Ippudo NY

When the Fukuoka ramen company opened its first American restaurant on Fourth Avenue in 2008, it changed what New Yorkers expected from a bowl of noodles — and the long wait in the front bar became a city ritual. The shouts of welcome from the open kitchen are still part of the show.

This is the place to learn Hakata-style tonkotsu: an opaque, silky pork broth with thin, firm noodles. The Shiromaru is the classic, with pork chashu, wood-ear mushroom, pickled ginger and scallion; the Akamaru adds the house's spiced miso paste and garlic oil, and is the one most regulars order. Get the pork buns while you wait for the bowls.