Ivan Ramen Joining Bar Tartine For Epic West Coast Slurpfest

New York's Ivan Ramen is coming to town, bringing its highly sought-after noodles to San Francisco for a collaborative dinner with chefs Nick Balla and Cortney Burns of Bar Tartine. According to Balla, the chefs have been discussing a collaboration for a few years, hoping to showcase Orkin's style of ramen on the West Coast. His love of vegetables and whole grains is a perfect fit for Bar Tartine, whose menu is almost completely comprised of housemade items.

The collaboration between chef Ivan Orkin and Bar Tartine's power couple will be a one-night-only affair, offering West Coast diners a taste of the infamous ramen that has developed a cult following in its journey from Tokyo to New York. The meal, which Balla promises "will be an insane spread," will begin with a collection of small plates from both Ivan and Tartine. Tartine mastermind Chad Robertson will be making a special bread to serve alongside dishes like koji shrimp toast, narezushi, Orkin's chilled ramen, and more. Diners will then have a choice of Ivan Ramen's classic shio ramen or sofrito mazeman, both made with rye noodles. Dessert is a family-style assortment of sweets from Bar Tartine, including a steamed cake with lemon and poppsyeed and dates stuffed with rice cookies.

Orkin, a Long Island native who opened his first ramen restaurant in Tokyo in 2007, returned to New York to open Ivan Ramen (on the Lower East Side) and Slurp Shop (in Hell's Kitchen), to enormous success. Eater critic Ryan Sutton actually titled his 2014 review of the New York restaurant "Ivan Ramen Is So Good It Will Make Your Eyes Explode," which pretty much sums up the way New Yorkers feel about Orkin's creations.

Tickets are going for $54/person (drinks not included) and already selling out, so ramen fans should reserve a spot quickly to get in on this cross-country feast. The dinner takes place Monday, April 27, with various time slots; tickets are available through Sosh.