TabeTomo

Timing is everything if you want to snag bar seats or a booth at TabeTomo. The hip East Village spot doesn’t take reservations, so devotees line up early for its exhilarating ramen. Start with karaage (knobs of thickly crusted fried chicken) before moving on to the main attraction, the ramen. The most sought-after interpretation is tsukemen. Its fat noodles come in in a separate bowl; use chopsticks to dip them into the rich pork broth, brewed for more than 60 hours. There’s also a vegetarian version. Choose from a variety of sparkling and still sakes to drink.