Slurp, Chew, Rest and Repeat.

Shotgun ramen.

Ramen. It is the much-lauded and decidedly un-fancy college dietary component that is as cheap as it is nutritious; while costing a mere twenty-five cents a pack (if that much), a single serving (a pack is actually two servings) boasts a whopping 36% or 861 milligrams of your daily sodium allotment. While I was known to indulge a time or two in college, I typically steered clear, opting instead for my university’s nationally-ranked, Michelin Guide-worthy food plan, replete with fresh sushi and bleu cheese crumbles by the truckload.

However, now that I’m in grad school and poorer than I’ve ever been in this incredibly expensive city, I’ve been dabbling in the wide, wide world of Ramen more than I would like to admit. But not in the way you might think.

Rather than going to my local Key Foods and stocking up by the gross, I’ve been strategically buying hefty portions of ramen (usually by the quart), laden with vegetables, my beloved Rooster Sauce and various proteins in order to keep myself satiated throughout long grad-school afternoons. Cost effective and (relatively?) nutritious, it’s also a strategy that’s kept me warm during these first few weeks of wintery weather.

Thus, when Naruto Ramen opened up in Park Slope, I was pretty pleased that I would be able to find my new dietary staple in my own ‘hood. With a shotgun-style interior, the long front room is dominated by a seat-yourself counter that wraps around a Japanese-style short order kitchen. Once saddled up on a stool of your choosing, one of the cooks will hand you a menu. For lunch, it’s as easy (literally) as “1-2-3″ with a pre-fixe menu that, for $11, lets you choose one of three ramen soups, an appetizer and a beverage (bargain!).

Knowing all too well what I was getting myself into, I opted out of the special and ordered (off the menu!) a dinner soup called TanTan (ground pork, spicy broth and fishcake) that was not unlike a Vietnamese sandwich in a bowl and a green tea.

Now, there is a technique to eating hefty portions of ramen such as this, and it goes as follows: slurp, chew, rest and repeat. Add in a third ‘r’–a bit of reading to aid in digestion–and you’re fully prepared to get the most bang for your buck. Over the course of about 45 minutes (they were probably so happy to see my arse go), I followed my foolproof method and made it most of the way through my spicy, hot and flavorful meal whilst watching the cooks deftly prepare steaming bowls for other lunch-bunchers. Overall, a highly enjoyable and filling way to spend part of an afternoon.

I do declare that I will be returning.

Location: 276 5th Ave. (between Garfield and 1st), Park Slope, Brooklyn

Nearest Subway: M/R at Union or B/Q at 7th ave.

Price: $9.50 for a bowl of ramen; $11 lunch special

Phone: (718) 832-1111

Website: n/a