Check out my friends at Ani Ramen House!

I received this invitation from Luck Polpat and Julian Valencia,
the managing partner and executive chef, respectively,
of the very successful—now almost 3-year-old—restaurant in Montclair:

…
They’re opening a second location!
In Jersey City.
With a full bar!
…
…

…

…

Kat Reyes,
graciously remembering me from the Montclair location,
ushered me right in!

After the cool graphics in the front window,
the lovely hostesses behind a podium,
and the modern wall treatments & lighting,
the thing that catches your eye is their motto:

Yes, that’s right: they encourage all not to stand on polite formalities;
hunker down over a bowl of great noodles & broth!

Here are some of the folks in front of this neon sign,
over the kitchen window:

~

Then Chef Julian swept me right into the kitchen—
three times the size (!) of the one in Montclair:

~

Taking up residence in the corner,
I spied dozens of celebrities come through!
Here Chef Julian greets Stephanie DePersio & Chef Ryan DePersio
(of Fascino [Montclair], Nico [Newark], Batello, and The Kitchen Step—
the latter two in Jersey City—fame), Chef Chris Arturo,
and proprietor Luck Polpat:

As they succinctly noted, on Instagram, re: this photo-op:

#SlurpSipRepeat #AniRamen #AniRamenJC #AniRamenMTC #AniRamenLovers #RamenLovers #Ramen #Noodles #Eeeats #JC #JCEats #JerseyCity #JCMakeItYours #BeHereNowJC #NJ #NJEats #BestofNJ #DowntownJC #HistoricDowntownJC #HudsonCounty #NewarkAve #Cocktails #Drinks #Mixology #ComfortFood #LateNightEats

~

My view out through the kitchen window, at one point.
Chef Michael Carrino, of Pig & Prince [Montclair] restaurant fame:

~

So I went out front, to say hi.

~

Then who popped in, but Jessica Arismendy Crawford,
of Aris Couture (boutique in Montclair) fame!
With (Luck, on her left, then) her beau Vasanth Alli
(and then Mike Carrino).

~

Also spied were Chef Adam Rose, of Villalobos restaurant in Montclair…

Chef Juan Andres Placencia, of Costanera restaurant in Montclair…

… and my special friends,
Chefs Sylvia Becker & Daniel Stein of the fabulous Wild Honey Catering!

~

Some of the many folks having fun at the photo booth:

~

Even yours truly got on the red carpet!

~

But then back into the kitchen.
For toasts with whiskey:

~

And (what was supposed to be a) staff meal (!)
from a giant bowl of noodles:

Just kidding!
The magnanimous boss-man ate last,
after he was sure that everyone else got fed!
(I’m not going to say whether or not he licked the bowl!)

~

Fun artwork on a poster:

~

And a fond farewell to Yelp reviewer Gina R.:

~

Thank you, Luck Polpat!
We all wish you continued success, and
I (hope that I) will see you—to
Slurp. Sip. Repeat…
—soon!

~

401 Bloomfield Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07042
973.744.3960

218 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07302
201.408.9811

aniramen.com
facebook.com/aniramenhouse
instagram.com/aniramen
twitter.com/aniramen
(#AniRamenMTC  #AniRamenJC)

~

Here are a couple of articles by my friends at Baristanet:

baristanet.com/2014/05/ani-ramen-house-opens-in-montclair

baristanet.com/2015/12/noodles-notebooks-and-more-the-luck-of-ani-ramen

~

My edits!

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Addendum on April 20th

Now, I realize that I didn’t focus on the food, but I (hardly wanted to be that guy, with the camera, at the party, and also) really so enjoyed the hospitality and the people and the fun.

You should, of course, know (more) about the food, though!

When quickly scouring the internet to harvest some shots, my favorite is this one [first published by CINDY C.A. PEREIRA and the North Jersey Media Group].

Chef Julian beaming over the noodles:

Then here’s an example of the bowls of ramen

We didn’t sample bowls of broth, at the party, but did have some great salad, chicken, and lots of “buns.”

And then there were the libations, flowing from their full bar! Several new specialty cocktails were being poured, and I had a great (Orion brand) rice-beer from Japan.

Many more pix, of varying quality, for you to peruse.

Cheers!

Mr. Hospitality

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