At the pace I’m writing these days, I’ll be posting my 2015 “Year in Delicious” retrospective sometime in early spring. So it goes… Onward!

Following Chop Stick Nation, The Astronomer, June, and I drove to New York City for our first official family vacation. Traveling with June, 10 months old at the time, was pretty great because she was starting to take in her surroundings and appreciate little adventures, especially culinary ones.

For our first meal in the city, we headed to Ivan Ramen for a late lunch. Ivan Orkin, a self-described “Jewish kid from Long Island,” made a name for himself in Japan prior to opening two outlets in New York. We had the restaurant all to ourselves at this hour.

Before noodle slurping commenced, The Astronomer and I shared two starters. The L.E.S. Bun ($11) paid homage to the restaurant’s neighborhood (the Lower East Side), stuffing pastrami in between steamed buns with karashi mayo and a daikon slaw.

While the bun was plush and the pastrami well-seasoned, the mustard-infused mayo was sinus-clearingly potent and unfortunately dominated every bite. (more…)