instead we opted to get the poke noodle salad as well and split both. No regrets at all. If anything, negative regrets going on over here. The poke noodle salad was both refreshing and filling, with a good amount of soba noodles and fresh tuna as a foundation. The dressing was light and subtle and paired so well with the cucumbers that you almost forget it's there. The cherry on top of the salad was the fish roe which lends a delicate saltiness to the dish.

And while the ramen wasn't mind-blowing, it met the same high quality standards I hold for 5-star ramen restaurants in Manhattan. The Astorian BBQ, their special that weekend, had just the right amount of ginger to give it an extra kick to save you from drowning in the savory broth and heavier flavors. Then wrap things up with some frozen green tea ice cream mochi. They ended up giving us two so we wouldn't have to share one. I could have cried of happiness from their generosity and the perfectly sweet end to a borderline perfect meal.

While the menu and the kitchen went through a few changes, the two things that stayed the same was the incredibly friendly service (always with a smile) and the cozy, modern aesthetics. It's a small, narrow space but we've luckily never had to wait for a table - knock on wood.

If you stop by, let us know what you ended up ordering!

*Spotted behind the ramen, you'll find their poke noodle bowl, with freshly diced tuna, fish roe, cold noodles, and even more deliciousness.*