Hampton Roads, VARamen

Coastal Virginia Magazine's Global Eats survey put Alkaline on Norfolk's map for ramen and Japanese comfort cooking. The spot on West 21st Street pairs its bowls with okonomiyaki, the savory griddled pancake that rarely shows up on area menus. That combination is what sets the order here. Go for a bowl of ramen and split an okonomiyaki across the table.

Misako Asian Cuisine drew a Global Eats nod from Coastal Virginia Magazine for its tonkotsu, the long-simmered pork-bone ramen. Sitting on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, it works a broader Asian menu, but the tonkotsu bowl is the plate the magazine flagged. Order it rich and let the broth carry the meal. A convenient ramen stop on the Beach's north end.

Coastal Virginia Magazine's Global Eats coverage highlighted Ichran Japanese Ramen for its pork tonkatsu ramen, a fried-cutlet bowl that layers crunch over broth and noodles. The Norfolk shop keeps the focus on Japanese ramen and rice plates. If you want a bowl with a bit more heft than a standard tonkotsu, the tonkatsu version is the reason the magazine named it.

Kappo Nara Ramen appears in Coastal Virginia Magazine's Global Eats roundup with locations in Norfolk and Virginia Beach; this entry is the Norfolk room in Ghent. The kitchen works the ramen-bar format, building bowls to order alongside Japanese small plates. It rounds out a metro ramen scene the magazine treated as genuinely deep. A solid Ghent choice when you want noodles close to downtown.