Normally I’m not one to condone udon. Why choose a noodle whose weight and low coefficient of static friction fights every effort to get in your mouth where it belongs? But sure, I’ll make an exception for TsuruTonTan– not just because it’s near my apartment, not just because it’s a “noodle brasserie” (a description so haughty that it is cute), but because they have an outstanding curry udon that Ratatouille’s me back to my first curry ramen as a kid. (Okay, so maybe that’s the French connection.)

Skip the sad little side donburi and go right to the udon. They’ll offer you a choice between small or large. They are the same price. Get the large. And get ready to use your pinching muscles; don’t let those slippery bastards get away from you.