momofuku ando

The inventor of ramen noodles has died. Who in the U.S. (and throughout Asia, apparently) hasn't tried ramen noodles? A hot lunch for twenty cents. The cheap(er) brands surely must be the most godawful food products on the market, with their pasty consistency, total absence of flavor, and massive amount of salt. Who would have thought you could get a third of your daily recommended fat and salt in about 150 calories?

The slightly more expensive Asian brands, while no healthier, taste a bit better. "Mama Noodles" were a staple when I was in the high school seminary. About half the student body consisted of kids from Vietnam who hated the American food served at the school--it was pretty bad--and filled their lockers with cases and cases of Mama noodles. I can remember when food in the cafeteria got particularly awful (inexplicably, the hot dogs were green), kids would pay up to a buck for a package of Mama noodles. Enterprising seminarians stocked lockers full of Mama noodles and Marlboro Lights and made a killing, in fact.