Brooklyn’s Got A New Hybrid Trend Food, And It’s Not The Cronut
- Facebook/Ramen Burger
Now that Dunkin Donuts has (hopefully, but probably not) put an end to the cronut’s moment in the sun, the natural response is to search for something, anything to fill the void. After all the hype it garnered last week, before anyone had ever even eaten it—and after the accordingly long lines at this weekend’s Smorgasburg—it seems that the Ramen Burger is it.
Now, in all fairness, there’s a long line for everything at Smorgasburg, and chef Keizo Shimamoto announced ahead of time that there’d only be 150 burgers on hand this weekend, so it was pretty much guaranteed that a lot of people would be standing around waiting for this. Still, given reports that over 50 people lined up in the pouring rain before the place was even open, a number that eventually ballooned to 500 hundred (and waits of up to two hours), seems like there’s a pretty massive built-in audience for beef patties tucked between slabs of fried ramen.
Which, all things considered, doesn’t seem so bad. Generally speaking, I’d rather eat a weird burger than a weird pastry, even if some questions still loom about the firmness of the ramen here (and suggested eating methods)—a bun that falls apart in your hands sort of defeats the entire utility of sandwiching food between pieces of absorbent carbohydrates, after all. Still, I’m willing to be convinced, and willing to pay attention to this until someone comes up with a solid hybrid name for this fancy, greasy new sandwich.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.