Cocoron Soba - Manhattan

You Better Be Good With the Sticks
One more hour of tweaking powerpoints and I was going to snap.  I hoped a faraway lunch adventure would break up the drudgery.  No planes involved, only a NYC subway ride to Cocoron Soba.  Just what the doctor ordered - pork croquettes and plenty of noodles.  However, there's work to put in - the chopstick variety.  You better be able to maneuver with the wooden sticks - at Cocoron you may have to dip your own soba into boiling broth, one pinch at a time.

I got something called "Stamina Soba" which I later realized referred to the work I had ahead of me.  Here's how it arrives - cold soba on the right, eating bowl in the foreground and a salty fish broth laced with ground pork, boiling on it's own mini-burner.  I needed help but was dumbstruck.  I stared at it like a blackboard full of calculus. Chef took pity and barked in Japanese at one of the servers who handed me a laminated instruction card.  Two ladies seated nearby giggled, then continued their French conversation.  French!?!?  Reminded me of work and I began to think about the stillborn powerpoint.  Dammit!

One chopstick grasp at a time, I lowered a small clump of noodles into the broth and counted to ten, transferred it to the eating bowl then into my mouth.  I played with the cooking time, dropping down to four seconds to get the texture I wanted.  Every now and then I'd fish out some ground pork and scallions.  Aside from the novel delivery, nothing special.  I enjoyed it, just didn't see or hear fireworks.

I sat at the counter and followed chef's every move.  Given the size of the place, you can easily chef-watch from any of the fourteen seats.

After you use up the noodles they bring you hot water to dilute the broth to a less salty soup.  I enjoyed this, I poured the water into the boiling pot then ladeled it with the wooden spoon.  More French giggles.  Double-checked the laminated instructions....  Oh screw it, did it my way.

In the end, it did the trick.  I was so wrapped up in the process and chopsticking nuggets of pork that I forgot all about work.  I was happily engrossed.

61 Delancey St
Manhattan

Related Posts by Category

Widget by Gagan