NEW YORK ¨C Nearly four decades after the first instant ramen factory opened in the United States, Â鶹´«Ã½ beloved comfort food finally is making inroads ¡ª even achieving cult status ¡ª in a nation where burgers and pizza still rule.
Once considered just a bargain meal for cash-starved college students, ramen is suddenly commanding as much as $15 (around ?1,600) or more a bowl in sleek New York noodle shops.
¡°We are living in a ramen moment,¡± said Alan Richman, a GQ magazine food critic who wrote his first ramen review after dining at Ippudo NY. In March, the restaurant became the first branch outside Japan of a highly regarded noodle shop chain.
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