My Writing
Grub Street — February 12th, 2020
The Absolute Best Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup in New York
Nothing is quite as comforting and fortifying as a bowl of noodle soup. And niu rou mian, or Taiwanese beef noodle soup, brimming with chunks of long-simmered beef and noodles in a savory broth, is among the most comforting and fortifying.
Grub Street — January 8th, 2020
The Absolute Best Momos in New York
The juicy Himalayan dumplings called momo make an excellent introduction to the cuisines of Tibet and Nepal, and can be found in great profusion and variety throughout Jackson Heights, Woodside, and Elmhurst, where many expats reside.
Grub Street — October 23rd, 2019
The Absolute Best Street Food in Queens
Here, a globetrotting list of the mighty borough’s absolute best street food from old-school Greek meat on a stick to Tijuana-style beef birria.
Eater New York — August 1st, 2017
Flushing Hawker Stand Launches Dim Sum Favorite to Next Level
There are many other places that offer chang fen, as it’s known in Cantonese, but no restaurant make rice rolls quite like Rong does at his stand, counter, and storefront in Flushing.
Eater New York — March 6th, 2017
The Biggest Lamb Skewer In New York Feeds Five People
Kao yang tui is technically a skewer, albeit a gargantuan one. Order it and you and your eating posse—and you’ll need one—will each receive absurdly long utensils, which include a fork and knife as long as a forearm.
Xtreme Foodies — June 24th, 2015
4 Essential New York Falafels
New York City is a mecca for this Mid-Eastern specialty. The first time I ate falafel it was formed by the hands of one Mamoun Chater, a Syrian immigrant whose West Village hole-in-the-wall near New York University lays claim to being the first of its kind in New York City.
Serious Eats — March 26th, 2014
The 10 Commandments of Adventurous Eating
I've been fortunate enough to show off the borough to everyone who'll listen, from hungry tourists to luminaries like Andrew Zimmern, Anthony Bourdain, and Fuchsia Dunlop. And along the way I've codified some rules for how best to eat adventurously.
Serious Eats — November 6th, 2013
How I Learned to Stop Ordering 'Thai Spicy'
I don't remember the first time I ordered food "Thai spicy," but I certainly remember the last.
Serious Eats — August 26th, 2014
More Than Málà: A Deeper Introduction to Sichuan Cuisine
In the Chinese restaurants of my teens, this cuisine was always spelled Szechuan, and málà, the combination of fiery chili peppers and tingly Sichuan peppercorns, was wholly absent.
Serious Eats — October 15th, 2014
The Secrets of Cantonese Cooking, America's First Chinese Cuisine
Regular trips with my parents to New York City's Chinatown were a major part of my culinary education as a child. One of my earliest and most cherished food memories isn't about my father's Italian cooking; it's being hoisted up to steamy window to ogle glistening hunks of char siu.