No Name Noodles

The veggie ramen at No Name Bar is super fragrant, almost like a pho broth (minus the animal bits).

Greenpoint just got ramen. No, not Ichiran, the Japanese chain that has been rumored to open in North Brooklyn for at least three years now. No Name Bar at 597 Manhattan Avenue started serving noodles last night, out of a tiny kitchen in the bar’s downstairs.

Lindsay Salminen, the chef, has worked at Diner, Pies ‘n’ Thighs, A Voce and Sweet Deliverance, and for now she’s keeping the menu as tight as her cooking quarters. Salminen (who is a BB pal) was serving pan-fried lamb noodles ($9), a vegetarian ramen with mushrooms, pea shoots and green onions ($10), pork ramen ($12) and hard boiled quail eggs ($5) as an offbeat bar snack. She plans on offering two ramens each night and adding a seasonal salad item to the menu.

Last night the lamb noodles were the thing to get. Wide slippery hand-pulled noodles coated in a savory, slightly sweet and spicy sauce were studded with juicy ground lamb. Though the noodles are clearly inspired by Xi’an Famous Foods in form, their flavor is quite different, more meaty and savory, less tangy and spicy.

The chewy, springy, super satisfying noodles in all the dishes are housemade, as are the ramen stocks. Noodle service starts at 6pm and goes until 3am or the kitchen runs out, whichever comes first.

No Name still needs to work out the slightly byzantine ordering system–the bartender upstairs takes your order and hands you two tickets which you bring downstairs to the kitchen window sandwiched between the pinball machine and the door to the bathrooms. You give the kitchen one ticket to place your order, the other to pick it up. It’s sure to get smoothed out over the next few weeks and in the meanwhile, the noodles are delicious enough to be worth it.