THIS NEW RAMEN JOINT IS TOTALLY KOSHER
Dan Zelkowitz’s New York dream began, as so many do, with a tipsy night on the Lower East Side.
“My wife and I had a drink, and were wandering around,” the 27-year-old restaurateur and Orthodox Jew tells The Post. “It was freezing cold, and there were these huge, long lines outside of all the underground ramen places. She said, ‘Man, I really wish I could have that.’ ”
The next morning, he headed to Chinatown’s supermarkets with one aim: creating a delicious bowl of ramen that was also kosher.
After a few tries, Zelkowitz nailed it: a beautiful bowl of noodles in a rich, flavorful broth. Getting the broth just right was the biggest challenge. Many of the popular ramen joints in the city rely on pork-based broths, but pork isn’t allowed under Jewish dietary law. Zelkowitz’s broth is chicken-based and contains about 40 ingredients.
The millennial dutifully posted a photo of the results online. Soon, observant friends started hounding him, hungry for a bowl of Japanese noodles that wouldn’t put them on bad terms with their rabbi.
Their insistence inspired him — and one year later, he’s opened Boru Boru, an Upper West Side restaurant that’s the city’s first Orthodox-friendly ramen joint. The menu includes the “boru” (“bowl” in Japanese) that started it all: Tokyo-style ramen ($22), made with chicken broth and a boiled egg with a jammy yolk. A drizzle of house-made chili oil ($1) adds satisfying heat. Less traditional plates include a pastrami ramen with piquant, pickled mustard seeds ($25).
Zelkowitz has opened nine other eateries in the city, from high-end sushi counters to sports bars, but Boru Boru is the first one that’s kosher.
“I’ve [worked on] so many restaurants,” he says, shaking his head. “Now, I’ve finally opened one up where I can actually eat the food.”