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"bio": "Paloma Yaritza Abarca is a Live Event Producer and Digital Creator for KQED Live, our multiplatform live events program. She focuses on amplifying LGBTQIA and BIPOC voices and developing opportunities to showcase the diversity of the Bay's culture and history. She's produced three successful Latinx events: Hella Caffeinated con Pan, The Special: Vegan Food con Sazón, and Reclaiming Curanderismo, and was previously the Latinx Engagement Producer with KQED's Audience Development team. Paloma was a writer and Lead Content Specialist for the Dance Music Media and News company, EDM Maniac, has produced stories for KALW's award-winning news magazine Crosscurrents, and ran San Francisco State's events venue, The Depot.",
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"title": "For Filipino Americans, There’s No Color More Delicious Than Ube Purple",
"headTitle": "For Filipino Americans, There’s No Color More Delicious Than Ube Purple | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912048\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1258px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912048\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes.jpeg\" alt=\"A box of purple ube baked treats from Buko Bakes\" width=\"1258\" height=\"1128\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes.jpeg 1258w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes-800x717.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes-1020x915.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes-160x143.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes-768x689.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1258px) 100vw, 1258px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A box of assorted ube treats from San Francisco’s Buko Bakes—one of 23 vendors who will be on hand at this year’s Yum Yams festival. \u003ccite>(Buko Bakes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Gemma Ballesteros opened her Filipino bakery \u003ca href=\"https://www.marleystreats.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marley’s Treats\u003c/a> 11 years ago, she says, her ube-flavored cupcakes weren’t especially popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sure, ube was a nostalgic taste for Filipino Americans. But influencers hadn’t yet given the purple sweet potatoes the title of world’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2016/09/123743/ube-instagram\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">most Instagrammable food\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And they certainly hadn’t yet become such a sensation here in Northern California that event planners would be inspired to organize not one, not two, but \u003ci>three\u003c/i> separate ube festivals on consecutive weekends. Literally.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just became a craze,” says Ballesteros. It’s not for nothing that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/marleystreats/?hl=en\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">branding for her Hayward bakery\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> leans \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">hard\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> into ube’s distinctive bright purple hue, which itself has become a marker of cultural pride and identity for many Bay Area Filipinos.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s against this backdrop that Kapwa Gardens, the SoMa Filipino cultural district’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895671/somas-kapwa-gardens-offer-a-lush-space-for-community-growth\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">new outdoor event space\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, hosts the venue’s second annual “celebration of all things ube,” \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kapwagardens.com/events/yum-yams-2022\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yum Yams\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, on Saturday, April 23. This year, 23 different vendors will be decked out in their finest bright-purple regalia, spread between Kapwa’s main courtyard and an adjacent alleyway (dubbed “Ube Alley”). In addition to the usual array of halo-halos and ube cookies, doughnuts and ice creams, a number of savory options will be on hand: ube on a hot dog, or as part of the most Filipino American of fusion plates—\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/COhGFwlD3PR/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">chicken lumpia with ube waffles\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. If you have someone in your life who’d kill for a pair of ube-themed earrings, this is your kind of food festival.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">(We might as well go ahead and designate April as National Ube Month while we’re at it: Yum Yams comes on the heels of this past weekend’s equally stacked \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CcYUr1OJ1Vk/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ube Festival\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Tracy. And, for the truly dedicated ube superfan, it’ll serve as warm-up for next weekend’s (unrelated) \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/district-six-presents-ube-fest-2022-tickets-293528801547\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ube Fest\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at San Francisco’s District Six.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912051\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1242px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912051\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats.jpeg\" alt=\"Two ube cupcakes, ube pandesals and ube flan cheesecakes, against a white background.\" width=\"1242\" height=\"1235\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats.jpeg 1242w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats-800x795.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats-1020x1014.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats-160x159.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats-768x764.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1242px) 100vw, 1242px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ube cupcakes, “flandesals” and ube flan cheesecakes—all from Hayward-based Marley’s Treats, where the ube desserts are by far the most popular items. \u003ccite>(Marley's Treats)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kapwa Gardens general manager Marissa Macayan acknowledges that there’s a certain trendiness to the current ube craze—that the purple tuber is “really in its time right now.” At the same time, she stresses \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kapwagardens.com/blog/more-than-a-trend-the-history-of-ube?mc_cid=9f93382763&mc_eid=UNIQID\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ube’s cultural significance for Filipinos\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> across generations. “If you grew up eating halo-halo, you’re going to feel some kind of way when you have your first bite of [an ube dessert],” Macayan says. For her, anything ube-flavored always conjures up memories of having shaved ice with her family during the summertime. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13911775,arts_13906834,arts_13901303']Likewise, Ballesteros of Marley’s Treats says one of her foundational food memories is of eating ube halaya—a sweet jam—spread on toast. “It’s what my grandma gave me for breakfast,” she says. Now, Ballesteros says, her ube-flavored treats are by far the most popular items at the Hayward bakery and its affiliated food truck, which combined sell everything from ube flan cheesecake to ube “flandesal” (an ube-filled version of the sweet roll known as pandesal) to spicy ube ice cream—all on offer at Saturday’s Yum Yams event.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And even as popular as ube has gotten in recent years, Ballesteros says she still gets a kick out of the moment when a customer comes into her bakery and, drawn in by the eye-catching purple color, tries an ube-flavored treat for the very first time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s a cool way to learn about other cultures—a way to tell a story,” say Kapwa Garden’s Macayan about the Bay Area’s ube renaissance. “For Filipinos, a lot of how we share our culture is through our cuisine.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kapwagardens.com/events/yum-yams-2022\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yum Yams\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> takes place at Kapwa Gardens (967 Mission St., San Francisco) on Saturday, April 23, from noon–5 pm. Tickets are $5, which include a $4 voucher that can be used at any vendor. Buying tickets in advance is highly recommended as the event is expected to sell out.\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912048\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1258px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912048\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes.jpeg\" alt=\"A box of purple ube baked treats from Buko Bakes\" width=\"1258\" height=\"1128\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes.jpeg 1258w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes-800x717.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes-1020x915.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes-160x143.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/yumyams_bukobakes-768x689.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1258px) 100vw, 1258px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A box of assorted ube treats from San Francisco’s Buko Bakes—one of 23 vendors who will be on hand at this year’s Yum Yams festival. \u003ccite>(Buko Bakes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Gemma Ballesteros opened her Filipino bakery \u003ca href=\"https://www.marleystreats.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marley’s Treats\u003c/a> 11 years ago, she says, her ube-flavored cupcakes weren’t especially popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sure, ube was a nostalgic taste for Filipino Americans. But influencers hadn’t yet given the purple sweet potatoes the title of world’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2016/09/123743/ube-instagram\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">most Instagrammable food\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And they certainly hadn’t yet become such a sensation here in Northern California that event planners would be inspired to organize not one, not two, but \u003ci>three\u003c/i> separate ube festivals on consecutive weekends. Literally.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just became a craze,” says Ballesteros. It’s not for nothing that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/marleystreats/?hl=en\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">branding for her Hayward bakery\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> leans \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">hard\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> into ube’s distinctive bright purple hue, which itself has become a marker of cultural pride and identity for many Bay Area Filipinos.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s against this backdrop that Kapwa Gardens, the SoMa Filipino cultural district’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895671/somas-kapwa-gardens-offer-a-lush-space-for-community-growth\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">new outdoor event space\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, hosts the venue’s second annual “celebration of all things ube,” \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kapwagardens.com/events/yum-yams-2022\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yum Yams\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, on Saturday, April 23. This year, 23 different vendors will be decked out in their finest bright-purple regalia, spread between Kapwa’s main courtyard and an adjacent alleyway (dubbed “Ube Alley”). In addition to the usual array of halo-halos and ube cookies, doughnuts and ice creams, a number of savory options will be on hand: ube on a hot dog, or as part of the most Filipino American of fusion plates—\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/COhGFwlD3PR/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">chicken lumpia with ube waffles\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. If you have someone in your life who’d kill for a pair of ube-themed earrings, this is your kind of food festival.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">(We might as well go ahead and designate April as National Ube Month while we’re at it: Yum Yams comes on the heels of this past weekend’s equally stacked \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CcYUr1OJ1Vk/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ube Festival\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Tracy. And, for the truly dedicated ube superfan, it’ll serve as warm-up for next weekend’s (unrelated) \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/district-six-presents-ube-fest-2022-tickets-293528801547\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ube Fest\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at San Francisco’s District Six.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912051\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1242px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912051\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats.jpeg\" alt=\"Two ube cupcakes, ube pandesals and ube flan cheesecakes, against a white background.\" width=\"1242\" height=\"1235\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats.jpeg 1242w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats-800x795.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats-1020x1014.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats-160x159.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/MarleysTreats-768x764.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1242px) 100vw, 1242px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ube cupcakes, “flandesals” and ube flan cheesecakes—all from Hayward-based Marley’s Treats, where the ube desserts are by far the most popular items. \u003ccite>(Marley's Treats)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kapwa Gardens general manager Marissa Macayan acknowledges that there’s a certain trendiness to the current ube craze—that the purple tuber is “really in its time right now.” At the same time, she stresses \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kapwagardens.com/blog/more-than-a-trend-the-history-of-ube?mc_cid=9f93382763&mc_eid=UNIQID\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ube’s cultural significance for Filipinos\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> across generations. “If you grew up eating halo-halo, you’re going to feel some kind of way when you have your first bite of [an ube dessert],” Macayan says. For her, anything ube-flavored always conjures up memories of having shaved ice with her family during the summertime. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Likewise, Ballesteros of Marley’s Treats says one of her foundational food memories is of eating ube halaya—a sweet jam—spread on toast. “It’s what my grandma gave me for breakfast,” she says. Now, Ballesteros says, her ube-flavored treats are by far the most popular items at the Hayward bakery and its affiliated food truck, which combined sell everything from ube flan cheesecake to ube “flandesal” (an ube-filled version of the sweet roll known as pandesal) to spicy ube ice cream—all on offer at Saturday’s Yum Yams event.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And even as popular as ube has gotten in recent years, Ballesteros says she still gets a kick out of the moment when a customer comes into her bakery and, drawn in by the eye-catching purple color, tries an ube-flavored treat for the very first time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s a cool way to learn about other cultures—a way to tell a story,” say Kapwa Garden’s Macayan about the Bay Area’s ube renaissance. “For Filipinos, a lot of how we share our culture is through our cuisine.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kapwagardens.com/events/yum-yams-2022\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yum Yams\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> takes place at Kapwa Gardens (967 Mission St., San Francisco) on Saturday, April 23, from noon–5 pm. Tickets are $5, which include a $4 voucher that can be used at any vendor. Buying tickets in advance is highly recommended as the event is expected to sell out.\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "This 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'-Inspired Almond Cookie is Made in Oakland",
"headTitle": "This ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’-Inspired Almond Cookie is Made in Oakland | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911781\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13911781\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-800x728.jpg\" alt=\"Annie's T Cakes founder Annie Wang poses for a photo with actress Michelle Yeoh, who holds an almond cookie that Wang baked.\" width=\"800\" height=\"728\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-800x728.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-1020x928.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-160x146.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-768x699.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-1536x1397.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-2048x1863.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-1920x1747.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie’s T Cakes founder Annie Wang poses with global icon Michelle Yeoh. \u003ccite>(Jeffrey Lin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s one to check off the bucket list: Baking cookies for global icon Michelle Yeoh. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That was the opportunity that presented itself last month to Oakland’s Annie Wang, of the vegan home bakery \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.anniestcakes.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Annie’s T Cakes\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, when Yeoh was in San Francisco for a pre-screening of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Everything Everywhere All at Once\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The film stars Yeoh as Evelyn Wu, a beleaguered immigrant laundromat owner given the unlikely task of saving every universe in the multiverse. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you’ve seen the film, you might recall the appearance of a smiley-faced almond cookie in an early scene—a gift for a cranky IRS inspector (played by Jamie Lee Curtis), whose audit of the Wu family business propels the story into its two-and-a-half-hour-long, action-packed, multiverse-spanning frenzy. “These are delicious,” Curtis’ character says of the cookie, which—\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">very\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> slight spoiler alert—then plays a role in one of the protagonist’s martial arts training arcs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca8R4PprCrK\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A few weeks ago, the production company A24 reached out to Wang about creating a local version of the cookie to distribute to guests at the Castro Theatre premiere. As it turns out, Wang had already been \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908103/lunar-new-year-vegan-mooncake-biscuits-annies-t-cakes\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tinkering with an almond cookie recipe\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for several months. “I think I had 21 different iterations,” Wang says. In the span of the one week she had to prepare for the event, she turned out what she believed to be the best version yet—a cookie that captured the buttery flavor that she associated with the Chinese almond cookies she grew up eating, but with a chewier, more pleasant texture than the store-bought. Like all of the baked treats at Annie’s T Cakes, the cookie is 100% vegan. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13908103,arts_13910234']If the film made you hungry to try a localized version of the almond cookie for yourself, Annie’s is \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.anniestcakes.com/products/almond-cookie-everything-everywhere\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">selling them\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> as a limited-edition item through the end of April.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And yes, Wang says, having the opportunity to meet Yeoh in person at the reception for the premiere was as dreamy as she imagined it would be. The Malaysian-born actress bonded with Wang over their mutual love of Taiwanese pineapple cakes and expressed admiration for the way her almond cookie looked—a near-exact replica of the one in the film. And the cookies themselves were a hit: By the end of the night, all 850 that Wang had baked for the event had been eaten.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’–inspired almond cookies are available \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.anniestcakes.com/products/almond-cookie-everything-everywhere\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">via the Annie’s T Cakes website\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for $5 each or $27 for a half dozen, through the end of April. They ship anywhere in California, and they’re also available for pickup in Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911780\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911780\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holding a smiley-face almond cookie, with two almonds serving as the eyes.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland baker Annie Wang recreated the smiley-faced cookie, which appears early in the film. \u003ccite>(Annie's T Cakes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911777\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13911777\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Michelle Yeoh (center) and 'the Daniels' pose with a smiley-faced almond cookie at the Bay Area premiere of their film Everything Everywhere All at Once\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Yeoh (center) and ‘the Daniels’ show off the Oakland-made cookie inspired by their film. