The Ramen Burger, courtesy of the chef’s blog
Hipsters should immediately stop thinking about the Cronut and start searching for the Ramen Burger, if they want to stay on top of the food trends of the minute.
The Ramen Burger – a grilled hamburger that has two fried discs of ramen noodles as a bun and is served with a "secret sauce," arugula and scallions – was an Internet hit even before the first one was sold to the public over the weekend.
The inventor, Keizo Shimamoto, a Tokyo chef who moved to New York, unveiled his creation on the Web and then announced he would be selling 100 of them at a Brooklyn food market on Saturday morning. The enterprising chef also managed to get a spot on Good Morning America before the Saturday launch.
According to reports, there were people lined up in the rain as of 9 a.m. waiting for a Ramen Burger, and it took as long as 90 minutes to be served.
A reporter who waited in line said the concoction "tastes (and mouth-feels) exactly as you would expect: plain ramen, slightly crunchy but mostly soft and noodle-y, sealed together for hand-holding, but then it all comes apart pleasantly in your mouth, a nifty trick; good burger, cooked medium rare, juicy and rich; 'secret sauce' which brings both sweetness and salt to the party."
The Atlantic Wire has rated the burger as a serious challenger to the Cronut (the cross between a croissant and a glazed donut currently taking the food world by storm), based on rankings that examine the five critical factors in a trending food's success: scarcity; the name; how far you have to go to get one; the inventiveness; and how it looks in photos on social media.
The Ramen Burger rated a 36/50, which is good but apparently not as good as the Umami Cronut Burger (40/50). Watch this space...