博多麺房 赤のれん (Akanoren Roppongi)

If there is one thing I love more than ramen it is art. I like to visit the Mori Art Museum when I can. This past weekend I attended an exhibit by Dinh Q. Le, a Vietnamese artist, and it nearly made me cry because it was so incredibly moving. These pictures do not do it justice as the most moving peices were video installations:

A perfect Saturday always includes ramen, but where to go in a neighborhood like Roppongi, known for night clubs, and home to many ramen chains as well as independent shops? Because it is known as one of the oldest tonkostsu establishments in Japan I decided to go for Akanoren, and this location has been around since the late 70s. You know how we get excited by expectations and reputations? Well I was pretty hyped to try Akanoren:

I ordered the tonkotsu and the gyoza. Let's start with the gyoza, it was really quite delicate with a slightly sweet flavor. Of course after being in some unbeatable Chinese and gyoza places, these don't really compare. Onto the ramen, which had a lot going for it visually. You might remember how that turned out last time! Visually amazing, orally unsatisfying. Perhaps the meat had been sitting around since the late 70's because it was neither fresh nor delicious. In fact it was quite dry! The egg was overcooked and badly cooked at that (I didn't even take a picture of the inside for fear it might offend you as it did me). Really the only thing going for it was the base, which was light and flavorful. Their customer service was also sorely lacking. Overall Akanoren gets a 3/5. It's in a good location near the Mori and they do have an English menu. However, next time I go see some fantastic art in Roppongi I will not return, but go on a search for artful ramen instead.

Here is a link to the tabelog, official site annnnd a map!