Meet Christos Pietris

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christos Pietris.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story as RamenReviews began when I spent 6-months in an international co-op assignment for IBM Japan back in 2015. I was taking some Japanese Literature and Art courses at the same time at the Temple University of Japan. I was living in an area known as Hiyoshi, which is very famous for being the place where Keio University is, home to tons of college students. The food of choice for these students was Ramen, and Hiyoshi was full of Ramen Shops.

There were at least 10 high-quality ramen shops in a 1-mile radius. Naturally, this became our go-to meal. I must have eaten at over 50 ramen shops all around Japan when it started to become a thing that we would explore the best of the best. I got to speak with many of these chefs and understand the work that was put into what they considered an art form. They taught me the ingredients in their different variations, what was considered good, what to look for, and how its presentation and operations functioned.

Soon after, I returned to New York. People in New York would constantly recommend places for me to try and I would sometimes be disappointed with the ramen that I received at these shops. Eventually, I found a few that I liked, and several friends encouraged me to start documenting my experiences. From there, I created the Instagram account @RamenReviewsNYC, but I would not limit myself to just New York. Everywhere I would go, I would try the ramen and document my experience.

I found a lot of the Food Instagram culture to be all about presentation, the best photo, and pretending every place was the most magnificent food they ever had, so I decided to be different. I knew the people wanted the truth and a very objective breakdown of what was good and bad about a ramen experience. Using my informed pseudo-expertise, I would write about each place in full honest detail. People in this niche of Japanese food culture started to take notice, and my account grew very quickly.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. Soon, I would be invited by Ramen Shops all over the place to come try their ramen, and it is a very heavy meal and a lot of work to set your day around this. I also had a deal with the places that would invite me, if they were not okay with me being honest about my experience to even the smallest detail, then they shouldn’t invite me. Most were very okay with this arrangement, while others were not.

Ramen is a pretty fattening food, so I have to be mindful of the calories I consumed, I also have an irrational phobia of eating alone, so I would always visit a restaurant with someone else with varying levels of ramen experience so they could also give me their opinion on the food. This would give me a different perspective as I dined, so I could take into consideration how someone might enjoy a place with a less refined palate for Ramen.

That being said, coordinating with the restaurant and also the friends I would bring along would prove to be a lot to handle in terms of scheduling. Then the biggest struggle hit, and it was two things at once. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease just a few months before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. This meant I couldn’t eat gluten and it also helped me understand why eating ramen often would make me sick the next day.

Before I was diagnosed, I didn’t care that ramen was making me sick, because I love it so much. But after my doctor told me I really shouldn’t be eating it, I was crushed. I then made a rule for myself that I would only eat ramen that would be known for being very delicious, or I would be more selective of the places I would try based on photos and information about their techniques, I would also limit myself to ramen once or twice a month instead of twice a week like before.

Then the Pandemic hit, and I was having no restaurants open for dine-in seating, and then once outdoor seating became a thing, I found myself struggling with the idea of reviewing a place. What if I gave a place a bad review and they were already at the end of the line with a lack of customers dining, people leaving the city, and being hard to get staff? Was I going to be the one to seal their fate? I was very uncomfortable with this.

So I took a long pause on reviewing places. My lack of posting saw a decline in my followers. I had gone from 25k to 22k followers on Instagram throughout this time. But thankfully business for restaurants has picked back up and I have been reviewing restaurants again. My followers are slowly returning, albeit at a slower pace because I don’t post as much as I used to.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a creative first and foremost, with a background in technology and marketing. I first saw the @ramenreviewsnyc account as an experiment testing my Digital Marketing Chops. I studied Marketing and Graphic Design in school. I wanted to give people a unique experience in a very niche way for a niche audience. I do a lot of creative efforts on the side, like photography, making short films, painting, and comedy.

My Ramen Reviews are honest, funny, and a little brazen– that’s what I feel sets me apart. I work with small businesses to consult on their social media, make video and photo content for them, build websites and graphics for them, and even help perfect their food through tastings, feedback, and deeper consultation. I also like it when a restaurant is new and wants to set itself apart through outside-the-box thinking.

My unorthodox strategies to improve their business and food tend to work, giving me a lot of joy and fulfillment. I spent many years working in Brand Advertising for IBM, so I’m quite skilled in that space and user experience. I’m also a fan of video games and currently work in the Game-tech division of Amazon Web Services. (AWS)

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
The food and the nature! There is nothing I don’t like, You have some good Ramen and Japanese places there…. though I do wish there were more public transportation options.

Pricing:

• 30 Min Consultation: $119
• Social Media Management $1500-$4000/Month
• Varying production options
• Consultation on retainer: Prices Vary

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ramenreviewsnyc?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=