Zlog | Booze & Books | Drink Zaddy’s

If you asked us to create a list of our favorite things, visual art and ramen would definitely both be in the top 5 (please don’t ask what the other 3 things are). So it feels extra fitting to spotlight Ramen Forever: An Artist’s Guide to Ramen for the second installment in our Booze & Books series. The stunning almost 300-page tome is an artbook meets cookbook meets anthropological study, showing just how impactful the Japanese noodle dish is to so many different people around the world. From those incarcerated, to kids making themselves an easy dinner, the book truly encapsulates it all—and it’s visually the most fun we’ve had in a while.

Ramen has not only been a classic staple in the Zaddy’s co-founders’ personal lives (Colleen was born in Tokyo so has been eating it since she can remember), but the dish also pairs freakishly well with all three Zaddy’s cocktails, especially the Corpse Reviver (just ask the folks over at Itani Ramen where it’s on the menu).

After discovering Ramen Forever, we had to know more, so we interviewed San Francisco-based artist Yarrow Lazer-Smith a.k.a Yarrow Slaps, who curated and produced the epic “illustrated love letter to ramen.” Keep reading to see what he’s dishing out about the project.

What’s your own personal relationship to ramen? What inspired you to create this book?

I always used to curate shows after food. We did one called “cajun rice” “jumbo prawns” “Champagne” and always had a thought to do something based around an Asian cuisine. It ended up becoming ramen. After going to Green Apple Books to see what my homie Justin Hager did in a munchies cookbook, I started thinking….

I was plowing through cookbooks and I just kept thinking where is the art? A book called Fat Rice stood out as an inspiration and then it dawned on me, there is a lane for a project like this. Ramen Forever is like the biggest art show I’ve ever curated, it’s just on paper. Since then I’ve found myself buying books, even though I don’t often get to read them. I just know now, how much goes into it, and how good of a deal you’re getting.

All Images courtesy of ramenforever.com

Can you talk about your process? Did you go to Japan at all? If so, what was your experience like there?

I went to Japan in April 2019. I had been once before to visit my uncle and cousins in Shikoku. I was only like 8 years old though. So I wanted to see Japan as an adult. Not going to Japan for ramen is like not going to New York for hip hop. Things evolve but it’s nice to go to the epicenters of creativity. Technically, Ramen started in China but the Japanese truly made it its own thing. Japan was a memorable blur =) I went with my friend Kamani and Kristen and we hit like 7 cities and South Korea in 2 weeks.

There are so many amazing contributors in Ramen Forever. Did you already have an idea of who you wanted to collaborate with for this project? How did you choose which artists to reach out to?

I usually show the same artists over and over, cus I believe in them and want them to keep doing well. So I hit up all my usual suspects. I then ended up reaching out to 100s, maybe 1000s, of folks for this project though. It was cool to see how many different variations of art can come from the same concept. It’s not always what has been done, but how you do it.

What’s your go-to Bay Area ramen spot?

MENSHO lol but if not mensho, Ramen Shop, Orenchi Beyond, and Nojo are pretty solid.

If you could only get one flavor of ramen again for the rest of your life, and you have to pair it with one Zaddy’s drink, what’s it gonna be (i.e. tonkatsu and Corpse Reviver)?

Damnnnnn, hmmmmm I can’t really eat the ramen I love the most cus of how rich it is. But I like to add a ton of toppings to a nice creamy vegan one, Venice Ramen in LA might be one of the ones! Mensho, Noodle Bar, Japan, oh and back to LA there’s this fancy ramen spot in Beverly Hills that was real good……….. But with the purple zaddys of course.

Was there any story in particular, or something you learned from your interviews/ research that truly blew your mind?

Ramen Beast put it down like this: in Tokyo, you could go to a ramen shop everyday, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for the rest of your life and still not be able to try every one. And this is just Tokyo. You for sure could try everyone in the Bay Area, but Japan is so filled and saturated with Ramen, it felt smart to keep it mostly USA.

What’s something you hope people definitely take away from this book?

I hope they will just appreciate it as something special. You don’t have to even try one recipe or anything, just cherish it lol. Collaborate with people you like in the book and to go for whatever ideas you got. One of the main laws with ideas and manifestations, is seeing them through to the end.