#79 – STAMINA SOBA at COCORON

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

I wonder if the stamina you supposedly obtain by eating these particular noodles at Cocoron in the Lower East Side, helps with the uncomfortable and cramped seating. Being squished between two parties at the small bar and lucking out with a low and wobbly stool was not my idea of a comfortable Sunday lunch, but the clean and tasty soba dish did take my mind off my discomfort for a few minutes.

According to their Twitter feed, Cocoron will open a second location on Saturday, September 8 on Kenmare Street. Hopefully this location will be much roomier and conducive to some serious stamina.

My previous meal here was equally as cramped, yet we discovered some wonderful Japanese dishes (like the miso cole slaw). The star of the show are the soba noodles served hot, cold, or as part of a dip. Time Out didn’t specify their serving preference on this, but I knew dipping was the most popular and most fun.

The friendly servers bring out a cauldron of hot broth and a side of the cold soba buckwheat noodles. The mission (which I chose to accept) is to dip the noodles into the broth and then enjoy. While the noodles are already cooked to a firm texture, the fondue-like process brings the flavors together.

Stamina soba’s dip consists of a cloudy dashi broth with mushrooms and some umami-layered meat offerings. I especially loved the chicken meatballs that fall apart as you taste them. Fatty (but not too fatty) pork slices add much of the flavor.

Dipping the slender noodles into the sauce combines a nutty bite with hints of meat and brine. The flavor was distinct and light, but (aside from that meatball) not too aggressive.

And if you didn’t feel healthy and full of stamina after the satisfying noodle experience, they bring you the final touch which is the sobayu (the water that the soba was cooked in). Adding it to the remaining broth and drinking the vitamin-filled elixir is a refreshing way to end a meal here. But once the last sip is taken, you’ll remember you’re sitting in a hot, crowded bar with strangers breathing down your neck.

Would Cocoron’s Stamina Soba make my Top 100 of the year? I love Japanese food and these buckwheat noodles offer a clean meal of subtle flavors and sustenance earning them a 7 out of 10.