by Ezra Powers
I've always liked the South Shore Dive on Main Street in Sayville. The soundtrack is great. The pace is unhurried. The lighting is dim. The staff is friendly. The mellow vibe just adds to the experience.
Once a week they like to shake things up, offering off menu specials you can only get on Thursdays. In the warmer months it was on-site smoked bbq or unlimited mussels. But this deep freeze descending on us, complete with its own bomb cylone, straight up just calls for soup.
As if they read my mind, South Shore Dive recently debuted build your own Ramen on Thursday night. The concept is simple. There are two broths, a mushroom based vegan option and the Dashi Ramen bowl. The Mushroom bowl is served with tofu, and you can throw in an 8 minute egg for a little extra. Both bowls are packed with carrots, snowpeas, shitake mushrooms, and broccoli. Or you can choose to hold the veggies entirely. Every week they switch up the protein choices, from seafood to pork to beef, so that there’s something for everyone who comes out of the cold to give it a try. Week two saw braised ribs and pork belly, and we ordered both.
Head Chef Pedro Morales crafts his miso broth from scratch. It bears mentioning, the pork belly is really delicious. Pork belly is generally soft in ramen but this was crispy but still manages to melt in your mouth. I’ve never had anything like it. The ability to customize the entire dish, creates the possibility of endless combos and the promise that there’s something new to keep coming back for all winter long.
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