A Gourmetified Ramen Recipe

Chuko Opens in Prospect Heights

Any reality TV junkie knows that the test of a good chef is what he can create using only ingredients from a convenience store. (Krispy Kreme bread pudding, anyone?)

With that in mind, we asked the chefs at Chuko, the new ramen restaurant opening tonight in Prospect Heights, to show us what they could do with the 99-cent version you ate in college. We also threw in a Pathmark-prepared rotisserie chicken for fun.

Once you watch (and make it for yourself in the five minutes immediately afterward), imagine what the Morimoto-trained chef/owners — Jamison Blankenship, James Sato, and David Koon — do with real ramen on their small but perfect menu.

Then dream about the gyoza with ponzu dipping sauce, fried green tomato buns with pickled onion and tofu dressing, and homemade ice cream sandwiches.

They win the challenge.

Chuko, 552 Vanderbilt Avenue, at Dean Street, Prospect Heights (718-576-6701 or barchuko.com).


	Still hungry? Watch Sam Talbot grill fish tacos or Daniel Boulud make the perfect burger.

More Amore

Dedicated Video E-mail: When in Rome

Blind dating. Speed dating. Online dating. You’ve tried everything in your shameless quest to find the perfect man.

So you’ll totally relate to When in Rome. The new film stars Kristen Bell as an ambitious, relationship-challenged New Yorker who takes a whirlwind trip to Rome. There she defiantly steals coins from a fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of the men who threw them in.

Her new suitors include a sausage magnate (Danny DeVito), a street magician (Jon Heder), an adoring painter (Will Arnett), and a self-admiring model (Dax Shepard). But when a charming reporter (Josh Duhamel) pursues her with equal zest, she’ll have to determine if it’s the work of the coins or the real thing.

Which is still easier than online dating.

When in Rome opens this Friday. Check local listings for showtimes.