Gyukotsuo

Nothing beats a bowl of ramen on a hot summer day.  Barely being able to stand the heat and humidity of the outdoors, I chose to go to a place close to home.  I just discovered a section on the Ramen Walker website that lists new shops, and one of the more recent ones was Gyukotsuo.

In Nipponbashi, there is a shop called Ramen Gekijo, or ramen theater, where every three months, a new interesting shop is debuted.  The summer's specialty was a beef bone-flavored soup.  But in addition to that, they also offer a ramen battle, where the ramen from the current shop faces off against a bowl made by the head of Ramen Gekijo.  I ordered a set that came with a mini-bowl of each.  Gyukotsu vs Tonkotsu: who would win?

Information
拉麺劇場 人情麺家 牛骨王
4-10-9 Nipponbashi

The Bowl
Tonkotsu:
This was a serious tonkotsu bowl.  The broth was very rich and delicious, and the noodles were nice and chewy.  There were onions, kikurage mushrooms, sprouts, and an egg.  The chashu was a highlight; tender and very juicy.

Gyukotsu:
The broth was a pretty solid shoyu; not that salty and easy to drink.  There were pieces of beef tendon in the soup that were sweet and tender.  After sitting in the soup for long enough, the soup started to taste a bit like them too.  The noodles were alright, an dother toppings included onions, radish, and an egg.

Both were good, and though the gyukotsu bowl was more interesting and distinct, I enjoyed the tonkotsu one more, and cast my vote for that one.  In the end, the real winner was me, for being able to try both.

Would I Go Again?
This place was pretty good; I'll definitely be back in three months, and would even consider going back sooner.  There was some kind of beef tsukemen on the menu...

Should You Go?
Yeah, this place is good and interesting.