I love how this piece takes for granted your knowledge of the term “soup Nazi” and then takes it from there. Andy explains the Ramen Jiro noodle restaurant in such a way that makes it sound like an initiation rite, an iron man competition, and a heroin den all rolled into one. He describes a world with it’s own logic and rules. It’s almost like science fiction. Like for instance, you have to finish your entire bowl or you will insult the owner, a man who seems to run the place like a prison warden. Or there’s the fact that the first time you eat the pork dish you will become ill, but then after that you will need it every day. It goes to show that good writing can be about anything. It can turn the mundane into the epic, as all good radio should. This is playful and funny… absurd and utterly charming, and would really spice up your food programming.

I liked the feel of this piece, and the topic. There was some overextending to reach the premise that you can learn under pressure from a noodle kitchen, but that's okay. It made for a good piece and I enjoyed the story. These quirky pieces need to go on at the top of ATC or ME more often, in my opinion. I'm glad to see it ran on ATC. Even if you had to trim it down to the core of the piece, it would sound good in a position to remind people that the world isn't all about Iraq and politics, as it so often seems nowadays. There still are noodle kitchens to teach us how to handle pressure.

As a listener, I would like to hear more of these to spice up the day.