Chefs Zama Tanaka and Chris Paulikas knew exactly which demographic they were targeting while brainstorming the concept and menu for Ramen Sundays. Located on Chestnut Street in the University City section of Philadelphia, CoZara (which means “small plates” in Japanese) hopes to give Ramen noodles a different reputation among college students and diners alike. In addition to their regular Sunday menu, CoZara will be offering several ramen-focused items that sound almost too good to be true.
Ramen Burger
This burger starts out with 8 oz. of ground beef mixed with scallions and a light soy sauce. This burger sits atop a bun that’s made with egg ramen noodles and mixed with egg and ramen soup, then pan-fried to form the bun. Top this burger with gruyere cheese, a sunny side up egg, togarashi, spicy Japanese mustard/mayo, pickled cucumber, arugula, red onion and ginger ketchup.
Mazemen-Bacon
CoZara is the first restaurant to serve this dish in the Philadelphia region. This noodle dish is traditionally served with a ramen noodle and soy sauce base, crispy bacon, bacon fat, scallions, a poached egg and Kizami nori (shredded seaweed).
Mazemen-Mushroom
This dish also begins with a ramen noodle and soy sauce base. It integrates three different types of mushrooms: shitake, maitake and enoki. The dish is then finished in a truffle creme sauce with shaved parmesan on top.
Pork Tonkatsu Sando
Like the Ramen Burger, this sandwich also sits atop a bun made from mixing ramen soup, noodles and egg and then deep frying. Insert a succulent panko-crusted pork loin, hoisin tonkatsu sauce, spring mix, pickled vegetables, red onion and tomato and top it with spicy Japanese mustard/mayo.
Look for CoZara at 3200 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.
- Photography: CoZara