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Annie Wang)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911781\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13911781\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-800x728.jpg\" alt=\"Annie's T Cakes founder Annie Wang poses for a photo with actress Michelle Yeoh, who holds an almond cookie that Wang baked.\" width=\"800\" height=\"728\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-800x728.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-1020x928.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-160x146.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-768x699.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-1536x1397.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-2048x1863.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_yeoh_wang-1920x1747.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie’s T Cakes founder Annie Wang poses with global icon Michelle Yeoh. \u003ccite>(Jeffrey Lin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s one to check off the bucket list: Baking cookies for global icon Michelle Yeoh. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That was the opportunity that presented itself last month to Oakland’s Annie Wang, of the vegan home bakery \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.anniestcakes.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Annie’s T Cakes\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, when Yeoh was in San Francisco for a pre-screening of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Everything Everywhere All at Once\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The film stars Yeoh as Evelyn Wu, a beleaguered immigrant laundromat owner given the unlikely task of saving every universe in the multiverse. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you’ve seen the film, you might recall the appearance of a smiley-faced almond cookie in an early scene—a gift for a cranky IRS inspector (played by Jamie Lee Curtis), whose audit of the Wu family business propels the story into its two-and-a-half-hour-long, action-packed, multiverse-spanning frenzy. “These are delicious,” Curtis’ character says of the cookie, which—\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">very\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> slight spoiler alert—then plays a role in one of the protagonist’s martial arts training arcs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A few weeks ago, the production company A24 reached out to Wang about creating a local version of the cookie to distribute to guests at the Castro Theatre premiere. As it turns out, Wang had already been \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908103/lunar-new-year-vegan-mooncake-biscuits-annies-t-cakes\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tinkering with an almond cookie recipe\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for several months. “I think I had 21 different iterations,” Wang says. In the span of the one week she had to prepare for the event, she turned out what she believed to be the best version yet—a cookie that captured the buttery flavor that she associated with the Chinese almond cookies she grew up eating, but with a chewier, more pleasant texture than the store-bought. Like all of the baked treats at Annie’s T Cakes, the cookie is 100% vegan. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>If the film made you hungry to try a localized version of the almond cookie for yourself, Annie’s is \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.anniestcakes.com/products/almond-cookie-everything-everywhere\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">selling them\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> as a limited-edition item through the end of April.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And yes, Wang says, having the opportunity to meet Yeoh in person at the reception for the premiere was as dreamy as she imagined it would be. The Malaysian-born actress bonded with Wang over their mutual love of Taiwanese pineapple cakes and expressed admiration for the way her almond cookie looked—a near-exact replica of the one in the film. And the cookies themselves were a hit: By the end of the night, all 850 that Wang had baked for the event had been eaten.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’–inspired almond cookies are available \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.anniestcakes.com/products/almond-cookie-everything-everywhere\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">via the Annie’s T Cakes website\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for $5 each or $27 for a half dozen, through the end of April. They ship anywhere in California, and they’re also available for pickup in Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911780\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911780\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holding a smiley-face almond cookie, with two almonds serving as the eyes.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/almondcookie_closeup-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland baker Annie Wang recreated the smiley-faced cookie, which appears early in the film. \u003ccite>(Annie's T Cakes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911777\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13911777\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Michelle Yeoh (center) and 'the Daniels' pose with a smiley-faced almond cookie at the Bay Area premiere of their film Everything Everywhere All at Once\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/michelleyeoh_almondcookie_featured-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Yeoh (center) and ‘the Daniels’ show off the Oakland-made cookie inspired by their film. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Annie Wang)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A New Bay Area Zine Wants to Keep Food Writing Weird",
"headTitle": "A New Bay Area Zine Wants to Keep Food Writing Weird | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911535\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911535\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"The cover of the Mouth2Mouth zine, with a photo illustration of two women in wetsuits digging for clams.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">With its arty, off-kilter aesthetic, Mouth2Mouth is the spiritual descendent of the dearly departed food magazine Lucky Peach. \u003ccite>(Meg Fransee/Floss Editions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The coolest new Bay Area food magazine can’t be found in bookstores or on newsstands. Its masthead only includes a handful of professional writers—or actual “food people” for that matter. Conceived and born in San Francisco during the pandemic, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> isn’t even \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">really\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> a proper magazine. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instead, the publication comes out of another long and proud DIY tradition here in the Bay: It’s a zine. And it’s now soliciting submissions for its second issue.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The brainchild of San Francisco architect Hallie Chen, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has some of the same hip, arty, off-kilter aesthetic of the dearly departed food magazine \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lucky Peach\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—but without the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2020/8/21/21376709/peter-meehan-allegations-la-times-lucky-peach\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">whiff of toxic masculinity\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that contributed to that publication’s eventual undoing. Chen was an obsessive \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lucky Peach \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">reader back in the day, and says she was missing that kind of literary, intensely personal storytelling—the kind of food writing where the food was “almost peripheral.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think of food as a place—it’s this intersection of people and material and memory and space. … It’s more of an art project than a food thing,” Chen says of the zine.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911536\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911536\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-scaled.jpg\" alt='The zine open to a spread that shows an vintage photo of an Asian couple on one side and the beginning of a photo essay called \"Twinsgiving\" on the other.' width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The zine’s design aesthetic is a mix of watercolor illustrations, vintage photographs and doodles. \u003ccite>(Meg Fransee/Floss Editions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth’s\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> first issue, published last spring, has a story about a Korean American woman digging for geoduck with her mother in the pre-dawn light of Tomales Bay. It includes a slew of nostalgic, heartfelt recipes—for flour tortillas, bánh bèo, Cheerios served over espresso—that are written in the form of poems, doodles and photo collages. One ostensible recipe, “How to Cook a Tiger,” by the writer Xiaowei Wang, traces the roots of Baoning vinegar to a village in Sichuan, China, and also digs into the history of anti-Asian sentiment in California in the early 20th century. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For her own contribution, “Pizza Is a Place,” Chen drew on her background as an architect to reimagine a slice of pizza as a landscape, from the spicy oil that pools inside each cup-like curl of pepperoni to the valley of dehydrated red sauce that forms at the foot of the crust. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It all looks very stylish—thanks in large part, Chen says, to the design work of Wolfman Books founder Justin Carder. And Chen is especially proud of how few professional writers and chefs contributed to the zine. Instead, she pulled favors from her broader community of Bay Area friends and acquaintances—artists and cooks, but also tech workers and other regular folks. “It’s mostly people who never write, or never take pictures, sharing something,” Chen says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911540\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 992px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911540\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3.jpg\" alt='Two illustrations of a slice of pizza, one showing the \"valley\" of wet and dehydrated sauce under the crust, the other showing the \"money shot\" of the spotted undercarriage.' width=\"992\" height=\"1474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3.jpg 992w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3-800x1189.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3-160x238.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3-768x1141.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A panel from Hallie Chen’s “Pizza Is a Place,” which draws on the author’s day job as an architect. \u003ccite>(Hallie Chen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The title comes from an offhand comment that Chen’s partner made one time about being glad that the two of them saw “mouth to mouth” about a particular food trend that they despised. (“I thought it was so clever but also deep,” Chen says.) For her, the term also evokes oral traditions, verbal communication, kissing and the act of a mother bird feeding its baby. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chen says she doesn’t consume enough food media to position \u003cem>Mouth2Mouth\u003c/em> as any kind of overt critique. But at its core, the zine isn’t very concerned with the topics covered by more traditional, mainstream food publications—as illustrated by the phrases of interest that Chen lists off in the first issue’s introduction: “cooks not just chefs, food-based experiences, anti-optimization, anti-listicle, general interest.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beyond that overarching mood board, \u003cem>Mouth2Mouth \u003c/em>doesn’t stick to any overt theme. For the inaugural edition, Chen asked potential contributors to think broadly about family and memory. For the second issue, she hopes to solicit pieces that have something to do with matriarchs—though she acknowledges it’s hard to make specific demands when she doesn’t have a budget to pay contributors. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911546\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911546\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-scaled.jpg\" alt='Watercolor painting of three fruits in different sizes and shades of green: \"your avocado\" (the smallest), \"my avocado\" and \"a papaya.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1656\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-1020x660.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-768x497.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-1536x994.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-2048x1325.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-1920x1242.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“My Avocado,” by Chloe Roth—one of the many pieces of loosely food-themed artwork featured in Mouth2Mouth. \u003ccite>(Chloe Roth)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911539\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911539\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-scaled.jpg\" alt='A photo collage: a mother giving her child a bath in the sink; the text reads, \"I wish I knew your secrets: pecan pie, biscuits, okra stew.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1978\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-800x618.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-1020x788.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-768x593.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-2048x1583.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-1920x1484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“Art Secrets,” by Chinwe Okona. \u003ccite>(Chinwe Okona)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those interested in submitting writing or art to the second issue of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">should email Chen at hahallie@gmail.com by April 15. Her hope is to produce and print the issue in time to sell it at this year’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sfartbookfair.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco Art Book Fair\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, July 15–17, where she hopes to have a table. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Otherwise, \u003ci>Mouth2Mouth\u003c/i> isn’t easy to snag. Copies of the first issue ($15) are \u003ca href=\"https://flosseditions.com/shop/mouth2mouth\">available periodically\u003c/a> via the Oakland home-based indie art book printing house, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13876332/the-hustle-floss-editions-art-book-publishers\">Floss Editions\u003c/a>. For the time being, the zine doesn’t exist in digital form on the internet. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13910817,arts_13906189,arts_13900311']Chen says she started \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">during the pandemic in part because she had a little bit more free time. But the act of making zines has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, going back to the days when, as a teenager, she’d go to shows at the Long Haul Infoshop and 924 Gilman in Berkeley—both epicenters of Bay Area zine culture. She sees the practice as an indispensable part of the region’s punk heritage. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now Chen hopes to keep her new food zine going for as long as she can—though she doubts it’ll ever be more than a side gig. She doesn’t \u003cem>actually \u003c/em>aspire to run the next \u003cem>Lucky Peach\u003c/em>. And, anyway, it’s the amateur, DIY aspect of the project that appeals to her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“People constantly surprise me—people I think I know well through friendship,” Chen says. “It’s so incredible to learn the depth and breadth of people’s capabilities.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911535\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911535\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"The cover of the Mouth2Mouth zine, with a photo illustration of two women in wetsuits digging for clams.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_cover-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">With its arty, off-kilter aesthetic, Mouth2Mouth is the spiritual descendent of the dearly departed food magazine Lucky Peach. \u003ccite>(Meg Fransee/Floss Editions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The coolest new Bay Area food magazine can’t be found in bookstores or on newsstands. Its masthead only includes a handful of professional writers—or actual “food people” for that matter. Conceived and born in San Francisco during the pandemic, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> isn’t even \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">really\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> a proper magazine. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instead, the publication comes out of another long and proud DIY tradition here in the Bay: It’s a zine. And it’s now soliciting submissions for its second issue.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The brainchild of San Francisco architect Hallie Chen, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has some of the same hip, arty, off-kilter aesthetic of the dearly departed food magazine \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lucky Peach\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—but without the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2020/8/21/21376709/peter-meehan-allegations-la-times-lucky-peach\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">whiff of toxic masculinity\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that contributed to that publication’s eventual undoing. Chen was an obsessive \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lucky Peach \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">reader back in the day, and says she was missing that kind of literary, intensely personal storytelling—the kind of food writing where the food was “almost peripheral.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think of food as a place—it’s this intersection of people and material and memory and space. … It’s more of an art project than a food thing,” Chen says of the zine.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911536\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911536\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-scaled.jpg\" alt='The zine open to a spread that shows an vintage photo of an Asian couple on one side and the beginning of a photo essay called \"Twinsgiving\" on the other.' width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth2mouth_twinsgiving-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The zine’s design aesthetic is a mix of watercolor illustrations, vintage photographs and doodles. \u003ccite>(Meg Fransee/Floss Editions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth’s\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> first issue, published last spring, has a story about a Korean American woman digging for geoduck with her mother in the pre-dawn light of Tomales Bay. It includes a slew of nostalgic, heartfelt recipes—for flour tortillas, bánh bèo, Cheerios served over espresso—that are written in the form of poems, doodles and photo collages. One ostensible recipe, “How to Cook a Tiger,” by the writer Xiaowei Wang, traces the roots of Baoning vinegar to a village in Sichuan, China, and also digs into the history of anti-Asian sentiment in California in the early 20th century. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For her own contribution, “Pizza Is a Place,” Chen drew on her background as an architect to reimagine a slice of pizza as a landscape, from the spicy oil that pools inside each cup-like curl of pepperoni to the valley of dehydrated red sauce that forms at the foot of the crust. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It all looks very stylish—thanks in large part, Chen says, to the design work of Wolfman Books founder Justin Carder. And Chen is especially proud of how few professional writers and chefs contributed to the zine. Instead, she pulled favors from her broader community of Bay Area friends and acquaintances—artists and cooks, but also tech workers and other regular folks. “It’s mostly people who never write, or never take pictures, sharing something,” Chen says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911540\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 992px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911540\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3.jpg\" alt='Two illustrations of a slice of pizza, one showing the \"valley\" of wet and dehydrated sauce under the crust, the other showing the \"money shot\" of the spotted undercarriage.' width=\"992\" height=\"1474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3.jpg 992w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3-800x1189.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3-160x238.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/mouth-2-mouth-layout-Fixed-10-1-21_3-768x1141.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A panel from Hallie Chen’s “Pizza Is a Place,” which draws on the author’s day job as an architect. \u003ccite>(Hallie Chen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The title comes from an offhand comment that Chen’s partner made one time about being glad that the two of them saw “mouth to mouth” about a particular food trend that they despised. (“I thought it was so clever but also deep,” Chen says.) For her, the term also evokes oral traditions, verbal communication, kissing and the act of a mother bird feeding its baby. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chen says she doesn’t consume enough food media to position \u003cem>Mouth2Mouth\u003c/em> as any kind of overt critique. But at its core, the zine isn’t very concerned with the topics covered by more traditional, mainstream food publications—as illustrated by the phrases of interest that Chen lists off in the first issue’s introduction: “cooks not just chefs, food-based experiences, anti-optimization, anti-listicle, general interest.