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バーゴリラ (Bar Gorilla in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo)

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バーゴリラ

Would you believe that I heard about this small bar that serves Jiro-style ramen from a geisha in Kyoto? Well, that’s what happened! That’s one thing I love about ramen in Japan. Everyone has a shop to recommend.

Welcome to Shimokitazawa. I’d say this part of town is a must-hit even if you are only in Tokyo for a few days. It’s hip, young, and full of alternative people and places. Sure, some people say it has fallen off and become just another hipster hangout, but I love the place to this day. The music scene is always rad as well.

Bar Gorilla is a bar. Woodford Reserve on the rocks for me. They have a plethora of homemade tinctures as well, like a rather interesting-looking rosemary and lemon alcohol.

Most bars in Japan have some snack options. Bar Gorilla serves ramen. And not just any ramen. They do Jiro.

Jiro. I’ve been to all the famous ones (apart from the Kyoto shop which somehow made it onto the Best 100 in West Japan list). Pork bones are cooked down into their purest liquid form. It is flavored with soy sauce and a ton of MSG, topped with thick slices of pork, and finished with raw garlic. I’ve read that a normal bowl of Jiro has three times the calories of non-Jiro ramen.

Jiro ramen is also kicked up with blobs of pork back fat. Yeah, this is often drunk people’s food. Gorilla skips the middleman in the equation.

Not bad!

I’ll admit, I only have this style about once every two months. I’m not the biggest fan, but I do get a craving now and then. If you are counting calories (why are you at a bar?) you can get it without the noodles and extra vegetables at Bar Gorilla. A mountain of moyashi bean sprouts, a handful of cabbage, and a whole lot of seabura straight from the pig’s back.

Official X here.

 

 

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