Toshio Yamamoto’s website is 15 years old. He’s maintained a website about the food he eats longer than I’ve done almost anything, other than playing the violin and breathing. I was going to post about the site itself, but Boing Boing did a nice job of that. I was going to post about the newspaper article I read about the Boing Boing post about the website, a commentary on how people get information. I was going to post about database technology and databases about food (I still want to do this). But I think I’ll just make a brief note of thanks. So here, as a tribute to the passion and hardwork underlying the longevity of i-ramen.net, is a Food in the Library thank you note, 90’s internet style.
YouTube [link] #61 – Most Subscribed (All Time) – Directors – Japan, Total Upload Views: 6,328,360
Boing Boing post about site [link]
Boing Boing post about the man [link]
Toshio Yamamoto’s website: i-ramen.net
nice.
did you hear ann arbor finally got a noodle bar? they’re doing soba and various other things too. the ramen is (as far as i can tell) hakata style. i’m not the connoisseur that yamamoto is, but i thought the bowl i had, topped with a handful of bite-sized pieces of duck, was pretty tasty: toothsome noodles, rich broth, good amount and balance of garnishes, perfectly cooked egg. one of the options is “buttered corn,” so i’ll have to try that next time.
hope all is well!
oooh. i had not heard that. just found an article. Tomukun Noodle Bar, right? i hope they do well. i wonder when ramen will really take off in the states. it seems the NY Times has a feature on ramen every couple years. do you have any predictions about upcoming food crazes?
i’ve studied too much history to put much stock in predictions…but a few conservative guesses:
-i think people have been too hasty to declare the death of the cupcake, and i really doubt that the whoopie pie is really going to take its place (which an nytimes article a couple of years ago suggested); although the latter may become a little more common, if there is a “next cupcake,” it’s probably the macaron.
-same with bacon–there probably won’t be a “new bacon,” but i think nudja is a rising star for the “foodie” set
-fresh/local/seasonal/sustainable will continue to become more popular, but i don’t know if there’s any one particular trend in there that might stand out. asparagus might continue to grow in popularity? the more people eat fresh, local asparagus, the more they’ll like it. in the foodie set, i’d expect continued fetishism of super-seasonal things like ramps, morels, fiddleheads, garlic scapes, and pea shoots.