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beyond that overarching mood board, \u003cem>Mouth2Mouth \u003c/em>doesn’t stick to any overt theme. For the inaugural edition, Chen asked potential contributors to think broadly about family and memory. For the second issue, she hopes to solicit pieces that have something to do with matriarchs—though she acknowledges it’s hard to make specific demands when she doesn’t have a budget to pay contributors. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911546\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911546\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-scaled.jpg\" alt='Watercolor painting of three fruits in different sizes and shades of green: \"your avocado\" (the smallest), \"my avocado\" and \"a papaya.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1656\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-1020x660.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-768x497.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-1536x994.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-2048x1325.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/chloe-painting-1-1920x1242.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“My Avocado,” by Chloe Roth—one of the many pieces of loosely food-themed artwork featured in Mouth2Mouth. \u003ccite>(Chloe Roth)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911539\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911539\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-scaled.jpg\" alt='A photo collage: a mother giving her child a bath in the sink; the text reads, \"I wish I knew your secrets: pecan pie, biscuits, okra stew.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1978\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-800x618.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-1020x788.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-768x593.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-1536x1187.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-2048x1583.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/secrets_chinweokona-1920x1484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“Art Secrets,” by Chinwe Okona. \u003ccite>(Chinwe Okona)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those interested in submitting writing or art to the second issue of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">should email Chen at hahallie@gmail.com by April 15. Her hope is to produce and print the issue in time to sell it at this year’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sfartbookfair.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco Art Book Fair\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, July 15–17, where she hopes to have a table. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Otherwise, \u003ci>Mouth2Mouth\u003c/i> isn’t easy to snag. Copies of the first issue ($15) are \u003ca href=\"https://flosseditions.com/shop/mouth2mouth\">available periodically\u003c/a> via the Oakland home-based indie art book printing house, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13876332/the-hustle-floss-editions-art-book-publishers\">Floss Editions\u003c/a>. For the time being, the zine doesn’t exist in digital form on the internet. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Chen says she started \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mouth2Mouth \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">during the pandemic in part because she had a little bit more free time. But the act of making zines has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, going back to the days when, as a teenager, she’d go to shows at the Long Haul Infoshop and 924 Gilman in Berkeley—both epicenters of Bay Area zine culture. She sees the practice as an indispensable part of the region’s punk heritage. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now Chen hopes to keep her new food zine going for as long as she can—though she doubts it’ll ever be more than a side gig. She doesn’t \u003cem>actually \u003c/em>aspire to run the next \u003cem>Lucky Peach\u003c/em>. And, anyway, it’s the amateur, DIY aspect of the project that appeals to her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“People constantly surprise me—people I think I know well through friendship,” Chen says. “It’s so incredible to learn the depth and breadth of people’s capabilities.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Gay4U's Closing Is Not a Goodbye: The Trans-Centric Vegan Cafe Hits the Road",
"headTitle": "Gay4U’s Closing Is Not a Goodbye: The Trans-Centric Vegan Cafe Hits the Road | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n the corner of 14th and Peralta Street in West Oakland sits \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gay4u.biz/?hl=en\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a small, unassuming restaurant that sells kimchi chilaquiles, vegan quesabirria and other meatless wonders. But the space has grown to be more than just another vegan restaurant. The trans flag colors (light blue, white and pink) that decorate the restaurant’s facade are just one sign of how \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U has made its mark on the Bay Area’s queer and trans communities of color—and in the hearts, and stomachs, of many. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, after two and a half years in West Oakland, the restaurant is closing. Or, to be more accurate, it’s hitting the road: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U will have its last day of service as a brick-and-mortar restaurant—at least for now—on Sunday, March 27. Starting in April, the business will morph into a roving pop-up that will move across the country, from city to city, at least through the end of September.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beyond its menu of vegan dishes that draw on Latinx, Asian and American comfort food flavors, Gay4U became a fixture in West Oakland by building a supportive and safe space for trans people of color. The restaurant instituted a program wherein trans people of color could always eat for free. It set up a bright pink community fridge right outside to provide for those experiencing food and housing insecurity. Every month, it hosts a local market called “GayMart” that holds space for LGBTQ+ artists, live music and more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All this has made the restaurant a go-to for queer and trans folks in the area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911179\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911179\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-scaled.jpg\" alt='A display inside Gay4U with blocks that read \"Black Trans Lives Matter.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"2007\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-800x627.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-1020x800.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-160x125.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-768x602.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-1536x1204.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-2048x1605.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-1920x1505.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The West Oakland restaurant has been a haven for queer and trans communities of color. \u003ccite>(Paloma Cortes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The nurturer behind all of this is Ginger Espice, a trans femme woman who moved to the Bay Area from San Diego in their early 20s, launching a series of pop-ups to show off their vegan tamales and other vegetable-based goodies. In 2009, Espice (who was known as Sofi Peligras at the time) and their then-partner started Hella Vegan Eats, a food truck in Oakland’s Uptown Arts District. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Once I moved to the Bay Area, I felt really allotted to be myself, and a lot of that had to do with starting Hella Vegan Eats, selling food on the streets, and all the fun vegan foods that people [are] recognizing me for,” Espice says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For its last three years of business, the popular food truck operated out of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ccwbarandrestaurant/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Classic Cars West\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/2/7/18215793/hella-vegan-eats-closing-displaced-oakland\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">it was asked to leave\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in early 2019. Espice’s relationship with their partner ended, too, not long after that. So, Espice needed to figure out a new plan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I was like, ‘I’m not coming correct, I’m not being myself as I need to be and that just needs to come out,’ [so] I agreed with myself that it was okay to be myself,” Espice says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The end result of this journey of self-acceptance was Gay4U, which \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/135485/hella-vegan-eats-is-reborn-in-oakland-as-gay-4-u\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">opened in its new West Oakland home toward the end of 2019\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, with its new trans-POC-eat-free policy in place. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/CawytdGAIcG/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The food itself was a big attraction from the very start. “Unusual things are what’s inspiring, just trying different flavors and textures,” says Espice, who wanted the restaurant to reflect California’s rich culture of hole-in-the-wall restaurants—like doughnut shops that also sell amazing cheeseburgers or Chinese food. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U’s vegan quesabirria is a nod to their parents’ roots in Tijuana, with well-spiced snow mushrooms that imitate the chewiness of meat, a crispy blue-corn tortilla, cashew-based cheese, and a cordyceps mushroom consomé on the side for dipping or sipping. The makka birria crunch wrap (think Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme) stuffs two of those crunchy quesabirria tacos into a soft flour tortilla, along with a vegan cheddar mac and cheese, and tops the whole thing off with a sprinkling of cashew-cotija cheese—a vegan take on the much-admired aged Mexican cheese. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Espice, food is a kind of love language: “That’s just what I do. I see people and I’m like, ‘Let me make you dinner!’” But Gay4U was never solely about the food. Espice’s bigger goal was always to make queer and trans people of color feel welcomed, seen, accepted and supported. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think for me [it’s about] having a resource and a place to see the community that I want to see \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">held up and prized,” Espice explains. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Toward that end, Gay4U also hosts the aforementioned “GayMart,” which \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Espice figured would be a clever antidote to the big corporate stores like Kmart and Walmart. One Sunday a month, the restaurant converts into an outdoor lounge for the community. Queer and trans artists set up tables and clothing racks outside, selling vintage clothing, crystals, handmade candles and a plethora of other creative things. Local DJs come through with their sound equipment and vinyl collections. Other folks stop by the community fridge to enjoy some free food, or to grab the free clothing that’s available there at times. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Noelle, a local beauty aesthetician and owner of Oakland’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/deladerma/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">De La Derma\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“GayMart feels like a once in a lifetime experience—the people are so lovely and sweet, and it’s one of my favorite places to be.” Rizza, a tooth gem artist in Alameda who runs \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gemsbytsg/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Topshelfgold\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, says, “I’ve vended for three years now, and there’s no other space that has been provided to me like Ginger’s space—it feels so much more supportive. There’s no words to express how much I love Ginger and how they support the queer community.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911181\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911181\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-scaled.jpg\" alt='Artists and other creatives set up booths on the sidewalk for the outdoor market known as \"GayMart.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-800x583.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-1020x743.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-768x559.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-1536x1119.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-2048x1492.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-1920x1399.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One Sunday a month, the sidewalk outside Gay4U turns into a sprawling outdoor market known as “GayMart.” \u003ccite>(Paloma Cortes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For the past year, Espice has joined forces with Oakland-based mutual aid and QTIBIPOC artists collective \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://threadsradio.com/introducing-we-are-the-ones/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We Are The Ones\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/visibilit_/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Visibilit_\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a trans migrant-focused fundraising platform, to host dedicated trans skate parties. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/th3mb0ys/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ThemBoys\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a Bay Area skate crew, provides skate rentals, helping attendees prep for an evening dedicated to skating, rolling and bouncing. Of course, Gay4U provides the food.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The final West Oakland iteration of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CbGXdv3PimU/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">skate party\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, at least for now, will take place at Defremery Skate Park on March 26, in honor of the Transgender Day of Visibility. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='bayareabites_135485,arts_13910410,arts_13910234']Espice hopes to bring the skate parties with them on the road, but the challenges of the pandemic made them realize that they needed to bring this chapter of their business to a close. They spent the last four years working over 100 hours a week to serve the community, build their brand and keep Gay4U afloat. But in the end, it all proved to be too much. After selling most of their belongings to pay the lease and not receiving any PPE grants, Espice decided they needed to take a break. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The stresses of running a business on my own started weighing on me,” Espice says. The pop-up tour would provide a different set of opportunities. Espice plans to be on the road for six months, starting with a two-month stint at the queer, Chinanx taqueria \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mistaconespdx/?hl=en\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mis Tacones\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Portland, Oregon. The other stops have yet to be announced, but Espice plans to end the tour in New York City. And trans people of color will eat for free everywhere Gay4U goes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As for the restaurant’s current West Oakland location, Espice wanted to be sure that the kitchen went to another vegan POC-owned business. Starting in April, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dontbechickn.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don’t Be Chiki’n\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a Black woman-owned food truck serving vegan soul food classics like fried chicken, mac and cheese, beignets and milkshakes, will be moving in.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With many projects in the works dedicated to what they call the “gay agenda,” Espice promises that Gay4U is just getting started. During the next six months, you can also expect Espice to co-host a podcast focused on queer and trans artists, sell hand-designed clothing made in collaboration with their sibling, and much more. They’re currently working on popularizing the idea of “Trans Tuesday”—a day of the week when people are encouraged to be a little different. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In other words, Espice doesn’t believe this is a goodbye to the Bay Area from Gay4U, but a see-you-later.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I am someone who believes this is all a lucid dream, and I want to express that I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Black trans femmes,” Espice says. “I want to always show my love and admiration for the culture that blossomed and inspired me.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U’s last day of business is Sunday, March 27—it will be open from 10am to 5pm at 1327 Peralta St. in Oakland. The Trans Skate Day will take place on Saturday, March 26, 2–6 pm, at the Defremery Town Park Skate Park.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A haven for queer and trans communities of color, the West Oakland restaurant embarks on a nationwide pop-up tour.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">O\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>n the corner of 14th and Peralta Street in West Oakland sits \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gay4u.biz/?hl=en\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a small, unassuming restaurant that sells kimchi chilaquiles, vegan quesabirria and other meatless wonders. But the space has grown to be more than just another vegan restaurant. The trans flag colors (light blue, white and pink) that decorate the restaurant’s facade are just one sign of how \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U has made its mark on the Bay Area’s queer and trans communities of color—and in the hearts, and stomachs, of many. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, after two and a half years in West Oakland, the restaurant is closing. Or, to be more accurate, it’s hitting the road: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U will have its last day of service as a brick-and-mortar restaurant—at least for now—on Sunday, March 27. Starting in April, the business will morph into a roving pop-up that will move across the country, from city to city, at least through the end of September.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beyond its menu of vegan dishes that draw on Latinx, Asian and American comfort food flavors, Gay4U became a fixture in West Oakland by building a supportive and safe space for trans people of color. The restaurant instituted a program wherein trans people of color could always eat for free. It set up a bright pink community fridge right outside to provide for those experiencing food and housing insecurity. Every month, it hosts a local market called “GayMart” that holds space for LGBTQ+ artists, live music and more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All this has made the restaurant a go-to for queer and trans folks in the area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911179\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911179\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-scaled.jpg\" alt='A display inside Gay4U with blocks that read \"Black Trans Lives Matter.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"2007\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-800x627.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-1020x800.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-160x125.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-768x602.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-1536x1204.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-2048x1605.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_blacktranslives-1920x1505.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The West Oakland restaurant has been a haven for queer and trans communities of color. \u003ccite>(Paloma Cortes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The nurturer behind all of this is Ginger Espice, a trans femme woman who moved to the Bay Area from San Diego in their early 20s, launching a series of pop-ups to show off their vegan tamales and other vegetable-based goodies. In 2009, Espice (who was known as Sofi Peligras at the time) and their then-partner started Hella Vegan Eats, a food truck in Oakland’s Uptown Arts District. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Once I moved to the Bay Area, I felt really allotted to be myself, and a lot of that had to do with starting Hella Vegan Eats, selling food on the streets, and all the fun vegan foods that people [are] recognizing me for,” Espice says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For its last three years of business, the popular food truck operated out of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ccwbarandrestaurant/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Classic Cars West\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/2/7/18215793/hella-vegan-eats-closing-displaced-oakland\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">it was asked to leave\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in early 2019. Espice’s relationship with their partner ended, too, not long after that. So, Espice needed to figure out a new plan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I was like, ‘I’m not coming correct, I’m not being myself as I need to be and that just needs to come out,’ [so] I agreed with myself that it was okay to be myself,” Espice says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The end result of this journey of self-acceptance was Gay4U, which \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/135485/hella-vegan-eats-is-reborn-in-oakland-as-gay-4-u\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">opened in its new West Oakland home toward the end of 2019\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, with its new trans-POC-eat-free policy in place. