Ramen
Ramen is generally not associated with New York, but that doesn’t mean we don't know how to serve up this dish! A quick crash course - ramen is a Japanese dish consisting of wheat noodles served in a meat or fish-based broth, often flavoured with soy sauce or miso and topped with delicious bites such as sliced pork (chāsū), dried seaweed (nori), menma, and green onions. Nearly every region in Japan has its own variation of ramen. As I said, this is not strictly a unique food to New York but you can still find some of the best dishes at E.A.K Ramen, where they serve Iekei ramen, which is a style of ramen that is a marriage between Tonkotsu style from the West (Kyushu) and Shoyu style from the East (Tokyo). Their broth is thick and a mixture of chicken and pork, with a topping of spinach instead of green onions, chāsū, a large piece of nori, aji-tama egg (seasoned egg), and the noodles are thick, al dente and straight. It’s the perfect place to escape on a cold winter’s day and the perfect food if you’re feeling under the weather. They also have vegan and vegetarian options.