DISH OF THE WEEK: Yuzu Dashi Ramen at NAKAMURA

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

I have been on somewhat of a ramen kick lately. And no, don’t worry, I’m not quite as poor as I was in college. The ramen I’m talking about has nothing to do with the packaged dried noodles with a strange salty meat seasoning.

This is real deal ramen. And as seems to be the case every winter, New York is being bombarded with Japanese ramen-yas all over the city. Since the weather has mostly been frigid the last few months and I’m just now getting over an unpleasant cold, I’ve consumed my fair share of ramen noodles in hot soup.

One of the newest and most-praised establishments also happened to be my favorite of late. Nakamura is the work of a revered Japanese ramen chef who most recently had a stint at Ramen Lab earlier this year. With Nakamura, in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge, he now has his first official New York restaurant.

Like most ramen joints, this one is tiny and has only a handful of tables and a few seats at a bar. The menu is not extensive, but there are a handful of interesting iterations of ramen with the unlikely additions of things like curry, Chinese XO sauce, and yuzu.

I was in the market for something a bit lighter and the yuzu dashi ramen ended up being perfect. It’s a chicken and fish-broth based soup (perfect for my cold) and is silky and bright with a floral sweet kick from the Japanese citrus known as yuzu.

But the broth was only one aspect of the bowl. A rich round of fatty chashu (pork), chewy bamboo shoots, and earthy spinach filled up the bowl of springy noodles. The noodles themselves are plentiful (oftentimes, you have to order another round to fill up) and soak up much of the broth’s flavor. A $2 side order of ajitama (soft boiled egg) is imperative.

Nakamura is my favorite of the newest ramen spots in the city, but until the weather or my insatiable appetite slows down, I’m sure I will continue slurping.