Ramen Danbo

JAPAN 🇯🇵

Before coming to North America, Ramen Danbo has expanded since their earliest shop in 2000 to over 20 spots all over Japan. Their first location, about 16 kilometers southeast of Fukuoka, the epicenter of tonkotsu ramen style, received much praise and allowed them to become a chain and expand towards growing demands in other cities.

They were also a hit when they came to Vancouver and then Seattle, and now have decided to test their fortunes in the New York City market in... *checks notes*... Park Slope? In a spot that already went through two very forgettable ramen makeovers, Danbo has come in to put all this change to bed for good, we can hope.

The first meal here started off auspiciously as an older Japanese man was placing multiple orders for gyoza to go after finishing his bowl of ramen. Something tells you he had enjoyed his soup.

In its simplest form, this ramen is about the Kyushu Hakata style, one of Japan's most popular and not simple at all. They still import the ramen-dare soup base from Japan and boil pork bones at high heat to create their flavor profiles.

The signature classic ramen ($10.45, above) is broth, noodles, chashu, scallions, and a dollop of their homemade "top secret" spicy tare sauce. The appearance of simplicity is disproved by the complexity of the broth.

Ramen Danbo also seems proud of their offer to customize your preferences in each bowl, with the availability of harder or softer than "standard" noodles and even thicker noodles instead of their "classic" thin version. Noodle science is very important in Japan, and to my knowledge the thin noodles seem too intertwined for this style of ramen, so the bowls were not customized in any way. It is also possible to level up your spiciness with added ichimi togarashi red pepper powder.

This was done with the next bowl, the negi-goma rekka ramen ($12.95, above). Negi-goma ramen adds two sesame components to the tonkotsu pork broth base, a white sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds which cover about half of the bowl when it arrives. For sesame lovers, this is a unique upgrade and worth tasting, the flavors mesh well and enhance each other.

On a return visit, a bowl of miso ramen with extra chashu.

It is an easy walk from the 7th Avenue Q train station, with only a few blocks (and approximately 25 strollers to avoid) on your way to ramen bliss. Help welcome Danbo to the city and see for yourself!

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PARK SLOPE Brooklyn
52 7th Avenue

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El Tenampa Deli & Grocery

MEXICO 🇲🇽

You can tell something special is going on inside of El Tenampa before even walking in. The storefront is grand and at night lights up the whole block. Inside the door, you find a spacious but typical Mexican grocery store with spices and produce, and a fútbol game on TV that the cashier and a couple patrons are watching.

Backtracking a bit, I had recently been so disappointed with South Slope in general, with Carmelita Deli & Grocery severely declining about two years ago, and Guerrero Food Center going out of business. Now I think I know the reason for both, and it is El Tenampa. I walked in about two months ago to find the nice dining room and expansive kitchen. I had the nagging feeling that I recognized all the people behind the counter and then it struck me, these are the people that used to run tiny Carmelita.

Grab your bottled drinks up front and pay at the grocery cashier (unfortunately no alcohol can be consumed in the dining room), or buy a $2 homemade jamaica or horchata in the back, get in line at the counter and peruse the menu. On a weeknight after the dinner rush, you might have the place to yourself. On a weekend day or night the dining room will be filled with Mexican families, screaming babies, and boys chasing each other. You'll be lucky to find a seat.

At Carmelita, tacos started at $1.50 and later were $2. Here they sell $1.75 pequeños and $3 grandes, which are a bit larger than your usual taco and give you access to the all-important condiment bar with homemade red and green salsas, guacamole, peppers, radish, and cucumbers.

Highly recommended is the al pastor (above), which you can see on the spit in the back, something that they sorely lacked at their previous home. The dish at the bottom is full of pineapples soaking up the spices and pork fat, and some of those make it into the final product, always a pleasurable taste combination. 