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The food itself was a big attraction from the very start. “Unusual things are what’s inspiring, just trying different flavors and textures,” says Espice, who wanted the restaurant to reflect California’s rich culture of hole-in-the-wall restaurants—like doughnut shops that also sell amazing cheeseburgers or Chinese food. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U’s vegan quesabirria is a nod to their parents’ roots in Tijuana, with well-spiced snow mushrooms that imitate the chewiness of meat, a crispy blue-corn tortilla, cashew-based cheese, and a cordyceps mushroom consomé on the side for dipping or sipping. The makka birria crunch wrap (think Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme) stuffs two of those crunchy quesabirria tacos into a soft flour tortilla, along with a vegan cheddar mac and cheese, and tops the whole thing off with a sprinkling of cashew-cotija cheese—a vegan take on the much-admired aged Mexican cheese. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Espice, food is a kind of love language: “That’s just what I do. I see people and I’m like, ‘Let me make you dinner!’” But Gay4U was never solely about the food. Espice’s bigger goal was always to make queer and trans people of color feel welcomed, seen, accepted and supported. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think for me [it’s about] having a resource and a place to see the community that I want to see \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">held up and prized,” Espice explains. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Toward that end, Gay4U also hosts the aforementioned “GayMart,” which \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Espice figured would be a clever antidote to the big corporate stores like Kmart and Walmart. One Sunday a month, the restaurant converts into an outdoor lounge for the community. Queer and trans artists set up tables and clothing racks outside, selling vintage clothing, crystals, handmade candles and a plethora of other creative things. Local DJs come through with their sound equipment and vinyl collections. Other folks stop by the community fridge to enjoy some free food, or to grab the free clothing that’s available there at times. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Noelle, a local beauty aesthetician and owner of Oakland’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/deladerma/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">De La Derma\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“GayMart feels like a once in a lifetime experience—the people are so lovely and sweet, and it’s one of my favorite places to be.” Rizza, a tooth gem artist in Alameda who runs \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gemsbytsg/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Topshelfgold\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, says, “I’ve vended for three years now, and there’s no other space that has been provided to me like Ginger’s space—it feels so much more supportive. There’s no words to express how much I love Ginger and how they support the queer community.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911181\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911181\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-scaled.jpg\" alt='Artists and other creatives set up booths on the sidewalk for the outdoor market known as \"GayMart.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-800x583.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-1020x743.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-768x559.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-1536x1119.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-2048x1492.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/gay4u_gaymart-1920x1399.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One Sunday a month, the sidewalk outside Gay4U turns into a sprawling outdoor market known as “GayMart.” \u003ccite>(Paloma Cortes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For the past year, Espice has joined forces with Oakland-based mutual aid and QTIBIPOC artists collective \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://threadsradio.com/introducing-we-are-the-ones/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We Are The Ones\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/visibilit_/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Visibilit_\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a trans migrant-focused fundraising platform, to host dedicated trans skate parties. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/th3mb0ys/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ThemBoys\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a Bay Area skate crew, provides skate rentals, helping attendees prep for an evening dedicated to skating, rolling and bouncing. Of course, Gay4U provides the food.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The final West Oakland iteration of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CbGXdv3PimU/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">skate party\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, at least for now, will take place at Defremery Skate Park on March 26, in honor of the Transgender Day of Visibility. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Espice hopes to bring the skate parties with them on the road, but the challenges of the pandemic made them realize that they needed to bring this chapter of their business to a close. They spent the last four years working over 100 hours a week to serve the community, build their brand and keep Gay4U afloat. But in the end, it all proved to be too much. After selling most of their belongings to pay the lease and not receiving any PPE grants, Espice decided they needed to take a break. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The stresses of running a business on my own started weighing on me,” Espice says. The pop-up tour would provide a different set of opportunities. Espice plans to be on the road for six months, starting with a two-month stint at the queer, Chinanx taqueria \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mistaconespdx/?hl=en\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mis Tacones\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Portland, Oregon. The other stops have yet to be announced, but Espice plans to end the tour in New York City. And trans people of color will eat for free everywhere Gay4U goes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As for the restaurant’s current West Oakland location, Espice wanted to be sure that the kitchen went to another vegan POC-owned business. Starting in April, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dontbechickn.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don’t Be Chiki’n\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a Black woman-owned food truck serving vegan soul food classics like fried chicken, mac and cheese, beignets and milkshakes, will be moving in.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With many projects in the works dedicated to what they call the “gay agenda,” Espice promises that Gay4U is just getting started. During the next six months, you can also expect Espice to co-host a podcast focused on queer and trans artists, sell hand-designed clothing made in collaboration with their sibling, and much more. They’re currently working on popularizing the idea of “Trans Tuesday”—a day of the week when people are encouraged to be a little different. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In other words, Espice doesn’t believe this is a goodbye to the Bay Area from Gay4U, but a see-you-later.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I am someone who believes this is all a lucid dream, and I want to express that I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Black trans femmes,” Espice says. “I want to always show my love and admiration for the culture that blossomed and inspired me.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gay4U’s last day of business is Sunday, March 27—it will be open from 10am to 5pm at 1327 Peralta St. in Oakland. The Trans Skate Day will take place on Saturday, March 26, 2–6 pm, at the Defremery Town Park Skate Park.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Why I Love Hawaiian BBQ: In Praise of One of the Bay's Great Multicultural Cuisines",
"headTitle": "Why I Love Hawaiian BBQ: In Praise of One of the Bay’s Great Multicultural Cuisines | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or most of two decades, I grew up in a single-parent home in the South Bay with a Mexican immigrant father. I remember that our first apartment complex was surrounded by Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants, many of whom didn’t speak English. Still, we all learned how to communicate and mix our customs, spending time in each other’s homes and eating each other’s food. For me and my brother, that meant an extra dose of potstickers and noodles as kids. Our world opened up beyond the tortas, bistec, and quesadillas my dad would often make for dinner, and as I grew older, I understood what it meant to constantly translate cultures through taste.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In our neighborhood, we had access to everything from Round Table Pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken to Middle Eastern rotisserie and German hofbrauhaus. But as a first-generation Mexican American with all of these options, there was one plate I grew to relish more than any other: Hawaiian barbecue.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The “plate lunch” combo was my favorite, no matter where I got it. It always arrived in a steamy container with a creamy scoop of macaroni salad, a lump of sticky white rice, and strips of grilled chicken on a bed of greens—all for a relatively affordable price. Occasionally, I’d mix it up with some breaded katsu for the extra crunch, or order two scoops of mac instead of rice. A can of sinfully sweet Hawaiian Sun completed the meal. I never questioned the origins of the dish.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But eventually I wondered: Did this really come from Hawaii? And how did it get to become such a popular meal for Northern Californians? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What I’ve come to understand is that…it’s complicated. There’s a distinction between “Hawaiian-style” foods and foods that are part of the “true,” original Hawaiian diet, such as fish, poi (a mash of starchy vegetables like taro or plantain) and certain fruits that are native to the islands. The rest has been modified over years of migration, colonialism and interchange.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spam musubi? A mix of Japanese sushi and U.S. infantry rations from World War II. Loco moco? A mash-up of Spaniard-introduced beef, British gravy and Chinese rice that a group of young cooks tossed into a bowl at a diner in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1949. (One of the teens, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/11/30/loco-moco-hawaiis-iconic-dish-has-roots-in-the-east-bay/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">George Takahashi, later migrated to San Leandro\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.) “Hawaiian pizza”? Don’t even think about it. Even the ukulele was brought over by the Portuguese, along with their sausages, oils and batters—key contributions that led to Hawaii’s eventual boom in fried treats like poi doughnuts.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911077\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911077\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-scaled.jpg\" alt='iLava Hawaiian Barbecue owner Nicolle Jacinto makes a \"hang loose\" hand gesture in front of an ocean mural inside her East Oakland restaurant.' width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicole Jacinto fell in love with barbecuing in her native Philippines. Now, she runs a Hawaiian barbecue spot in a Latino strip mall in East Oakland. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Fusion in an Unlikely Place\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The story of Hawaiian barbecue isn’t a story about the sanctity of the purest Hawaiian foods. Instead, it’s a celebration of what it means to be from many places at once, of having mixed upbringings, of melting together a multitude of deliciously imperfect cultural elements and serving them in a Styrofoam to-go box. Most importantly, it’s about finding and tasting that fusion in the most unlikely places—like a Central American strip mall in East Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Hawaiian food isn’t just 100% Hawaiian food, especially in the Bay Area,” says Nicolle Jacinto, owner of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ilavahawaiianbbq.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">iLava Hawaiian Barbecue\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which sits in the aforementioned strip mall. “It’s a mix of many cultures. There’s a fusion and variety of ethnicities here, and since we all eat different foods, Hawaiian has been able to become so popular.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The restaurant is located on a metaphorical island on High Street and International Boulevard. It’s a barely noticeable independent shop surrounded by taco trucks, mega-mercados, lavanderías, pawn shops, armed security guards and fast food joints. Yet right in the heart of this predominantly Latino epicenter, you’ll find this tropically inspired restaurant, serving classic plates of island-style food to a diverse clientele of Spanish-speaking immigrants, high-schoolers and other non-Hawaiians.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]“The story of Hawaiian barbecue isn’t a story about the sanctity of the purest Hawaiian foods. Instead, it’s a celebration of what it means to be from many places at once.”[/pullquote]Jacinto opened the business in 2017, when her former employer at Hawaiian Grill Express in San Lorenzo asked if she would be interested in running her own restaurant as a part-owner. Since then, Jacinto has overseen iLava’s success, expanding into catering services and a food truck that circulates the entire Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The business serves classic Hawaiian-style plate lunches that feature dishes like barbecue chicken, beef and short ribs, kalua pork, lau lau and garlic shrimp. There’s also a menu of fresh tropical smoothies like the “Hawaiian Sunrise,” a tangy blend of passionfruit and mango. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The one \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/ilava-hawaiian-barbecue-oakland-4\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yelp\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> reviewer who says iLava is “not a true authentic Hawaiian place” because they don’t serve poi seems to miss the point about what the restaurant does do well: a Californicated version of Pacific Island sustenance, served at reasonable prices, in a part of the city that otherwise lacks any major Polynesian presence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In many ways, Hawaiian culinary history seems to be just that—a whirlpool of various, inexplicably linked ingredients from miscellaneous sources that can be cooked on the spot for anyone who’s hungry. Jacinto embodies this fusion in her own journey. After immigrating to the East Bay from the Philippines in 2009, Jacinto missed the flavors of her past. Though she isn’t Hawaiian by birth, many of her Filipino family members migrated to Hawaii in the 1990s. During yearly trips to the islands, she learned about the nuanced varieties of regional foods while helping her mother cook for relatives. According to Jacinto, the parallels between Hawaiians and Filipinos are unmistakable, highlighted by “a great sense of hospitality, an appreciation for tropical weather and a love of grilled meat.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My favorite Hawaiian dish is kalua pork,” she tells me. “It’s slow roasted, and it’s basically lechón in the Philippines. It’s prepared slightly differently—lechón is crispier—but it’s almost the same.” (A Latina employee at iLava excitedly compared the dish to carnitas.) Filipino ube (mashed purple yam) has a distinct purple hue, just like Hawaiian poi.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">From a young age, Jacinto would cook skewered meats in the streets of her native country, grilling them over open flames and selling them to neighbors and passersby on their way to work. It was relatively inexpensive and convenient, she explains, to prepare food in this fashion. That’s where she gained an appreciation for barbecuing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A Bay Area Classic\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Of course, Hawaiian food is much more than grilled meats. But that particular style, commonly known as “Hawaiian BBQ,” is the one that’s the most widely available here in the Bay Area—especially the classic style of meal known as the plate lunch. Born from \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://hawaiioceanproject.com/a-brief-history-of-plate-lunches-in-hawaii/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a working-class context of mixed leftover foods—\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">scraps from previous night’s meals consisting of rice, macaroni and a protein, heaped in a to-go bento box—the plate lunch has become an indisputable California favorite. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911080\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911080\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Patrick Landeza mixes poke inside a large metal bowl..\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patrick Landeza, a Hawaiian cook and musician based in Hayward, specializes in poke. But he appreciates the way Hawaiian barbecue spots make the culture more accessible to the mainstream. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Patrick Landeza)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“A plate lunch is just a mixture of things. We’re talking about Japanese, Korean, Hawaiian and more. We’re here in the Bay Area, and this is our taste profile, so that’s why it’s popping up everywhere,” says Patrick Landeza, a Hawaiian cook and musician who owns \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://landezasisland.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Landeza’s Island Poke & Catering\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Hayward, and is a member of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://hccnc.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hawai’i Chamber of Commerce in Northern California\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though Landeza believes most Hawaiian barbecue outlets lack “true aloha,” or a sense of soul and genuine service, he also admits that they are good at “doing what they do by serving comfort food.” Raised on the “island of Berkeley,” Landeza specializes in poke—bowls of diced raw fish and other ingredients—which is a certified Hawaiian staple. As a Bay Area Hawaiian OG, he acknowledges the importance and accessibility of mainstream Hawaiian barbecue among the non-Hawaiian population.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The cuisine’s origins on the mainland date back to 1999 when Johnson Kam and Eddie Flores, Jr. opened their \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/26/business/story1.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">first L&L Hawaiian BBQ outside of Hawaii\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. This was already three decades after the pair had successfully launched the original L&L Drive-In in 1976, in the Kalihi neighborhood of Oahu.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Their brand of quick, simple Hawaiian fare reached California’s shores when \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/26/business/story1.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a former employee relocated to San Francisco\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and began to serve his own Hawaiian-style plate lunches as a side hustle, Landeza explains. That initial success eventually led to the commercialization of Hawaiian food services that have since proliferated under the L&L brand name. Nowadays, the chain boasts over 200 locations throughout the United States, including a recent opening of their first franchise as far east as Florida. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like the plate lunches they serve, L&L’s take on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hawaiianbarbecue.com/about/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“the state food of Hawaii”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a fusion of past traditions with modern business opportunities. They were able to offer ownership to anyone willing to invest in their franchise model—whether Hawaiian-heritaged or not. A wave of shops selling what we now know as “Hawaiian BBQ” emerged as a result, often owned by immigrants like Jacinto.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]“Eating a Filipino-prepared Hawaiian plate lunch in Oakland served by Latino employees represents the beauty of what food can teach us about our human similarities.”[/pullquote]There are other reasons \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/1/28/18178937/hawaiian-food-trend-san-francisco-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hawaiian food has reached trending status in the Bay\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For starters, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bay-Area-has-big-Pacific-Islander-population-2839970.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the region is home to the largest population of Polynesian islanders\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> who’ve transplanted to the contiguous stateside, making this the world’s biggest Little Island, with the cities of Hayward and Vallejo boasting the most Hawaiian residents. This proximity for cultural exchange largely explains why so many Americanized Polynesian trends have been popularized in the Bay, including tiki bars and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.curacaoliqueur.com/articles/the-mai-tai-history-and-its-recipes-explained\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the disputed origins of the mai tai cocktail\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For many, these can come across as a form of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2019-11-27/tiki-bar-problems\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">cultural appropriation and “colonial nostalgia\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.” I’ve seen the same exotic simplification happen with Mexican food—it’s tricky territory to mindlessly enjoy a tiki beverage or “Aloha burger” without considering the layers beneath the surface. On the one hand, it represents some attempt to offer the flavors and experiences of a region. But when done poorly, it comes off as kitschy, tone-deaf and imperialistically exploitative. