Montclair, NJ- This is a difficult one for me, because I REALLY wanted this to be amazing. But let’s start at the beginning. Ani was my No. 1 ramen spot for years. Two or three years ago, they moved locations (a few blocks over to a bigger space. I went to this new location with some friends, and it wasn’t as good. I chalked it up to it being a new location, and figured it’d be just as good as it was in due time. Over a year later, it’s not. Now on to the review: The pork buns are the best thing here and there’s a reason it’s on all their marketing. Soft, chewy, flavorful, spicy, sweet, I lack the words to describe how much I LOVE these. They add at least an extra point to Ani’s score. The ramen had a tough act to follow, and like a professional clown going after Gabbie Douglas in a talent show, it just wasn’t enough to impress the judge. The soup (spicy miso) was just spicy, no other flavors to accentuate the burn. (Could this have just been that I got the wrong thing? Absolutely! But my friend got the regular miso and said it was “good, not great.”) The pork was overly fatty, had no char, and the seasoning didn’t stand out. The egg (which was $2) was cold in the middle, and was just alright. The noodles, thankfully, were really good. Perfect amount of chew and slightly alkaline, not too thick or thin, the quintessential example of ramen noodles. And while last time I disliked Tokyo Ramen’s parking lot, good luck even FINDING parking on the street. It’s right near the center of town and a few minutes away from the Wellmont theater, and while probably great for business, it’s not so great if you don’t want to pay for parking at a lot.
Ani is a place I was originally expecting to get an 8.5, but I have to put aside my nostalgia bias, and give Ani Ramen a 6/10. (The pork bun & noodles are absolutely carrying the score.) Next time is either Ani’s rival 2 doors down from the old location, or the place I go to most often.
by Madam_Monarch