"Udon gets its overdue moment at Raku. The intimate space, opened in 2015 by chef Norihiro Ishizuka, specializes in excellent bowls of handmade noodles imported from Japan. The familiarly thick standard noodles, substantial but not gummy, are exemplary; there’s also the thinner, off-menu inaniwa version. Preparations include a range of soups, a sparse chilled zaru iteration with nori powder, or a cold version served with a raw quail egg, scallions, wasabi, and mushrooms. For more adventurous palettes, there’s the niku version with tripe and short rib, a highlight per Eater critic Robert Sietsema. A few blocks away, Ishizuka runs Kura, the superb, miniscule omakase outfit on Saint Mark’s Place." - Alexandra Ilyashov