As women’s history month twenty-twenty four comes to close.
I wanted to end the month by featuring a black woman breaking barriers in the culinary arts.
I first heard about the Ra By Ramen experience by word of mouth and then on Today.
“During the pandemic, she launched Ramen By Ra in partnership with Ada Supper Club, which celebrates Black and female expression through food.”
So after hearing so much about what sounded like a fun and unique experience I decided to check it out.
“Chef Rasheeda Purdie announces opening her first ramen shop, Ramen By Ra, at The Bowery Market in Noho, marking the inaugural Black and female-owned ramen shop in NYC.”
As it turns out the day I planned my visit was a very rainy one.
Which made it a perfect day for a nice hot bowl of Ramen!
It should be noted that I reserved a spot on OpenTable for this experience about a month in advance.
“Given our intimate five-seat counter with 45-minute seating, we recommend making reservations in advance.”
Conversely I had to pay ahead of time once I arrived on the reservation page.
“To ensure a seamless and enjoyable ramen experience, pre-ordering and pre-payment are required. “
Equally important to be aware of is that gratuity is automatically added to your checkout total.
“Retaining the spirit of her wildly popular ramen pop-ups, guests will be seated in front of Chef Purdie in the cozy and intimate space that mimics traditional Ramen shops in Japan, bringing a little bit of Tokyo to NoHo.”
Now Lets Talk Food & Drinks.
“Byra a revitalized “Asa Ramen” experience inspired by Southern/Asian/American cuisine and culture indulged in the form of Breakfast,Lunch & Dinner.”
Before I began my Ramen experience I decided to try a cup of her Soba Cha tea first.
Soba Cha-roasted buckwheat tea
The tea was brilliant,robust and so flavorful. I am now a fan of Soba Tea.
Following that Chef. Rasheeda started to prepare our Ramen bowls.
Which was the Bacon,Egg & Cheese and The Steak (no Egg) bowls.
Steak & Soy Egg–
chimichurri-shoyu,seasoned egg,crispy shallots,sesame,leeks
I really enjoyed the experience of watching everything being prepared right in front of me.
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bowl–
lard-shoyu,smoked bacon ,seasoned egg parmesan,black pepper scallions
There was some dialogue between I and Chef Rasheeda which was super cool.
In particular about the amazing ingredients and concepts that she has created here.