Ramen...

There was a new study all over the news this week that states ramen in American prisons, is now replacing the once popular cigarettes as currency.

According to the study's author, Michael Gibson-Light at the University of Arizona School of Sociology, inmates are trying to better feed themselves as many prisons are being defunded.

"Prisoners are so unhappy with the quality and quantity of prison food that they receive that they have begun relying on ramen noodles -- a cheap, durable food product -- as a form of money in the underground economy," he said. "Because it is cheap, tasty, and rich in calories, ramen has become so valuable that it is used to exchange for other goods."

It got us thinking -- instead of instant ramen, go out to your neighborhood shop and support our brick and mortar mom and pop ramen shops, such as Daikokuya, the OG in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo which brings you back to a simpler time decades ago, the newer and organic and sustainable ramen at Ramen Shop in Oakland, or the shops in Boston's popular Porter Square, like Sapporo!