I’m happy to report that I’ve temporarily left behind the frozen tundra that is New Jersey and shed my Spiewak parka and salt-crusted snow boots (which I literally haven’t taken off in three months) for beautiful and sunny southern California. My legs are as pale as marshmallow sticks but I don’t care, I’m wearing shorts and life is good. So my posts will be a little less frequent this week, but I wanted to share a photo of a bowl of ramen I recently devoured at one of my favorite place-Ippudo NYC—as a reminder that, no matter where you are, or what the weather, a favorite meal can have the power to make the best of anything.
For me, ramen is that happy button meal that I can push to improve any polar vortex situation (a large Sapporo doesn’t hurt either). The rich broth, the silky noodles, the runny egg, the tender pork belly, the healthy dollop of miso paste and drizzle of garlic oil, the cabbage floating atop it all like a savory Japanese bath of goodness…I’m a happy slurping mess whenever I get a bowl in front of me. And funny enough, on our first full day in San Diego, we took the kids to Legoland, and guess what we had for lunch…yes, ramen! As my friend Sujin said, only at a California-based theme park would they have a ramen restaurant.
So what is your happy meal (not the kind with the movie-tie-in toy inside…but you know what I mean)? I’d love to know!
