"Karazishi Botan is the kind of ramen shop you want to have in your neighborhood. There’s lots of counter seating, a few indoor tables, and a spacious heated backyard that’s one of the most pleasant places to slurp noodles in Brooklyn. Opened by the former ramen master at Ippudo, this place also serves some of the more inventive bowls of ramen in New York. The signature Pan Head, made with a pork and miso broth and straightforward toppings like chashu and bamboo, is assertively salty in the best way. Other options change often, but we recently had a chicken-based ramen that came with a scoop of mashed potatoes and a shot glass of lemon juice on the side. It was a wild ride." - Carina Finn