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the case of iLava, though, eating a Filipino-prepared Hawaiian plate lunch in Oakland served by Latino employees represents the beauty of what food can teach us about our human similarities.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13900855,arts_13898436,arts_13904835']“Food is a vehicle for building community, creating and nurturing that community,” says Landeza. “I don’t do Hawaiian barbecue. I am a Hawaiian caterer who does Hawaiian food. But coming from the mainland with Hawaiian roots, we miss these foods because we identify with it, and we want to relive that however we can. I’ve lived in both worlds, and there is a way to share that aloha, through food and music.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whatever your personal preferences may be, I can only speak for mine: I’ll take a Hawaiian-style barbecue plate lunch any day of the week. There’s just something refreshingly simple about it, and it reminds me of how we’re all a mixture of histories that are outside of anyone’s control or simple definitions. In a way, this mishmash is the only thing I know. It’s a place of comfort for me as the child of immigrants.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jacinto, an immigrant herself, feels similarly. “Hawaii reminds me of my home—the warmth, the green, the beaches,” she says. “It’s the closest where I can feel like I’m home.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Who can’t stomach that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>iLava Hawaiian Barbecue is open 11 am–8:15 pm daily at 1446 High St. in Oakland.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">F\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>or most of two decades, I grew up in a single-parent home in the South Bay with a Mexican immigrant father. I remember that our first apartment complex was surrounded by Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants, many of whom didn’t speak English. Still, we all learned how to communicate and mix our customs, spending time in each other’s homes and eating each other’s food. For me and my brother, that meant an extra dose of potstickers and noodles as kids. Our world opened up beyond the tortas, bistec, and quesadillas my dad would often make for dinner, and as I grew older, I understood what it meant to constantly translate cultures through taste.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In our neighborhood, we had access to everything from Round Table Pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken to Middle Eastern rotisserie and German hofbrauhaus. But as a first-generation Mexican American with all of these options, there was one plate I grew to relish more than any other: Hawaiian barbecue.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The “plate lunch” combo was my favorite, no matter where I got it. It always arrived in a steamy container with a creamy scoop of macaroni salad, a lump of sticky white rice, and strips of grilled chicken on a bed of greens—all for a relatively affordable price. Occasionally, I’d mix it up with some breaded katsu for the extra crunch, or order two scoops of mac instead of rice. A can of sinfully sweet Hawaiian Sun completed the meal. I never questioned the origins of the dish.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But eventually I wondered: Did this really come from Hawaii? And how did it get to become such a popular meal for Northern Californians? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What I’ve come to understand is that…it’s complicated. There’s a distinction between “Hawaiian-style” foods and foods that are part of the “true,” original Hawaiian diet, such as fish, poi (a mash of starchy vegetables like taro or plantain) and certain fruits that are native to the islands. The rest has been modified over years of migration, colonialism and interchange.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spam musubi? A mix of Japanese sushi and U.S. infantry rations from World War II. Loco moco? A mash-up of Spaniard-introduced beef, British gravy and Chinese rice that a group of young cooks tossed into a bowl at a diner in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1949. (One of the teens, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/11/30/loco-moco-hawaiis-iconic-dish-has-roots-in-the-east-bay/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">George Takahashi, later migrated to San Leandro\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.) “Hawaiian pizza”? Don’t even think about it. Even the ukulele was brought over by the Portuguese, along with their sausages, oils and batters—key contributions that led to Hawaii’s eventual boom in fried treats like poi doughnuts.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911077\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911077\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-scaled.jpg\" alt='iLava Hawaiian Barbecue owner Nicolle Jacinto makes a \"hang loose\" hand gesture in front of an ocean mural inside her East Oakland restaurant.' width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/hawaiianbbq_ilava-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicole Jacinto fell in love with barbecuing in her native Philippines. Now, she runs a Hawaiian barbecue spot in a Latino strip mall in East Oakland. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Fusion in an Unlikely Place\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The story of Hawaiian barbecue isn’t a story about the sanctity of the purest Hawaiian foods. Instead, it’s a celebration of what it means to be from many places at once, of having mixed upbringings, of melting together a multitude of deliciously imperfect cultural elements and serving them in a Styrofoam to-go box. Most importantly, it’s about finding and tasting that fusion in the most unlikely places—like a Central American strip mall in East Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Hawaiian food isn’t just 100% Hawaiian food, especially in the Bay Area,” says Nicolle Jacinto, owner of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ilavahawaiianbbq.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">iLava Hawaiian Barbecue\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which sits in the aforementioned strip mall. “It’s a mix of many cultures. There’s a fusion and variety of ethnicities here, and since we all eat different foods, Hawaiian has been able to become so popular.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The restaurant is located on a metaphorical island on High Street and International Boulevard. It’s a barely noticeable independent shop surrounded by taco trucks, mega-mercados, lavanderías, pawn shops, armed security guards and fast food joints. Yet right in the heart of this predominantly Latino epicenter, you’ll find this tropically inspired restaurant, serving classic plates of island-style food to a diverse clientele of Spanish-speaking immigrants, high-schoolers and other non-Hawaiians.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Jacinto opened the business in 2017, when her former employer at Hawaiian Grill Express in San Lorenzo asked if she would be interested in running her own restaurant as a part-owner. Since then, Jacinto has overseen iLava’s success, expanding into catering services and a food truck that circulates the entire Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The business serves classic Hawaiian-style plate lunches that feature dishes like barbecue chicken, beef and short ribs, kalua pork, lau lau and garlic shrimp. There’s also a menu of fresh tropical smoothies like the “Hawaiian Sunrise,” a tangy blend of passionfruit and mango. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The one \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/ilava-hawaiian-barbecue-oakland-4\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yelp\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> reviewer who says iLava is “not a true authentic Hawaiian place” because they don’t serve poi seems to miss the point about what the restaurant does do well: a Californicated version of Pacific Island sustenance, served at reasonable prices, in a part of the city that otherwise lacks any major Polynesian presence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In many ways, Hawaiian culinary history seems to be just that—a whirlpool of various, inexplicably linked ingredients from miscellaneous sources that can be cooked on the spot for anyone who’s hungry. Jacinto embodies this fusion in her own journey. After immigrating to the East Bay from the Philippines in 2009, Jacinto missed the flavors of her past. Though she isn’t Hawaiian by birth, many of her Filipino family members migrated to Hawaii in the 1990s. During yearly trips to the islands, she learned about the nuanced varieties of regional foods while helping her mother cook for relatives. According to Jacinto, the parallels between Hawaiians and Filipinos are unmistakable, highlighted by “a great sense of hospitality, an appreciation for tropical weather and a love of grilled meat.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My favorite Hawaiian dish is kalua pork,” she tells me. “It’s slow roasted, and it’s basically lechón in the Philippines. It’s prepared slightly differently—lechón is crispier—but it’s almost the same.” (A Latina employee at iLava excitedly compared the dish to carnitas.) Filipino ube (mashed purple yam) has a distinct purple hue, just like Hawaiian poi.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">From a young age, Jacinto would cook skewered meats in the streets of her native country, grilling them over open flames and selling them to neighbors and passersby on their way to work. It was relatively inexpensive and convenient, she explains, to prepare food in this fashion. That’s where she gained an appreciation for barbecuing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A Bay Area Classic\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Of course, Hawaiian food is much more than grilled meats. But that particular style, commonly known as “Hawaiian BBQ,” is the one that’s the most widely available here in the Bay Area—especially the classic style of meal known as the plate lunch. Born from \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://hawaiioceanproject.com/a-brief-history-of-plate-lunches-in-hawaii/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a working-class context of mixed leftover foods—\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">scraps from previous night’s meals consisting of rice, macaroni and a protein, heaped in a to-go bento box—the plate lunch has become an indisputable California favorite. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13911080\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13911080\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Patrick Landeza mixes poke inside a large metal bowl..\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/patricklandeza_poke-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patrick Landeza, a Hawaiian cook and musician based in Hayward, specializes in poke. But he appreciates the way Hawaiian barbecue spots make the culture more accessible to the mainstream. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Patrick Landeza)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“A plate lunch is just a mixture of things. We’re talking about Japanese, Korean, Hawaiian and more. We’re here in the Bay Area, and this is our taste profile, so that’s why it’s popping up everywhere,” says Patrick Landeza, a Hawaiian cook and musician who owns \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://landezasisland.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Landeza’s Island Poke & Catering\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Hayward, and is a member of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://hccnc.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hawai’i Chamber of Commerce in Northern California\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though Landeza believes most Hawaiian barbecue outlets lack “true aloha,” or a sense of soul and genuine service, he also admits that they are good at “doing what they do by serving comfort food.” Raised on the “island of Berkeley,” Landeza specializes in poke—bowls of diced raw fish and other ingredients—which is a certified Hawaiian staple. As a Bay Area Hawaiian OG, he acknowledges the importance and accessibility of mainstream Hawaiian barbecue among the non-Hawaiian population.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The cuisine’s origins on the mainland date back to 1999 when Johnson Kam and Eddie Flores, Jr. opened their \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/26/business/story1.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">first L&L Hawaiian BBQ outside of Hawaii\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. This was already three decades after the pair had successfully launched the original L&L Drive-In in 1976, in the Kalihi neighborhood of Oahu.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Their brand of quick, simple Hawaiian fare reached California’s shores when \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/26/business/story1.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a former employee relocated to San Francisco\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and began to serve his own Hawaiian-style plate lunches as a side hustle, Landeza explains. That initial success eventually led to the commercialization of Hawaiian food services that have since proliferated under the L&L brand name. Nowadays, the chain boasts over 200 locations throughout the United States, including a recent opening of their first franchise as far east as Florida. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like the plate lunches they serve, L&L’s take on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hawaiianbarbecue.com/about/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“the state food of Hawaii”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a fusion of past traditions with modern business opportunities. They were able to offer ownership to anyone willing to invest in their franchise model—whether Hawaiian-heritaged or not. A wave of shops selling what we now know as “Hawaiian BBQ” emerged as a result, often owned by immigrants like Jacinto.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>There are other reasons \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/1/28/18178937/hawaiian-food-trend-san-francisco-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hawaiian food has reached trending status in the Bay\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For starters, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bay-Area-has-big-Pacific-Islander-population-2839970.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the region is home to the largest population of Polynesian islanders\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> who’ve transplanted to the contiguous stateside, making this the world’s biggest Little Island, with the cities of Hayward and Vallejo boasting the most Hawaiian residents. This proximity for cultural exchange largely explains why so many Americanized Polynesian trends have been popularized in the Bay, including tiki bars and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.curacaoliqueur.com/articles/the-mai-tai-history-and-its-recipes-explained\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the disputed origins of the mai tai cocktail\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For many, these can come across as a form of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2019-11-27/tiki-bar-problems\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">cultural appropriation and “colonial nostalgia\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.” I’ve seen the same exotic simplification happen with Mexican food—it’s tricky territory to mindlessly enjoy a tiki beverage or “Aloha burger” without considering the layers beneath the surface. On the one hand, it represents some attempt to offer the flavors and experiences of a region. But when done poorly, it comes off as kitschy, tone-deaf and imperialistically exploitative. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the case of iLava, though, eating a Filipino-prepared Hawaiian plate lunch in Oakland served by Latino employees represents the beauty of what food can teach us about our human similarities.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Food is a vehicle for building community, creating and nurturing that community,” says Landeza. “I don’t do Hawaiian barbecue. I am a Hawaiian caterer who does Hawaiian food. But coming from the mainland with Hawaiian roots, we miss these foods because we identify with it, and we want to relive that however we can. I’ve lived in both worlds, and there is a way to share that aloha, through food and music.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whatever your personal preferences may be, I can only speak for mine: I’ll take a Hawaiian-style barbecue plate lunch any day of the week. There’s just something refreshingly simple about it, and it reminds me of how we’re all a mixture of histories that are outside of anyone’s control or simple definitions. In a way, this mishmash is the only thing I know. It’s a place of comfort for me as the child of immigrants.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jacinto, an immigrant herself, feels similarly. “Hawaii reminds me of my home—the warmth, the green, the beaches,” she says. “It’s the closest where I can feel like I’m home.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Who can’t stomach that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>iLava Hawaiian Barbecue is open 11 am–8:15 pm daily at 1446 High St. in Oakland.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Before I Became a Food Writer, I Was a Chowhound",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]ears before I’d published a single article about food, I used to spend hours each week writing about where I’d found the Bay Area’s stinkiest stinky tofu, or the fudgiest slice of chocolate cake, or the most unusual variety of melon. In other words, I was one of thousands who regularly shared my most long-winded food discoveries on the discussion forum \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chowhound.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chowhound\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which once dominated online food conversation in the pre-Yelp internet but has mostly faded to obscurity these last few years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Monday, March 28, Chowhound will \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chowhound.com/post/final-goodbye-chowhound-1098935\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">shut down for good\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, closed by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.redventures.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Red Ventures\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the media company that acquired the site in 2020. The decision marks a sad if unsurprising end to one of the few remaining relics of the late-’90s internet. But to me, the loss feels personal: Chowhound played a primary role in my path toward becoming a food writer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even some 15 years ago, when I first started posting on the site, Chowhound already felt like a throwback to some earlier form of internet—the dial-up modem world wide web of my teenage years, when I’d log onto the Bulletin Board System (BBS) my friend hosted from his bedroom PC and spend hours arguing with strangers about atheism, or Pearl Jam, or the designated hitter rule. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">During its heyday in the 2000s and early 2010s, Chowhound didn’t have a single bell or whistle. It was difficult to post photos. The interface was aggressively unattractive. The search bar function had a mind of its own. And for any given discussion thread, users would have to scroll through dozens if not hundreds of lengthy, often discursive posts to find the nugget of information they wanted. A casual visitor looking for a Chinese restaurant recommendation, for example, might be taken aback by the intensity of the back-and-forth conversations on hyper-regional variations on a dish and the historical roots of some seemingly obscure technique or ingredient.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Jim Leff's 'Chowhound Manifesto'\"]“Foodies eat where they’re told. Chowhounds blaze trails. They comb through neighborhoods for culinary treasure. They despise hype.”[/pullquote]In fact, Chowhound’s lack of user-friendliness was a feature rather than a bug. Founded in 1997, the site was the brainchild of a New York City writer and jazz trombone player named Jim Leff, who, along with his friend Bob Okumura, hoped to form a community for like-minded food obsessives—people who “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20220318041837/https://www.chowhound.com/manifesto\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">never settle for less than optimal deliciousness\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.” In its early years, user discussions focused primarily on New York, but quickly grew to include dedicated message boards for most of America’s major metropolitan areas, each board a community unto itself. The Bay Area board was always one of the most active.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Leff’s belief was that “chowhounds” were fundamentally different from “foodies,” whom he despised. “Foodies eat where they’re told,” he wrote in his “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20220318041837/https://www.chowhound.com/manifesto\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chowhound Manifesto\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,” which, for years, was the first post that greeted every new user to the site. “Chowhounds blaze trails. They comb through neighborhoods for culinary treasure. They despise hype.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was a community that, at its core, placed a premium on hedonism. Deliciousness was an equal-opportunity player. You might not find it at a fine dining restaurant, the site’s devotees believed, or an “artisanal” food spot approved by the restaurant critic at the paper of record. Instead, you might find it at a little pupusa counter in the back of a convenience store. You might find it at Popeye’s or Grocery Outlet. