I've driven past that corner of 10th and Cliff a hundred times — the little strip mall wedged between the gas station and whatever used to be next door — and I never expected to find ramen this good hiding there.
Ichifuji does two things, and they do them with the kind of focus that makes you wonder why more places don't just pick a lane. There's ramen — rich tonkotsu broth that actually tastes like someone stood over a pot for twelve hours, not the instant stuff dressed up — and there's Korean fried chicken, double-fried until the skin shatters when you bite it. The menu isn't trying to be everything. It's just trying to be these two things, done right.
I think what I like most is how unpretentious the whole operation is. You walk in, you order at the counter, you sit in a booth that's seen better days, and then someone brings you a bowl of noodles that would cost twice as much downtown. The space is small — maybe ten tables — and the decor is basically "we're here to feed you, not win design awards." Which is exactly right.
The Korean fried chicken comes with these pickled radishes that cut through the grease, and the ramen has that perfect chew to the noodles that tells you they're not messing around. I've gotten the spicy miso bowl three times now, and it's never been inconsistent.
The only thing I'll say — and maybe it's just me — is that the space feels a little cramped when it's busy. You're basically elbow-to-elbow with strangers, which some people love and some people don't. I don't mind it, but I've learned to go at off-hours if I want to actually think while I eat.
It's the kind of place that reminds you Sioux Falls has more going on than people give it credit for — you just have to know where to look, and sometimes that's a strip mall on 10th Street.
— Grace
I think what I like most is how unpretentious the whole operation is.