Ate raamen the other day that left a bit to be desired. It felt old and grumpy, if you know what I mean. I won't mention the name of the place because a) you may never be in the area and b) finding a bad raamen shop is half the joy of finding good raamen shops.
One reason it felt old was that the shop only sold one kind of raamen, which is getting to be more common. In the last oh, five - six years raamen shops have been 'specializing' in a single type of raamen: miso, shio, or Hakata raamen for example. This is making for pretty boring shops. No variety.
America is tilting in that direction: uni- everything. One language, one religion, one political thought. I live in a country that is all that plus one basic ethnic group. It can be, and this is a warning America, extremely booooooooooring. Whenever I trip back to the States I enjoy the cacophony of languages and ideas. It feels vibrant and alive. It feels great. It feels like a symphony of the world! But if your less-than open-minded politicians have their way we will all be humming the same tune at the same time of the day. They will consider this a 'good' thing. I consider it the death of America.
If you don't want a boring raamen shop specializing in miso raamen, then you've got to encourage diversity where and when you can. I, personally, like my miso mixed up with my shio raamen bowls. My Hakata nestled next to my Sapporo. My TopRaamen snuggling upagainst the Nissin.
One reason it felt old was that the shop only sold one kind of raamen, which is getting to be more common. In the last oh, five - six years raamen shops have been 'specializing' in a single type of raamen: miso, shio, or Hakata raamen for example. This is making for pretty boring shops. No variety.
America is tilting in that direction: uni- everything. One language, one religion, one political thought. I live in a country that is all that plus one basic ethnic group. It can be, and this is a warning America, extremely booooooooooring. Whenever I trip back to the States I enjoy the cacophony of languages and ideas. It feels vibrant and alive. It feels great. It feels like a symphony of the world! But if your less-than open-minded politicians have their way we will all be humming the same tune at the same time of the day. They will consider this a 'good' thing. I consider it the death of America.
If you don't want a boring raamen shop specializing in miso raamen, then you've got to encourage diversity where and when you can. I, personally, like my miso mixed up with my shio raamen bowls. My Hakata nestled next to my Sapporo. My TopRaamen snuggling upagainst the Nissin.
Keep the Raamen Open
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