Raku

On Thursday last week, I met up with celebrated food writer Susan Spungen for lunch at Raku in the East Village.

That’s a spicy crab salad that we shared as an appetizer. For my entree, I had the tantan hot udon with spicy pork, which was just what the doctor ordered on a rainy day. I love how thick udon noodles are; there have so much bite and are so much more interesting to eat than typical ramen. Sorry, ramen!

After lunch, Susan walked me over to SOS Chefs which is a dream store for anyone who likes to try new things (and flavors) in the kitchen.

I was overwhelmed by all of the powders and elixirs lining the shelves. The store feels like the cave of those wizard creatures from The Neverending Story. Or where Miracle Max lives in The Princess Pride.

After nosing through everything, I ended up going home with wasabi-coated sesame seeds, yuzu-coated sesame seeds, really nice anchovies, and Spanish hot paprika.

Raku / 342 E 6th St, New York, NY 10003