Crane Ramen is headed to the Big Apple.
The local ramen restaurant is one of four restaurants invited to attend the third annual New York Slurpfest on Oct. 22. Along with Crane Ramen, the restaurants invited to the event are Hidechan Ramen from Fukuoka, Japan; Ken’s Ramen from Providence, Rhode Island; and Gomaichi Ramen from Honolulu, Hawaii.
"Basically the theme of Slurpfest is showcasing different styles of ramen, so every single ramen participant will be creating a different style of ramen," said Minnie Kim, the social media marketing associate for Luckyrice, the company behind the event.
Kim said Luckyrice Sun Noodle Brand, the maker of the noodles Crane Ramen uses, asked the restaurant to attend because they wanted to showcase ramen from different regions.
The event, which costs $100 to attend, allows guests to sample a bowl of ramen from each of the four restaurants invited to the event.
"They asked us to come up out of all the restaurants in the country, which we thought was quite an honor," said co-owner Fred Brown.
The restaurant, which opened Dec. 1, will serve its Gator Shio Ramen — salt-based flavored ramen mixed with alligator meat and broth, swamp cabbage, roasted corn and other local ingredients, during the event, which Brown described as "speed dating for ramen."
"I think the... thing we’re excited about is trying to show New York and the rest of the world that just because we’re in the south, doesn’t mean we don’t know how to make traditional flavors," said Steve Grimes, the chef who will cook the ramen for the event. He said he will serve the ramen every Friday before a UF home football game to receive critique from customers.
Braden Li, a UF materials science and engineering senior, found out about Crane Ramen through Yelp back in March and has been eating there about three times a month since.
Li, 21, said he is not surprised that Crane Ramen was invited to go to Slurpfest.
"They put a lot of care and passion into their food, so I think that’s a big achievement for them to be going to an event like that," Li said.
A bowl from Crane Ramen holds the restaurant’s fare. The restaurant is one of four invited to attend the New York Slurpfest on Oct. 22.