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910832\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910832\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing a dog mask and glasses points to a street stall sign that reads, "Wei's Smelly Tofu."\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-800x493.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-1020x628.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-768x473.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-1536x946.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chowhound founder Jim Leff, a \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20220318134757/https://www.chowhound.com/post/jim-leff-wimps-stinky-tofu-308908\">reluctant stinky tofu eater\u003c/a>, wore a mask so he could visit restaurants anonymously during a 2006 trip to Toronto. \u003ccite>(Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While subsequent review sites like Yelp provided a platform for the restaurant-going masses, Chowhound prided itself on offering a home to the expert food explorer—the person who had eaten and documented every single al pastor taco in Fruitvale, or the post-doctoral researcher from China who translated local restaurants’ special menus and arcane food-related historical texts in their spare time. A super-user named “Ruth Lafler” introduced me to the pleasures of an hours-long \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14509760\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">taco crawl\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">; another who went by “rworange” first inspired my curiosity about the culinary delights of Richmond and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20220319231703/https://www.chowhound.com/post/san-pablo-las-montanas-bay-area-mexican-supermarkets-mexican-790018\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Pablo\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Meanwhile, Leff himself wrote that he, in fact, actively sought to \u003cem>repel\u003c/em> the kind of casual posters who might fill the message board with “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://jimleff.blogspot.com/2016/10/resistance-to-winnowing.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">trendy ditz\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It wasn’t necessarily a formula for mainstream success. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nd yet Chowhound endured. The creaky, mostly monochrome message board survived the rise of Facebook, Twitter and photo-driven, aesthetically pleasing food blogs. It outlived GeoCities. It outlived Michael Bauer’s tenure as the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> food critic. And its ethos stayed largely the same, even after Chowhound’s 2006 acquisition by San Francisco-based CNET Networks and, in 2008, that company’s subsequent merger with CBS Interactive. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eventually, as so often happens, the website’s new corporate ownership \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/chowhound-comes-of-age-for-better-or-worse-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">instituted a series of “improvements”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—a five-star rating system, a sleeker interface, larger fonts and a tag-based organizational system. Meant to increase the site’s mass appeal, the changes ultimately \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/chowhound-in-crisis-an-unpopular-redesign-prompts-longtime-users-to-leave-the-food-discussion-website-2-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">alienated the site’s core users\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. One final flurry of market-chasing meddling, in 2015, was the final straw: A mass exodus ensued. Melanie Wong, a retired pharmaceutical executive and longtime poster on Chowhound’s Bay Area board, called it “the Great Rift.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Almost overnight, activity on even the most popular regional discussion boards slowed to a trickle—just a few posts a day, contrasted with the peak years, when there might have been a couple hundred. In the past two or three years, especially, many of the boards would go for several weeks without a single post. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13910410,arts_13904835,arts_13900855']Sampson Shen, who posted on Chowhound under the user name “ckshen,” was one of those who migrated from the site in 2015. He wound up creating his own alternative: a not-for-profit discussion forum called \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hungryonion.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hungry Onion\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that he hosts on a monthly budget of less than $100. It’s probably the closest thing on the web right now to the old Chowhound: It has a similar stripped-down aesthetic, and counts a large number of Chowhound exiles among its frequent contributors. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, Shen admits that Hungry Onion would struggle to even come close to the vibrancy of Chowhound’s golden age when, in any given discussion thread, you might have 20 knowledgeable posters writing in-depth analyses of the merits of a particular dish. An immigrant from Hong Kong, Shen says that while he knew quite a bit about his own culture’s cuisine, Chowhound provided him access to deep knowledge about so many other genres of food. Hungry Onion simply doesn’t have the critical mass of active members to do that to the same extent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“To have a site that resembles half the richness of Chowhound’s conversation, we would need to have twice as many contributors,” he says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, Shen doesn’t quite agree that Chowhound is a relic of the past. Even if “general chatter” has migrated to social networks like Facebook and Twitter, he believes there’s still a place for specialized knowledge—for the kind of nuanced and esoteric food discussions that take place on his site. Look at the online forums for computer programmers, for instance, Shen says. “They’re doing just fine.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]P[/dropcap]erhaps no one embodies the Chowhound ethos better than Wong, the aforementioned retired pharmaceutical executive whose discerning posts on everything from döner kebab shops to the local competitive barbecue circuit on the Bay Area board were the stuff of legend—to the point that the Los Angeles food critic Jonathan Gold once wrote her a fan letter and, eventually, struck up a friendship. (Like many professional food writers, Gold would post on Chowhound under a secret alias; even after Gold’s death in 2018, Wong has kept her promise to never reveal it.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wong is now one of the site’s last remaining regular active users, and says she’s posted her food discoveries on Chowhound nearly every day since around 2000. “Being part of an online community is as natural for me as going out for drinks with friends after work,” Wong says. “It has been my daily habit.” Even during Chowhound’s lean recent years, when I’d check in on the site once every couple of months, Wong kept up her prodigious output. Most days, it seemed like she was the only person who was still posting on the Bay Area board.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chowhound was an important cultural marker, Wong says, for much the same reason that people were so deeply broken up when Anthony Bourdain died. “They made it okay to be obsessed with food,” she says of Chowhound’s online community. “That wasn’t so much a part of American culture before.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On occasion, the forum would make its impact felt in the real world, even beyond boosting sales at scores of formerly overlooked panaderías, dosa shops and arepa stands. Wong recalls one poignant example when, in 2007, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/639/salinas-taco-trucks-in-jeopardy\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the city of Salinas planned to restrict, or even outright ban, taco trucks\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—an effort \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/us/15taco.html\">spearheaded by area restaurants\u003c/a> unhappy with the competition. Wong, who had praised the city’s 30 designated taco trucks on Chowhound in the past, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chowhound.com/post/salinas-chowdown-report-venimos-vimos-comimos-tacos-409977\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">organized an in-person “chowdown”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to show off what she believed to be a delicious, destination-worthy gem of the Salinas Valley. Wong attended the city council meeting in person to speak out on behalf of the taco truck community—and other Chowhounds blitzed the council members with letters of support.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the end, Wong says, “We convinced them that taco trucks were something people come down to the area for.” The city council voted against the ban, and Salinas’ taco trucks were allowed to stay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Melanie Wong\"]“[Chowhounds] made it okay to be obsessed with food. That wasn’t so much a part of American culture before.”[/pullquote]Wong says she’s now taking some time to consider where her new online home will be. For now, she’s mostly concerned with saving the old Chowhound data, and working against the clock, behind the scenes, with the folks at the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://archive.org/web/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Internet Archive\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to preserve as much of the site’s history as possible. “We’re trying to capture memories,” she says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2012, when I was hired as the restaurant critic for the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">East Bay Express\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—my first gig as a professional food writer—I couldn’t have articulated a clearly defined philosophy of food journalism. But I’d already been posting my most exciting food finds on Chowhound for years at that point. I’d been hitting the back roads and spending time in the ugliest, most far-flung strip mall restaurants, because my fellow hounds had taught me that often, that’s where deliciousness could be found. Slowly, post by post, I’d grown unafraid of wandering into an unfamiliar neighborhood—of being the first person in my friend group, or even the internet at large, to try a restaurant and to weigh in on what I’d thought. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If I could bring a bit of that Chowhound spirit into my work as a food critic, I thought—if I could speak up on behalf of the little out-of-the-way places I used to wax poetic about on Chowhound, halfway down a 200-post discussion thread—well, it seemed like that wouldn’t be a bad place to start. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Someday, I’ll step away from my keyboard, retire my Twitter account and listen to my doctor’s advice to eat a reasonable number of meals each day. Someday I’ll quit this business. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But I’ll always be a chowhound.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">Y\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>ears before I’d published a single article about food, I used to spend hours each week writing about where I’d found the Bay Area’s stinkiest stinky tofu, or the fudgiest slice of chocolate cake, or the most unusual variety of melon. In other words, I was one of thousands who regularly shared my most long-winded food discoveries on the discussion forum \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chowhound.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chowhound\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which once dominated online food conversation in the pre-Yelp internet but has mostly faded to obscurity these last few years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Monday, March 28, Chowhound will \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chowhound.com/post/final-goodbye-chowhound-1098935\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">shut down for good\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, closed by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.redventures.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Red Ventures\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the media company that acquired the site in 2020. The decision marks a sad if unsurprising end to one of the few remaining relics of the late-’90s internet. But to me, the loss feels personal: Chowhound played a primary role in my path toward becoming a food writer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even some 15 years ago, when I first started posting on the site, Chowhound already felt like a throwback to some earlier form of internet—the dial-up modem world wide web of my teenage years, when I’d log onto the Bulletin Board System (BBS) my friend hosted from his bedroom PC and spend hours arguing with strangers about atheism, or Pearl Jam, or the designated hitter rule. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">During its heyday in the 2000s and early 2010s, Chowhound didn’t have a single bell or whistle. It was difficult to post photos. The interface was aggressively unattractive. The search bar function had a mind of its own. And for any given discussion thread, users would have to scroll through dozens if not hundreds of lengthy, often discursive posts to find the nugget of information they wanted. A casual visitor looking for a Chinese restaurant recommendation, for example, might be taken aback by the intensity of the back-and-forth conversations on hyper-regional variations on a dish and the historical roots of some seemingly obscure technique or ingredient.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "“Foodies eat where they’re told. Chowhounds blaze trails. They comb through neighborhoods for culinary treasure. They despise hype.”",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In fact, Chowhound’s lack of user-friendliness was a feature rather than a bug. Founded in 1997, the site was the brainchild of a New York City writer and jazz trombone player named Jim Leff, who, along with his friend Bob Okumura, hoped to form a community for like-minded food obsessives—people who “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20220318041837/https://www.chowhound.com/manifesto\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">never settle for less than optimal deliciousness\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.” In its early years, user discussions focused primarily on New York, but quickly grew to include dedicated message boards for most of America’s major metropolitan areas, each board a community unto itself. The Bay Area board was always one of the most active.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Leff’s belief was that “chowhounds” were fundamentally different from “foodies,” whom he despised. “Foodies eat where they’re told,” he wrote in his “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20220318041837/https://www.chowhound.com/manifesto\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chowhound Manifesto\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,” which, for years, was the first post that greeted every new user to the site. “Chowhounds blaze trails. They comb through neighborhoods for culinary treasure. They despise hype.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was a community that, at its core, placed a premium on hedonism. Deliciousness was an equal-opportunity player. You might not find it at a fine dining restaurant, the site’s devotees believed, or an “artisanal” food spot approved by the restaurant critic at the paper of record. Instead, you might find it at a little pupusa counter in the back of a convenience store. You might find it at Popeye’s or Grocery Outlet. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910832\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910832\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing a dog mask and glasses points to a street stall sign that reads, "Wei's Smelly Tofu."\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-800x493.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-1020x628.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-768x473.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JimLeff.Chowhound-1536x946.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chowhound founder Jim Leff, a \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20220318134757/https://www.chowhound.com/post/jim-leff-wimps-stinky-tofu-308908\">reluctant stinky tofu eater\u003c/a>, wore a mask so he could visit restaurants anonymously during a 2006 trip to Toronto. \u003ccite>(Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While subsequent review sites like Yelp provided a platform for the restaurant-going masses, Chowhound prided itself on offering a home to the expert food explorer—the person who had eaten and documented every single al pastor taco in Fruitvale, or the post-doctoral researcher from China who translated local restaurants’ special menus and arcane food-related historical texts in their spare time. A super-user named “Ruth Lafler” introduced me to the pleasures of an hours-long \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14509760\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">taco crawl\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">; another who went by “rworange” first inspired my curiosity about the culinary delights of Richmond and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20220319231703/https://www.chowhound.com/post/san-pablo-las-montanas-bay-area-mexican-supermarkets-mexican-790018\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Pablo\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Meanwhile, Leff himself wrote that he, in fact, actively sought to \u003cem>repel\u003c/em> the kind of casual posters who might fill the message board with “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://jimleff.blogspot.com/2016/10/resistance-to-winnowing.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">trendy ditz\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It wasn’t necessarily a formula for mainstream success. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">A\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>nd yet Chowhound endured. The creaky, mostly monochrome message board survived the rise of Facebook, Twitter and photo-driven, aesthetically pleasing food blogs. It outlived GeoCities. It outlived Michael Bauer’s tenure as the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> food critic. And its ethos stayed largely the same, even after Chowhound’s 2006 acquisition by San Francisco-based CNET Networks and, in 2008, that company’s subsequent merger with CBS Interactive. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eventually, as so often happens, the website’s new corporate ownership \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/chowhound-comes-of-age-for-better-or-worse-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">instituted a series of “improvements”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—a five-star rating system, a sleeker interface, larger fonts and a tag-based organizational system. Meant to increase the site’s mass appeal, the changes ultimately \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/chowhound-in-crisis-an-unpopular-redesign-prompts-longtime-users-to-leave-the-food-discussion-website-2-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">alienated the site’s core users\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. One final flurry of market-chasing meddling, in 2015, was the final straw: A mass exodus ensued. Melanie Wong, a retired pharmaceutical executive and longtime poster on Chowhound’s Bay Area board, called it “the Great Rift.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Almost overnight, activity on even the most popular regional discussion boards slowed to a trickle—just a few posts a day, contrasted with the peak years, when there might have been a couple hundred. In the past two or three years, especially, many of the boards would go for several weeks without a single post. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Sampson Shen, who posted on Chowhound under the user name “ckshen,” was one of those who migrated from the site in 2015. He wound up creating his own alternative: a not-for-profit discussion forum called \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hungryonion.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hungry Onion\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that he hosts on a monthly budget of less than $100. It’s probably the closest thing on the web right now to the old Chowhound: It has a similar stripped-down aesthetic, and counts a large number of Chowhound exiles among its frequent contributors. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, Shen admits that Hungry Onion would struggle to even come close to the vibrancy of Chowhound’s golden age when, in any given discussion thread, you might have 20 knowledgeable posters writing in-depth analyses of the merits of a particular dish. An immigrant from Hong Kong, Shen says that while he knew quite a bit about his own culture’s cuisine, Chowhound provided him access to deep knowledge about so many other genres of food. Hungry Onion simply doesn’t have the critical mass of active members to do that to the same extent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“To have a site that resembles half the richness of Chowhound’s conversation, we would need to have twice as many contributors,” he says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, Shen doesn’t quite agree that Chowhound is a relic of the past. Even if “general chatter” has migrated to social networks like Facebook and Twitter, he believes there’s still a place for specialized knowledge—for the kind of nuanced and esoteric food discussions that take place on his site. Look at the online forums for computer programmers, for instance, Shen says. “They’re doing just fine.