5 styles of ramen you've never seen before

Yuji Haraguchi holding up ramen
Andrew Zimmer
Andrew Zimmer

Anyone who has ever been to college, Japan, or upscale New York grocery stores knows that ramen is the most delicious food on the planet. Sorry, pizza, Mexican food, and that kind of spicy snack stick that comes in good bar mix. And as ramen's popularity increases around the world, so do innovations. Take a look at five of the craziest ways people have made ramen even more awesome:

Cucharealo Top Ramen
TheRamenRater.com

Ramen Innovation: Cucharealo Top RamenWhy Is This Awesome? Named one of the top 10 instant noodles by ramen connoisseur TheRamenRater.com, this combines everything you love about Mexican food (700mg of salt per serving!), and a little bit of heat (chili powder, cumin), with the Japanese classic. He even added fried eggs and shredded cheese to the mix, which sounds genius to us.

"snow viewing" ramen
RocketNews24.com

Ramen Innovation: "Snow Viewing" Ramen
Why Is This Awesome? You'd have to venture about 4hrs outside of Tokyo to find this ramen covered in a huge pile of cocaine meringue. Strangely, the article doesn't say how it tastes. But since meringue is just egg whites and sugar, and eggs are awesome in ramen, we're going to say this probably tastes great.

sapporo beer bacon miso ramen from East Side King at Hole In The Wall
Dan Gentile

Ramen Innovation: Sapporo Beer Bacon Miso Ramen
Why Is This Awesome? Head to Austin for this beaut from East Side King at Hole In The Wall. It's a dish dreamed up by Top Chef winner Paul Qui and a pal. It's also worth checking out other dishes from this awesome spot.

the ramen burger from Smorgasburg
Andrew Zimmer

Ramen Innovation: The Ramen Burger
Why Is This Awesome? You'll have to wait in line for this puppy in Brooklyn, but it might be worth it. The burger patty's topped with a "sweet, savory sauce", and it's sandwiched between two golden-brown "buns" of noodles. It's never been so worth it to indulge in one of the seven deadly sins. Gluttony, not prostitution.

ravioli ramen at Yuji Ramen
Andrew Zimmer

Ramen Innovation: Ravioli Ramen
Why Is This Awesome? Operating out of a Whole Foods in New York City, genius Chef Yuji Haraguchi's turning ramen into a whole host of otherworldly creations, but none more amazing than taking ramen noodle dough, making them into ravioli shapes, and stuffing them with everything from uni to pureed monkfish liver to whatever the heck he wants. Seats are hard to come by, so we're guessing whatever he makes, it tastes great.