Lingbo Li
Scallion, bacon, egg, and Sriracha pizza pie
For those of you that expressed interest (i.e. the inimitable MyInnerFatty), here’s my scallion pie from a few entries back that I never posted a photo of.
The Sriracha is cleverly mixed with crushed San Marzano tomatoes as sauce. That was kind of the whole point of the pizza.
All kinds of massive pizzafail after the jump. No, I don’t pretend I’m a professional pizza maker…
I’m not dead, I’m working hard
[All photos by Sam]
So I’ve been slightly AWOL, but not really – I’ve been working hard. Really hard. Like eating Flushing’s food courts several times over and conjuring up the last remnants of Chinese I remember. (It’s like trying to squeeze positivity from Bourdain’s heart…)
Me and my new Canon baby. I just want the best for her - like a legacy admission to Harvard in 18 years.
Let me give you one tip while I finish up my mega-mammoth post for Serious Eats: this baller bowl of Henanese lamb noodle soup, the last restaurant on your right on the top floor of the Golden Shopping Mall at 41-28 Main Street, Flushing, NY.
The noodles are hand-pulled and flavorful and the broth puts up a surprisingly stiff competition – even the chili oil lover in me couldn’t bear to dilute it.
Gluttony as Work: Interning at Serious Eats
[For Joanne Yao who requested a post about what it’s like to work at Serious Eats on my call for blog entries]
Working at Serious Eats is, pardon my pun, serious business.
What are aren’t paid in wages we’re more than compensated for in amazing food – the creme de la creme of what New York can offer. I’ve sampled NYC’s top 7 falafel sandwiches, 11 bowls of the best Taiwanese shaved ice, and countless sandwiches.
Whenever editors travel, they tend to bring back regional specialties – chess pie from Kentucky, cheesy bread from Brazil, candied jalapenos from a food fair. They’re all fantastically nerdy about food and generous with their knowledge.
Ed Levine, Serious Eats Overlord, surveying the cupcake spread in his “Phat Beets” tee. Because of his diet, he (wisely) opted out of the tasting.
A typical day at work might begin with a bag of peanut brittle on the table, courtesy of the manager’s mother. Maybe an intern made a pizza; I munch on one slice, then another. Around lunch, the UPS guy comes with a delivery; or maybe it’s a PR person dropping off some lobster rolls – free rein on that. Finally, in the afternoon, an intern runs out and comes back with 2-3 sandwiches for our “Sandwich a Day” feature and I saw them up into bite size pieces. They disappear. If you’re still hungry, there are 8 bags of potato chips in the cabinet from a kettle-cooked chip tasting organized by intern Aaron Mattis awhile back. Maybe Adam Kuban left pizza in the fridge. And don’t forget the bag of frozen Sushi Poppers in the freezer, ready for defrosting. Although no one except me has touched those.
Then there are regular tastings: the best hot dog, best American cheese, etc. The photos in this entry from the Best Cupcake in New York tasting organized by super badass fellow intern Leah Douglas. Leading up to last Friday’s cupcake tasting was sampling treats from dozens of bakeries.
Yep, Magnolia got unceremoniously cut early. Crumbs crumbled. I developed a bizarrely discerning palate.
And as far as what I actually end up writing about is mostly due to whatever I dream up. The idea of eating a butt-ton of shaved ice was my own beany, beany idea. Carey, the NY editor, gave me a go-ahead on a Flushing food court roundup, so off I went on the LIRR toting my new DSLR.
(My new life insight: the difference between an eccentric Asian girl snapping food photos and a journalist? A proper camera.)
Ed and Melissa from Cupcakes Take the Cake shaking hands over the cupcakes. I call this photo “The Treaty of 2010 Cupcakes.”
More photos of our epic cupcake tasting after the jump.
M&T Restaurant in Flushing, NY: a Tsingtao in Qingdao
While in Beijing, I briefly fantasized about taking the train to Qingdao. I knew little about the area, except that it is the home of the eponymous TsingTao beer. (Same name, different romanization system.) There was a beer festival going on, and for some reason, I imagined a malt-hued scene of splendor: TsingTao-branded palaces, wheat-colored fountains, doe-eyed promo models.
A tall, cold one. (all photos by Sam)
I never made it onto the train, opting for lazy afternoons of shopping in the tourist trap of Beijing’s Ya Xiu market. I dropped thousands of RMB thanks to ineffectual bargaining while my culture-shocked nerves were worn down to an irritable jelly. Thankfully, my second chance at travel — a stateside jaunt to Qingdao in the form of a meal at M&T in Flushing — was more pleasant.
My fellow food-loving friend Sam (who wrote about Chinese food and photographed a Seattle food tour) did his Flushing research, so we set off on a heatstroked Sunday to M&T (44-09 Kissena Blvd, (718) 539-4100) for some good eats. As we trekked past Main Street – way past Main Street – my strappy platform espadrilles cut into the lumps of battered flesh called feet.
I wished I were a 5 year old in a carseat. “Are we there yet?” I asked.
“Almost!” Sam replied, in his perpetually cheery kind of way.
We were greeted by the friendly proprietoress who, impressed by Sam’s ability to speak fluent Chinese (no one is ever impressed by my Chinese), helpfully suggested “比较传统青岛菜” (rather traditional Qingdao dishes).
Sam’s awesome pics of our meal after the jump.
A Seattle Restaurant Guide
A Seattle cocktail
Have you been to Seattle? I sure haven’t, but my food-loving friend Sam has. (Sam frequently appears on my blog as an eating companion or contributor – he penned a great essay on why Chinese food is so cheap.)
In addition to being an enthusiastic eater and Chowhounder, he’s a great photographer as well. Sam kindly agreed to let me post his stunning Seattle food photos so that you, too, can do some cross-country travel from the comfort of your torn underwear and desk covered in stale Cheetos.
A recent trip to Seattle took Sam and his camera to many restaurants, including Canlis, an ultra-luxe venue nestled into a hillside; Henry’s Taiwan and the Kawali Grill, humble ethnic eateries in inexpensive neighborhoods; Long Provincial, an upscale Vietnamese restaurant open-late downtown; the Lunchbox Laboratory, a completely unique burger joint; and finally Harvest Vine, a very swank tapas place.
A parade of gorgeous photos after the jump.
Lana Lingbo Li
I'm a world traveler / enthusiastic eater who's now blogging and producing videos over at HelloLana.com. Visit me there!
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