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">P\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>erhaps no one embodies the Chowhound ethos better than Wong, the aforementioned retired pharmaceutical executive whose discerning posts on everything from döner kebab shops to the local competitive barbecue circuit on the Bay Area board were the stuff of legend—to the point that the Los Angeles food critic Jonathan Gold once wrote her a fan letter and, eventually, struck up a friendship. (Like many professional food writers, Gold would post on Chowhound under a secret alias; even after Gold’s death in 2018, Wong has kept her promise to never reveal it.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wong is now one of the site’s last remaining regular active users, and says she’s posted her food discoveries on Chowhound nearly every day since around 2000. “Being part of an online community is as natural for me as going out for drinks with friends after work,” Wong says. “It has been my daily habit.” Even during Chowhound’s lean recent years, when I’d check in on the site once every couple of months, Wong kept up her prodigious output. Most days, it seemed like she was the only person who was still posting on the Bay Area board.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chowhound was an important cultural marker, Wong says, for much the same reason that people were so deeply broken up when Anthony Bourdain died. “They made it okay to be obsessed with food,” she says of Chowhound’s online community. “That wasn’t so much a part of American culture before.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On occasion, the forum would make its impact felt in the real world, even beyond boosting sales at scores of formerly overlooked panaderías, dosa shops and arepa stands. Wong recalls one poignant example when, in 2007, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/639/salinas-taco-trucks-in-jeopardy\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the city of Salinas planned to restrict, or even outright ban, taco trucks\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—an effort \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/us/15taco.html\">spearheaded by area restaurants\u003c/a> unhappy with the competition. Wong, who had praised the city’s 30 designated taco trucks on Chowhound in the past, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chowhound.com/post/salinas-chowdown-report-venimos-vimos-comimos-tacos-409977\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">organized an in-person “chowdown”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to show off what she believed to be a delicious, destination-worthy gem of the Salinas Valley. Wong attended the city council meeting in person to speak out on behalf of the taco truck community—and other Chowhounds blitzed the council members with letters of support.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the end, Wong says, “We convinced them that taco trucks were something people come down to the area for.” The city council voted against the ban, and Salinas’ taco trucks were allowed to stay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Wong says she’s now taking some time to consider where her new online home will be. For now, she’s mostly concerned with saving the old Chowhound data, and working against the clock, behind the scenes, with the folks at the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://archive.org/web/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Internet Archive\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to preserve as much of the site’s history as possible. “We’re trying to capture memories,” she says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2012, when I was hired as the restaurant critic for the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">East Bay Express\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—my first gig as a professional food writer—I couldn’t have articulated a clearly defined philosophy of food journalism. But I’d already been posting my most exciting food finds on Chowhound for years at that point. I’d been hitting the back roads and spending time in the ugliest, most far-flung strip mall restaurants, because my fellow hounds had taught me that often, that’s where deliciousness could be found. Slowly, post by post, I’d grown unafraid of wandering into an unfamiliar neighborhood—of being the first person in my friend group, or even the internet at large, to try a restaurant and to weigh in on what I’d thought. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If I could bring a bit of that Chowhound spirit into my work as a food critic, I thought—if I could speak up on behalf of the little out-of-the-way places I used to wax poetic about on Chowhound, halfway down a 200-post discussion thread—well, it seemed like that wouldn’t be a bad place to start. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Someday, I’ll step away from my keyboard, retire my Twitter account and listen to my doctor’s advice to eat a reasonable number of meals each day. Someday I’ll quit this business. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But I’ll always be a chowhound.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "This Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice Is All About the Fat",
"headTitle": "This Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice Is All About the Fat | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The most important thing is to not skimp out on the fat. That was the main lesson that Ashley Yan took away from annual trips to Taiwan, where she fell in love with lu rou fan, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">classic Taiwanese dish of braised pork belly over rice\u003c/a>. Here in the Bay Area? If she found the dish at all, it was almost always made with ground pork instead of pork belly. It never had the fatty richness that she remembered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So after she was laid off from her day job with the pandemic still in full swing, Yan decided to start up a lu rou fan delivery service of her own. She launched \u003ca href=\"https://asyan77.wixsite.com/ashyansfood\">Ashyan’s Lu Ruo Fan\u003c/a> early last year out of a small kitchen in San Francisco’s Richmond District, delivering meals to customers in the northwestern part of the city. By the time she decided to take an extended break last February, she’d garnered a couple months’ worth of \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/ashyans-lu-ruo-fan-san-francisco?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stellar Yelp reviews\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Ashyan’s is back, and this time Yan is determined to share her lu rou fan with even more people in San Francisco and beyond. Her business is part of a growing wave of next-generation pop-ups and informal food entrepreneurs that have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">reinvigorated the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food scene\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I always loved the little random shops on the street,” Yan says of the lu rou fan stalls in Taiwan. “That’s what I envisioned and what I wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910674\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1139px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910674\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819.jpg\" alt=\"Pieces of hand-cut pork belly simmering in the pan.\" width=\"1139\" height=\"854\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819.jpg 1139w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1139px) 100vw, 1139px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">To give her lu rou fan the luxurious richness that she wanted, Yan uses hand-cut pork belly that’s 70% fat. \u003ccite>(Ashyan's Lu Rou Fan)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In order to capture that elusive taste, Yan adheres to what she calls the “golden ratio”: pork belly that is roughly 70% fat and 30% meat. Searing off the slabs of pork belly and cutting them up by hand is by far the most labor-intensive part of the cooking process, so Yan says she understands why local restaurants would choose to substitute ground pork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s no comparing the taste and texture. Yan’s lu rou fan isn’t as salty as other local versions, nor does it have the tinge of sweetness that you get with recipes that are heavier on the rock sugar. What it does have, however, is a rich depth of flavor that comes from all of the rendered pork fat that soaks into the rice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s comfort food at its core, and that’s what I want to keep it as,” Yan says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, the lu rou fan is the only featured menu item. For $16, it’s a complete meal that comes with a hard-boiled egg and a few slices of pickled daikon to cut into the heaviness of the meat. Recently she also included a tangy salad studded with colorful bell peppers and kalamata olives—a bit of a fresh, light California touch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13897272,arts_13897498,arts_13901982']Up until this point, Yan has only had the capacity to do about 30 or 35 orders at a time, so she hasn’t had to do much marketing. Her email list, mostly collected from her initial posts on Next Door and her neighborhood “Buy Nothing” page on Facebook, has been robust enough to allow her to sell out just hours after she opens her online pre-ordering form each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now Yan, who worked in the Bay Area restaurant industry for 14 years, mostly as a server and event planner, is thinking about how to best take Ashyan’s to the next level. For the next few months, at least, she’ll continue to operate on a small scale, selling her lu rou fan about three days a month—two days for delivery in the Richmond, Lone Mountain and Laurel Heights neighborhoods, and one day for pickup at her kitchen in the Richmond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Yan is also looking to extend her reach. She’s exploring the possibility of working out of kitchens in Oakland and Redwood City, and she’s also accepting inquiries for catering orders from customers down the Peninsula and beyond. If all goes well, eventually she’d like to turn Ashyan’s Lu Ruo Fan into a food truck or a small brick-and-mortar restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The next lu rou fan sale dates for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ashyanfoods/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ashyan’s Lu Ruo Fan\u003c/a>\u003ci> will be on March 30 and 31 (for delivery) and April 1 (for pickup). Customers can place orders via the \u003ca href=\"https://asyan77.wixsite.com/ashyansfood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online order form\u003c/a>. For the latest updates, sign up for the business’ \u003ca href=\"https://asyan77.wixsite.com/ashyansfood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">email list\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The most important thing is to not skimp out on the fat. That was the main lesson that Ashley Yan took away from annual trips to Taiwan, where she fell in love with lu rou fan, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">classic Taiwanese dish of braised pork belly over rice\u003c/a>. Here in the Bay Area? If she found the dish at all, it was almost always made with ground pork instead of pork belly. It never had the fatty richness that she remembered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So after she was laid off from her day job with the pandemic still in full swing, Yan decided to start up a lu rou fan delivery service of her own. She launched \u003ca href=\"https://asyan77.wixsite.com/ashyansfood\">Ashyan’s Lu Ruo Fan\u003c/a> early last year out of a small kitchen in San Francisco’s Richmond District, delivering meals to customers in the northwestern part of the city. By the time she decided to take an extended break last February, she’d garnered a couple months’ worth of \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/ashyans-lu-ruo-fan-san-francisco?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stellar Yelp reviews\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Ashyan’s is back, and this time Yan is determined to share her lu rou fan with even more people in San Francisco and beyond. Her business is part of a growing wave of next-generation pop-ups and informal food entrepreneurs that have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">reinvigorated the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food scene\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I always loved the little random shops on the street,” Yan says of the lu rou fan stalls in Taiwan. “That’s what I envisioned and what I wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910674\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1139px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910674\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819.jpg\" alt=\"Pieces of hand-cut pork belly simmering in the pan.\" width=\"1139\" height=\"854\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819.jpg 1139w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_1819-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1139px) 100vw, 1139px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">To give her lu rou fan the luxurious richness that she wanted, Yan uses hand-cut pork belly that’s 70% fat. \u003ccite>(Ashyan's Lu Rou Fan)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In order to capture that elusive taste, Yan adheres to what she calls the “golden ratio”: pork belly that is roughly 70% fat and 30% meat. Searing off the slabs of pork belly and cutting them up by hand is by far the most labor-intensive part of the cooking process, so Yan says she understands why local restaurants would choose to substitute ground pork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s no comparing the taste and texture. Yan’s lu rou fan isn’t as salty as other local versions, nor does it have the tinge of sweetness that you get with recipes that are heavier on the rock sugar. What it does have, however, is a rich depth of flavor that comes from all of the rendered pork fat that soaks into the rice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s comfort food at its core, and that’s what I want to keep it as,” Yan says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, the lu rou fan is the only featured menu item. For $16, it’s a complete meal that comes with a hard-boiled egg and a few slices of pickled daikon to cut into the heaviness of the meat. Recently she also included a tangy salad studded with colorful bell peppers and kalamata olives—a bit of a fresh, light California touch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Up until this point, Yan has only had the capacity to do about 30 or 35 orders at a time, so she hasn’t had to do much marketing. Her email list, mostly collected from her initial posts on Next Door and her neighborhood “Buy Nothing” page on Facebook, has been robust enough to allow her to sell out just hours after she opens her online pre-ordering form each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now Yan, who worked in the Bay Area restaurant industry for 14 years, mostly as a server and event planner, is thinking about how to best take Ashyan’s to the next level. For the next few months, at least, she’ll continue to operate on a small scale, selling her lu rou fan about three days a month—two days for delivery in the Richmond, Lone Mountain and Laurel Heights neighborhoods, and one day for pickup at her kitchen in the Richmond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Yan is also looking to extend her reach. She’s exploring the possibility of working out of kitchens in Oakland and Redwood City, and she’s also accepting inquiries for catering orders from customers down the Peninsula and beyond. If all goes well, eventually she’d like to turn Ashyan’s Lu Ruo Fan into a food truck or a small brick-and-mortar restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The next lu rou fan sale dates for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ashyanfoods/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ashyan’s Lu Ruo Fan\u003c/a>\u003ci> will be on March 30 and 31 (for delivery) and April 1 (for pickup). Customers can place orders via the \u003ca href=\"https://asyan77.wixsite.com/ashyansfood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online order form\u003c/a>. For the latest updates, sign up for the business’ \u003ca href=\"https://asyan77.wixsite.com/ashyansfood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">email list\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Miss Ollie's Closes: The End of an Era for Oakland's Black and Brown Communities",
"headTitle": "Miss Ollie’s Closes: The End of an Era for Oakland’s Black and Brown Communities | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For the past 10 years, Miss Ollie’s has been a fixture in Oakland’s celebrated restaurant scene—a delicious beacon of fiery pepper sauce, pholourie and the best damn skillet-fried chicken in all the land. Even more than that, the restaurant has been a vital gathering place for Oakland’s Black, brown and queer communities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, much to the sadness of longtime customers, the beloved Afro-Caribbean spot will close, serving its last rum cocktail and its final plate of fried chicken out of 901 Washington St. at the end of this month.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The news shouldn’t come as a complete shock: \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/22179428/oakland-restaurant-miss-ollies-turning-into-nonprofit-sanctuary\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A little over a year ago\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, chef and owner Sarah Kirnon announced her intention to close the restaurant with an eye toward transforming it into a nonprofit called Sanctuary, which would host sprawling outdoor events centered on Oakland’s Black and brown communities—a kind of cross between a food festival, an art gallery and the longstanding Caribbean tradition of Carnival. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kirnon wound up working out an arrangement with her landlord that enabled the restaurant to stay open for another year. In the end, Kirnon says, the economics of trying to keep a restaurant alive during the pandemic took too much of a toll—and that, really, even pre-COVID, the numbers had not been adding up for quite some time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Bars are doing well because people like to drink and forget. Restaurants are for joy and celebration. We’ve not had much of that lately.” Kirnon says. “We don’t see it as a sadness. For us, it’s a smart move to make.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With that in mind, Kirnon stresses that Miss Ollie’s will, in fact, live on in some form, likely as a small takeout window and catering operation based out of a to-be-determined new location in Oakland. And the nonprofit project is still very much in the works. But the physical restaurant that customers have come to know and love over the past 10 years will cease to exist.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910460\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910460\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"Wearing a face mask, chef Sarah Kirnon holds a plate of fried chicken at Miss Ollie's, her Old Oakland restaurant.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Sarah Kirnon’s most famous dish is her skillet-fried chicken, a staple at her restaurant Miss Ollie’s, in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The decision marks the end of a chapter for a restaurant that was, very quietly, one of the most exciting places to eat in the entire Bay Area. Along with neighbors such as Cosecha, Miss Ollie’s helped revitalize Swan’s Market, turning Old Oakland into one of the Bay Area’s most dynamic, and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13904416/old-oakland-block-party-international-food-swans-market\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">most international\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, dining districts. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>End of a Golden Age\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In many ways, Miss Ollie’s departure also marks the end of a very specific golden age for restaurants in Oakland. The late 2000s and early 2010s were when Oakland first came to national prominence as a notable food city—when publications like the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">New York Times \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">started parachuting writers into Temescal and Piedmont Avenue to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/travel/03hours.html\">document the burgeoning scene\u003c/a>. What struck me at the time was that the buzziest restaurants all seemed to be helmed by folks of color—women of color, in particular. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910459\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910459\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"Customers look at the menu at the bar counter; the sign for "Miss Ollie's" is visible in the mirror's reflection..\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In its prime, the dining room at Miss Ollie’s was packed every night—in particular with the Bay Area’s Black, brown and queer communities. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/sarah-kirnons-revolutionary-new-restaurant-in-old-oakland-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Born at the start of this era\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Miss Ollie’s was \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the\u003c/span>\u003c/i> \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/ten-quintessential-oakland-restaurants-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">quintessential Oakland restaurant\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—the kind of place I would bring out-of-town visitors to when I wanted to show off the city. As I wrote in 2015, restaurants like Miss Ollie’s “crackled with electricity even on a random weeknight,” had food that was delicious enough to stop you in your tracks, and were reasonably affordable to boot. They were run by charismatic chefs who were cooking food that was deeply personal, reflecting the cultures that shaped their identities—Afro-Caribbean, Mexican, Korean, Lao. And, perhaps most striking, their dining rooms were some of the most diverse I’ve ever encountered.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It was Oakland at its finest,” Kirnon says. “Black and brown, people of color, queer folks, elders—we were cross-generational. And I’ve seen kids go off to college. We’ve done funerals. We were a neighborhood restaurant.