One of the City’s Most Covetable Bowls of Ramen Returns in the East Village

1. It’s an exclusive spot, but for practical reasons — not manufactured hype.

Purdie’s Bowery Market counter served about four diners at a time — maybe five if they didn’t mind being a little cozy. The new space is only marginally bigger, seating a maximum of six guests: four at the counter and two at a table. This is by design: Purdie works only with her sous chef, Brianne Waller, so keeping it intimate ensures they can devote their full attention to each bowl. Similar to any traditional ramen counter, you’ll see them herself preparing and serving dishes right before you. But instead of making guests wait in line for a seat, it’s all arranged in advance. This ensures there’s no hectic, rushed energy — just a peaceful meal in a cozy space.

“I always wanted to have something that was on the intimate side, around this size. It’s really the perfect in-between,” Purdie says.

Her setup also has guests choose their meal at the time of booking. That way, she can prep exactly what she needs for that day’s service, and nothing more. While it streamlines her work and keeps costs down, it also makes a big difference when it comes to minimizing food waste.

2. The early bird gets the noodles.

If you’ve heard anything about Ramen by Ra, you probably already know that it specializes in asa ramen, which is breakfast or morning ramen. The reason for this is twofold: One, it sets Ramen by Ra apart and offers something different than what you’ll find at other ramen spots in the city. The other upside to breakfast ramen is that Rasheeda herself is an early riser, so focusing on daytime service allows her to do her best work.

“I’m able to have a better work-life balance and treat this schedule as something I’m looking forward to,” Purdie said. “I’m happier with this schedule, which means my food is also coming out even better, because I’m my best self in the morning.”

While most Americans are used to thinking of ramen as a lunch or dinner food, there’s a long tradition of asa-ramen in the Kitikata and Shizuoka regions of Japan. To sell New Yorkers on the idea, however, Purdie draws clever parallels between her bowls and classic New York breakfast and brunch foods. It works more intuitively than you might expect: The bacon, soy egg, and cheese ($28) bowl, for instance, isn’t just scrambled eggs and a slice of cheddar thrown into a bowl of noodles. The “bacon” is pork belly, and the egg is a soy marinated egg — two typical ramen ingredients — with just a touch of parmesan cheese, all married together with scallions in a lard oil-infused shoyu broth.

“I just think, ultimately, Americans need to step outside the little box that they’re in as they relate to food, because the bowls that I have here, you’re already eating those types of items,” Purdie said. “For example, the BLT – I know for a fact you’re eating tomato soup, and that has no toppings in it. But then you have this ramen that’s tomato-based, with all of these toppings,” she says, referring to her bacon roasted tomato ramen ($28). It’s just really a matter of looking at the description and realizing, you already eat this.”

Other ramen dishes on the menu include an everything egg drop ($22) bowl with fluffed eggs, crispy shallots, and threads of chile; variations of ribeye steak and egg ($27 to $30); and lox with a soy egg ($30) or without ($27), made with a nori-shoyu and topped with a cream cheese foam.

The restaurant opens at 9 a.m. so, if you’d like, you can snag an early seating and lean into the whole breakfast ramen experience. If you’re not much of an early riser, though, you can always book for lunch or an early dinner — Ramen by Ra will stay open until 6 p.m.

3. They’re also serving breakfast to go now, too.

Traditionally, ramen is eaten on-site and rather quickly, while the broth is still hot and before the noodles have expanded. In keeping with this tradition, Purdie doesn’t wrap up leftovers for guests — you either finish it while it’s at its best, or you don’t.

Purdie does acknowledge, however, that the typical New York breakfast isn’t a sit-down meal; it’s made to be eaten on the go. Fitting into the lifestyles of busy urbanites, Ramen by Ra’s new space features a walk-up window where guests can order broth ($5 for five ounces) and bao buns to go.

“People want the broth as a cup option, so that was a very important addition to the menu, from day one,” she says. To complement the broth by the cup, she’s created three different varieties of bao buns, inspired by bagel sandwiches: everything egg ($7); bacon, fried egg, and cheese ($9); and lox with nori cream cheese and fried capers ($9). Order a bun and a cup of broth, and you have a full breakfast to go. It’s a play on the classic coffee-and-bagel combo.

Purdie’s plan is to offer broth and bao from opening until they’re sold out each day, both for guests who order to go and for those who choose to dine in as well.

4. Femininity is in the restaurant’s DNA.

Historically, ramen has had something of a masculine connotation: a filling meal eaten quickly by busy working men, most often prepared by a male ramen chef. Female ramen masters are still relatively few and far between, in Japan and the U.S. alike. By all accounts, Ramen by Ra could be the first Black and female-owned ramen shop not just in the city, but in the entire country.

Instead of suppressing the creative impulses that come from her femininity, though, Purdie is embracing them. For her, presentation is one such thing. She credits her background as a fashion stylist, in part, for her attention to aesthetic detail.

“A lot of things are expressed visually first, and I think that’s where I have the confidence to tell a story,” she notes. “Of how I would want you to feel if you were invited into my home.”

This is reflected in the restaurant’s design: It resembles a home kitchen, with big wooden cabinets lining the walls and a big vase of roses at the end of the bar. It’s not trying to be anything but an expression of her own sensibilities: soft, warm, and inviting.

Make no mistake: Purdie has a deep respect for the history and tradition around ramen. Her interest in ramen caught fire during lockdown, when she spent hours each day studying, reading books, watching documentaries, trying to learn as much as she could. In fact, her greatest inspiration came from seeing the proud few female ramen chefs who have broken the mold.

“I got the confidence through seeing the female chefs in ramen before me, and if I didn’t, I don’t know if I would be here today,” she says. “I hope to do that for whomever is next, whether it’s in ramen or in another field that you might not be comfortable entering because you’re outnumbered.”

Ramen by Ra is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 p.m. to 6 p.m.