Nice article about ramen from The Register Guard in Eugene, OR. They talk about how true ramen is starting to replace the old notion of the dried stuff you get for cheap at Costco. I happen to really like both types… the real kind is amazing in taste when done right at a restaurant and the cheap junk is amazing in what it can save you. Theoretically, you could subsist on a meal of instant ramen all the way through the week. I think several people have even wrote books on that method of eating cheap. Here is a quote from the article:

Long seen as the cornerstone of the American college diet, ramen is finally starting to gain some respect as American diners realize something the Japanese have long known: Instant ramen is not the same as ramen … In Japan, chefs at ramenyas (tiny ramen shops) cook up fresh, springy noodles and add them to savory stocks made from pork, chicken, seafood and kelp.

Soups are seasoned with soy sauce, miso, pork or salt broths and topped with egg, pork loin, fish cake, bamboo shoots, scallions and mushrooms.

Near where I live in Southern California, there’s a billion ramen places already but I think I take that for granted. In any case, one thing about Japanese Restaurants is that they are EXPENSIVE. Ramen can run you $8! Sometimes lunch specials are cheaper at $4-6. Although to give ramen credit, it’s often one of the cheaper things on the menu. But in general, this is definitely the opposite of Cheap Eats. So, the only thing to do is make it at home. To get anything near the quality of the restaurants is tough, because it involves all this broth. You’ll be tempted to revert back to your ten cent bricks of dried ramen! I’ll try put up an article on how to make semi-real ramen at home later on. Till then the scores are split:

(In a Japanese Restaurant) Cheap Eats Score: 3/10
(At home Ramen Brick) Cheap Eats Score: 9/10

Source:
The Register Guard
Ramen Gets Respect: The Japanese Dish, Not The Instant Noodles, Slowly Gains A Following