I love ramen

I check the Mainichi Shimbun Web site almost every day. It's a Japanese newspaper that has an English edition.

There's a story about how ramn has become the food of the moment in New York City. The link is http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/features/news/20080702p2g00m0fe005000c.html

When I was in Japan in 1992, I ate ramen at a different ramenya (ramen store) almost every day. And I'd buy different instant ramen at grocery stores and sometimes eat them at night.

I didn't eat as much ramen during my 1998 visit, and even fewer times this last time.

It's my favorite dish in the whole world. When I tell people that, they look at me funny. That's because most of you only know the ramen you find in American grocery stores. A real bowl of rame in a ramenya is a whole different story.

I keep telling my mother that maybe I'll open a ramen shop downtown when I retired from the Ledger-Enquirer.

That's just too much work. I'll wait for someone else to open up a Japanese noodle shop. But I'm warning you now: It better be good.