As a broke college student, I ate plenty of the cheap version of ramen, full of salt and chemicals, but fast and simple. I had no clue that ramen was actually a highbrow food item until I moved to New York, but this year it has been hard to miss. When foodies weren’t chasing down cronuts, they went wild for chef Keizo Shimamoto’s ramen burger at Williamsburg’s Smorgasburg or Ivan Orkin, the Jewish chef from Long Island who electrified Tokyo with his rye-infused ramen, came home to open the Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop at Gotham West Market and just published his memoir/cookbook. Mr. Shimamoto’s over-the-top snack features a noodle bun and flavors such as the limited-edition miso pimento cheese. Tonight’s discussion on “the ramen burger effect” finds Mr. Shimamoto in conversation with Kenshiro Uki of Sun Noodle (the brand used for the ramen burger patties), moderated by filmmaker Michael McAteer, director of the documentary Ramen Dreams. Is your mouth watering yet? Good. There’s a tasting reception following their talk on ramen’s “delicious ascent to the top of the social media food pyramid.”
Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, 212-288-6400, 6:30 p.m., $10 (members), $12 (students/seniors), $15 (nonmembers)