The list of taco ingredients is long and just right, a combination of proven winners, recommended favorites, internal organs and parts of animal faces. Highly suggested is the tripa (below two photos, tripe), which is also a joy to watch being grilled and chopped.

All grande taco plates are served with delicious roasted onions, reason enough to order the big ones over the little (below). They take as much pride in these sides and condiments as they do in all the exquisitely prepared meats.

They serve a full range of antojitos here, starting with the enormous tostada ($4.50, below), shown here with suadero on top, as well as plenty of lettuce cheese and cream. I added the lime and salsa, which all made for a toppling massive mess that was not even close to being finger food.

Also a joy are the delicate sopes ($4.50, below) which are also larger than most and made with a very small grilled soft tortilla and thin layer of beans. These were delicious enough to get me wanting to go up to the next step and order huaraches ($9 for three) to get even more from my base.

I have now had three cemitas ($8, below) here, and they all have been phenomenal. The addition of white cheese, fresh avocado, and chipotle is a mouth pleaser any day of the week. The version below is milanesa de pollo, and all the slippery ingredients did not stay nicely stacked like this for long.

Ask what they have before getting emotionally attached to one of their soups as many nights they might only offer one. The caldo de res con verduras ($6, below small version) is delicious in its simplicity, the broth taking its flavors from simple stock. The fatty beef is stacked on top with a potato, corn on the cob, and a turnip.

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SOUTH SLOPE Brooklyn

706 4th Avenue

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Reyes Deli & Grocery

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

Reyes has a small grill that caters to the breakfast and lunch crowd, North American style. Three of four pages of their menu are devoted to this typical deli fare, but on the back is the small list of Mexican food that most people seem to come here for. The list of available ingredients is short, as is the list of four items: tacos, huaraches, quesadillas, and tortas.

There is a small counter with four seats behind the grill, just enough space for a few eaters. Most people come here for takeout anyways. The music is festive and plenty of drinks are on offer in the refrigerators, although unfortunately no alcohol can be drank on the premises.

The tacos (below) are all $2.25. We tried both the chorizo and carne enchilada, which are both sprinkled with onions and cilantro. Limes and salsa are controlled by the man behind the counter, but you can take as much as you want. The big green vat of salsa is basically self-serve once he offers it up, and is on point.

Both these meats (nothing out of the ordinary is available here, unfortunately) are very strong, well-spiced and moist. The tortillas are dry and tend to be far from fresh.

The huarache ($6, below) had no beans within the fresh thin tortilla or on top, which made me wonder about its definition. The good news was that the carnitas that topped it was very good and moist. Saturday carnitas are a special thing, even though it was Friday. Like usual, they are topped with lettuce, tomato, and powdered cheese. We chose again the green salsa and were handed the bottle of crema to put that on ourselves.

All in all, Reyes is pushing the front of good tacos north from Sunset Park up to 14th Street, the furthest advance so far. And don't forget, you can also get delicious weekend tamales here for $1.50 each.

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SOUTH SLOPE Brooklyn

532 4th Avenue

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Cafe Steinhof

AUSTRIA 🇦🇹

On a cold winter day, there is not a promotion in town that sounds better than $6 $7 Gulash Night which happens every Monday at Cafe Steinhof. No one was disappointed with their meaty stew which was served with a generous roll to soak in all the juices. As a large group, we had to wait a while at the bar, but it was all in good fun as the place had a nice atmosphere and was not loud. The staff was friendly and promised to seat us as soon as they could.

The restaurant is crowded with gulash fans for a couple hours at dinner, but was emptying out a little after 9pm. Despite our full stomachs, we were convinced of eating the apple bread dessert, which for $3 was an absolute steal. This delicious (and enormous) dessert had us all wanting to break out into song. The only thing that saved us from overnight obesity was the long walk back to civilization.

The Monday night special: $6 (half price) gulash

Wiener schnitzel sandwich ($11)

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PARK SLOPE Brooklyn

422 7th Avenue

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