@with.calvin: Top 5 Best Bites of June
All right, there’s been a lot of good food in the last couple of months, so here’s a roundup of the best bites I’ve had in June! Let’s cut straight to the chase.
RAMEN ISHIDA
All I can say is this place is a ramen game changer. This place was originally a recommendation from Jo Chung (@chungeats) and Aaron Ong (@fotographeats) and it came highly recommended – and now I can see why. First off, the chef and co-owner, Yohei Ishida, has over 15 years of experience working in the restaurant business (and formerly of Ippudo), and this bowl of ramen clearly shows that!
In a world of tonkotsu broths, be a shoyu broth, especially if it’s as good as the one at Ramen Ishida. I’m usually not a big fan of truffle flavored things (either chips, fries, etc.) but the way that it’s incorporated into this broth is something to be studied. It’s a perfect balance of rich chicken broth with this earthiness from porcini and truffle mushrooms. Enough without being too much. The other ingredients are also cooked extremely well (the al dente flour noodles, the chashu pork, the bamboo shoots) which only added to the overall experience.
Me finishing this ramen broth: “This is spectacular, give me 14 of them right now.”
SOUTHERN JUNCTION
If you’ve followed NABI’s coverage of the Best Chef: New York State Award from the 2025 James Beard Foundation, you know that I literally hopped on a plane to eat this meal – and this BBQ left me speechless.
The meat that they serve up is amazing – the brisket was dripping in fatty goodness, the rib was fall of the bone, and the sausage was bursting with flavor; but one of my favorite bites I had on the plate was this cardamom cornbread – that flavor combination was truly wild and something I’ll be filing in my unexpected but beautiful flavor combinations. The fact that they make sure it comes out warm and piping hot, while slabbing on a huge swab of butter on it.
KORA
This viral Filipino donut popup has been swapping the internet since 2021, and it’s kind of been the “it” donut place for a long time. They finally opened their brick and mortar a couple of months ago in Sunnyside, so I decided to check it out.
And boy, was it worth the hype! Each donut elicited such a strong reaction from me (I wish I filmed myself!) because they were that full of flavor and texture. We got the ube brioche, the dulce de leche donut (with a whole flan!), a matcha cruller, an apple tamarind fritter, and a passionfruit brioche. Personally, my favorite was the apple tamarind fritter (because I’m a sucker for the apple fritter) and also their passionfruit bun – but nothing disappointed since they were all truly so good!
SIP & GUZZLE
I had a couple of friends that came to visit towards the end of May, so we were going out to try a lot of new restaurants and bars, and one of the places I had on my list was Sip & Guzzle, a Japanese-inspired cocktail bar in the West Village.
I’ve definitely heard that this place has been a bit hyped up (maybe a little too much? ), that it’s a bit pricey, and that there’s usually a wait to get in – so when we were able to walk right in without any wait, it was a really nice surprise! Apparently the “Guzzle” menu is that one that is a bit more bespoke and unique, but we really enjoyed both of our Sip cocktails! I got the Yuzu Mugirita and my friend got the Super Lychee Martini. I’m not big on super sweet or smoky cocktails, so this slightly sweet and sour cocktail, balanced out by a salt rim, was perfect for me!
ABUQIR
Last but not least is Abuqir, an Astoria gem that I recently checked out because of Zohran Mamdani’s recommendation (and also a small series that I’m starting!). They’ve been on the New York Times Top 100 Restaurants list for a couple years now, so you know that it’s already going to be a solid place. I’m always a sucker for octopus, so you know I had to get it – and their freshly cooked octopus with garlic and spices was truly an amazing bite.
The fact that we could cut through this with a butter knife (and maybe even a fork) shows you how tender this octopus was. The people working there definitely know what they’re doing and I’ll be back again to try the rest of the menu!