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One by one, however, the restaurants I associate with that era have mostly all closed, many of them even before the pandemic hit. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2022/01/11/brown-sugar-kitchen-tanya-holland-closed/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Brown Sugar Kitchen is gone\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. So is Juhu Beach Club, FuseBOX (\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/fusebox-serves-food-for-the-people-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">remember FuseBOX\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">?) and the original Hawker Fare. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910458\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910458\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"A shrine with black-and-white photos of chef Sarah Kirnon's grandmother, Miss Ollie, sits on a shelf.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A shrine with photos of chef Sarah Kirnon’s grandmother, Miss Ollie, is one of the restaurant’s many personal touches. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Among their many virtues, all of those restaurants were known for serving delicious, ambitious food made with high-quality ingredients, but at a lower, still-accessible price point. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“How do you survive in that mid-range place in this economy?” says Preeti Mistry, the chef and founder of Juhu Beach Club. “Those types of restaurants are becoming an endangered species.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mistry still remembers how blown away they were by Kirnon’s fried chicken the first time they ate at Miss Ollie’s—and Kirnon’s matter-of-fact response when asked what she had put in that chicken to make it taste so good: “seasoning.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Mistry, what really set the restaurant apart was how personal everything felt, from the shrine set up for Kirnon’s grandmother—the original Miss Ollie—to the brightly colored vintage enamel plateware to the food itself. A hopeful energy marked so many of the restaurants run by women of color during that era, Mistry says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910461\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910461\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"A piece of fried chicken on blue-and-white checkered paper.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The secret to the fried chicken at Miss Ollie’s is “seasoning.” \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The earlier generation it was mostly cis white men and some women [who were running restaurants]. This was a whole new generation,” Mistry says. “Everyone was not staying in the lines; there was a lot of experimentation. It was a way of not giving a fuck.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A Deep Soul Connection\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ellen Sebastian Chang, the co-owner and general manager of FuseBOX, a Korean fusion restaurant that opened in West Oakland a few months earlier than Miss Ollie’s, says the thing that always struck her about Kirnon’s food was the “deep soul connection” that you felt when you were eating it. You could tell, Sebastian Chang says, that the food had been cooked with soul—that someone had put their “life force” into it, that sense of\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“if I don’t do it right, the ancestors in my family are going to haunt me in my dreams.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sebastian Chang struck up a friendship with Kirnon, and she remembers that when FuseBOX closed, Kirnon bought up all of the remaining house-made pickles that the restaurant had in stock and featured them in a special menu that she put together for Miss Ollie’s. “To me, that really speaks to respectful relationships,” Sebastian Chang says. “I see you. You see me. We’re not competing. We’re actually a long-distance collaboration.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Somehow, despite how much of a community fixture the restaurant became, Miss Ollie’s always felt a little bit underrated, even in its prime. Kirnon wasn’t feted with national awards the way that some of her peers in Oakland were. And local food media rarely credited the place for being what it was: one of the very best restaurants in the Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910462\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910462\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"Chef Sarah Kirnon holds a plate of Caribbean patties.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Caribbean beef patties were one of the many Afro-Caribbean dishes served at Miss Ollie’s that were hard to find elsewhere in the Bay Area. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vinny Eng recalls that he met Kirnon when he was the wine director for Bar Tartine and she was the chef at Front Porch, on the other side of the Mission. According to Eng, what Kirnon doesn’t get enough credit for is how much of a mentor she has been to the chefs who worked in her kitchen and then went on further successes—what he calls a “quiet lineage of cooks” that she has trained. Miss Ollie’s was one of a relatively small number of kitchens that felt like they were safe havens for young, queer Black and brown chefs, in particular. And that sense of safety and community extended to the rest of the restaurant.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13904416,arts_13895067']“Community activists and community organizers were always in that space,” Eng says. “More than just functioning as a place where people ate, this was a place where people \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">convened\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Filling the Void\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As time went on, however, Kirnon says demographic changes within Oakland wound up taking the restaurant’s core communities away even as the city became oversaturated with restaurants. “We lost lots of Black and brown people who moved out of the Bay Area,” she says, noting how a number of her longtime customers might only visit once every couple of months now because they had to move to Stockton or Sacramento. “We were really responding to a particular crowd of folks. And it feels like that doesn’t exist anymore.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What Kirnon fears is that the departure of Miss Ollie’s brick-and-mortar space will leave even more of a gap in the community of places where Black and brown folks can congregate. What, then, can she do, other than try to create something new to fill the void?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910463\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910463\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"Two customers sit at a wooden table outside of Miss Ollie's in Old Oakland.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wesley and Antoinettemarie Williams made sure to eat at Miss Ollie’s while visiting from out of state. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the idea behind the nonprofit Sanctuary, which Kirnon says she’s hoping to move into a temporary location in Oakland. Initially, she hopes to run it as a kind of food hub, not entirely dissimilar to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895067/la-cocina-municipal-marketplace-food-hall-opening-tenderloin\">La Cocina’s Marketplace\u003c/a> in the Tenderloin, where multiple vendors will be able to host pop-ups and build new food businesses. It will function as a sort of “think tank,” Kirnon says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And for those who will specifically miss the food at Miss Ollie’s, there’s some good news as well. Kirnon says she’s in the process of finding a new location in Oakland to house Miss Ollie’s, not as a proper restaurant, but at least as a takeout window where people can pick up food, order delivery via apps and get food catered for their companies or events.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As for the original Miss Ollie’s, the restaurant will host a number of farewell events in the coming weeks—keep an eye on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/missolliesoakland/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their Instagram\u003c/a>. While the current plan is to stay open until the end of the month, Kirnon says longtime customers should come by in the next week or two the ensure a chance to say their final goodbyes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Opening in the early 2010s, Miss Ollie's quickly became a landmark for a golden age of restaurants in Oakland.",
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"description": "Opening in the early 2010s, Miss Ollie's quickly became a landmark for a golden age of restaurants in Oakland.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For the past 10 years, Miss Ollie’s has been a fixture in Oakland’s celebrated restaurant scene—a delicious beacon of fiery pepper sauce, pholourie and the best damn skillet-fried chicken in all the land. Even more than that, the restaurant has been a vital gathering place for Oakland’s Black, brown and queer communities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, much to the sadness of longtime customers, the beloved Afro-Caribbean spot will close, serving its last rum cocktail and its final plate of fried chicken out of 901 Washington St. at the end of this month.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The news shouldn’t come as a complete shock: \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/22179428/oakland-restaurant-miss-ollies-turning-into-nonprofit-sanctuary\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A little over a year ago\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, chef and owner Sarah Kirnon announced her intention to close the restaurant with an eye toward transforming it into a nonprofit called Sanctuary, which would host sprawling outdoor events centered on Oakland’s Black and brown communities—a kind of cross between a food festival, an art gallery and the longstanding Caribbean tradition of Carnival. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kirnon wound up working out an arrangement with her landlord that enabled the restaurant to stay open for another year. In the end, Kirnon says, the economics of trying to keep a restaurant alive during the pandemic took too much of a toll—and that, really, even pre-COVID, the numbers had not been adding up for quite some time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Bars are doing well because people like to drink and forget. Restaurants are for joy and celebration. We’ve not had much of that lately.” Kirnon says. “We don’t see it as a sadness. For us, it’s a smart move to make.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With that in mind, Kirnon stresses that Miss Ollie’s will, in fact, live on in some form, likely as a small takeout window and catering operation based out of a to-be-determined new location in Oakland. And the nonprofit project is still very much in the works. But the physical restaurant that customers have come to know and love over the past 10 years will cease to exist.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910460\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910460\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"Wearing a face mask, chef Sarah Kirnon holds a plate of fried chicken at Miss Ollie's, her Old Oakland restaurant.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/015_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Sarah Kirnon’s most famous dish is her skillet-fried chicken, a staple at her restaurant Miss Ollie’s, in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The decision marks the end of a chapter for a restaurant that was, very quietly, one of the most exciting places to eat in the entire Bay Area. Along with neighbors such as Cosecha, Miss Ollie’s helped revitalize Swan’s Market, turning Old Oakland into one of the Bay Area’s most dynamic, and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13904416/old-oakland-block-party-international-food-swans-market\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">most international\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, dining districts. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>End of a Golden Age\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In many ways, Miss Ollie’s departure also marks the end of a very specific golden age for restaurants in Oakland. The late 2000s and early 2010s were when Oakland first came to national prominence as a notable food city—when publications like the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">New York Times \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">started parachuting writers into Temescal and Piedmont Avenue to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/travel/03hours.html\">document the burgeoning scene\u003c/a>. What struck me at the time was that the buzziest restaurants all seemed to be helmed by folks of color—women of color, in particular. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910459\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910459\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"Customers look at the menu at the bar counter; the sign for "Miss Ollie's" is visible in the mirror's reflection..\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/005_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In its prime, the dining room at Miss Ollie’s was packed every night—in particular with the Bay Area’s Black, brown and queer communities. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/sarah-kirnons-revolutionary-new-restaurant-in-old-oakland-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Born at the start of this era\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Miss Ollie’s was \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the\u003c/span>\u003c/i> \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/ten-quintessential-oakland-restaurants-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">quintessential Oakland restaurant\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—the kind of place I would bring out-of-town visitors to when I wanted to show off the city. As I wrote in 2015, restaurants like Miss Ollie’s “crackled with electricity even on a random weeknight,” had food that was delicious enough to stop you in your tracks, and were reasonably affordable to boot. They were run by charismatic chefs who were cooking food that was deeply personal, reflecting the cultures that shaped their identities—Afro-Caribbean, Mexican, Korean, Lao. And, perhaps most striking, their dining rooms were some of the most diverse I’ve ever encountered.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It was Oakland at its finest,” Kirnon says. “Black and brown, people of color, queer folks, elders—we were cross-generational. And I’ve seen kids go off to college. We’ve done funerals. We were a neighborhood restaurant.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One by one, however, the restaurants I associate with that era have mostly all closed, many of them even before the pandemic hit. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2022/01/11/brown-sugar-kitchen-tanya-holland-closed/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Brown Sugar Kitchen is gone\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. So is Juhu Beach Club, FuseBOX (\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/fusebox-serves-food-for-the-people-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">remember FuseBOX\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">?) and the original Hawker Fare. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910458\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910458\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"A shrine with black-and-white photos of chef Sarah Kirnon's grandmother, Miss Ollie, sits on a shelf.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/001_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A shrine with photos of chef Sarah Kirnon’s grandmother, Miss Ollie, is one of the restaurant’s many personal touches. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Among their many virtues, all of those restaurants were known for serving delicious, ambitious food made with high-quality ingredients, but at a lower, still-accessible price point. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“How do you survive in that mid-range place in this economy?” says Preeti Mistry, the chef and founder of Juhu Beach Club. “Those types of restaurants are becoming an endangered species.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mistry still remembers how blown away they were by Kirnon’s fried chicken the first time they ate at Miss Ollie’s—and Kirnon’s matter-of-fact response when asked what she had put in that chicken to make it taste so good: “seasoning.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Mistry, what really set the restaurant apart was how personal everything felt, from the shrine set up for Kirnon’s grandmother—the original Miss Ollie—to the brightly colored vintage enamel plateware to the food itself. A hopeful energy marked so many of the restaurants run by women of color during that era, Mistry says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910461\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910461\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"A piece of fried chicken on blue-and-white checkered paper.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/016_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The secret to the fried chicken at Miss Ollie’s is “seasoning.” \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The earlier generation it was mostly cis white men and some women [who were running restaurants]. This was a whole new generation,” Mistry says. “Everyone was not staying in the lines; there was a lot of experimentation. It was a way of not giving a fuck.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A Deep Soul Connection\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ellen Sebastian Chang, the co-owner and general manager of FuseBOX, a Korean fusion restaurant that opened in West Oakland a few months earlier than Miss Ollie’s, says the thing that always struck her about Kirnon’s food was the “deep soul connection” that you felt when you were eating it. You could tell, Sebastian Chang says, that the food had been cooked with soul—that someone had put their “life force” into it, that sense of\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“if I don’t do it right, the ancestors in my family are going to haunt me in my dreams.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sebastian Chang struck up a friendship with Kirnon, and she remembers that when FuseBOX closed, Kirnon bought up all of the remaining house-made pickles that the restaurant had in stock and featured them in a special menu that she put together for Miss Ollie’s. “To me, that really speaks to respectful relationships,” Sebastian Chang says. “I see you. You see me. We’re not competing. We’re actually a long-distance collaboration.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Somehow, despite how much of a community fixture the restaurant became, Miss Ollie’s always felt a little bit underrated, even in its prime. Kirnon wasn’t feted with national awards the way that some of her peers in Oakland were. And local food media rarely credited the place for being what it was: one of the very best restaurants in the Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910462\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910462\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"Chef Sarah Kirnon holds a plate of Caribbean patties.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/002_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Caribbean beef patties were one of the many Afro-Caribbean dishes served at Miss Ollie’s that were hard to find elsewhere in the Bay Area. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vinny Eng recalls that he met Kirnon when he was the wine director for Bar Tartine and she was the chef at Front Porch, on the other side of the Mission. According to Eng, what Kirnon doesn’t get enough credit for is how much of a mentor she has been to the chefs who worked in her kitchen and then went on further successes—what he calls a “quiet lineage of cooks” that she has trained. Miss Ollie’s was one of a relatively small number of kitchens that felt like they were safe havens for young, queer Black and brown chefs, in particular. And that sense of safety and community extended to the rest of the restaurant.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Community activists and community organizers were always in that space,” Eng says. “More than just functioning as a place where people ate, this was a place where people \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">convened\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Filling the Void\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As time went on, however, Kirnon says demographic changes within Oakland wound up taking the restaurant’s core communities away even as the city became oversaturated with restaurants. “We lost lots of Black and brown people who moved out of the Bay Area,” she says, noting how a number of her longtime customers might only visit once every couple of months now because they had to move to Stockton or Sacramento. “We were really responding to a particular crowd of folks. And it feels like that doesn’t exist anymore.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What Kirnon fears is that the departure of Miss Ollie’s brick-and-mortar space will leave even more of a gap in the community of places where Black and brown folks can congregate. What, then, can she do, other than try to create something new to fill the void?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910463\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910463\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg\" alt=\"Two customers sit at a wooden table outside of Miss Ollie's in Old Oakland.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/013_KQEDArts_MissOllies_03042022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wesley and Antoinettemarie Williams made sure to eat at Miss Ollie’s while visiting from out of state. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the idea behind the nonprofit Sanctuary, which Kirnon says she’s hoping to move into a temporary location in Oakland. Initially, she hopes to run it as a kind of food hub, not entirely dissimilar to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895067/la-cocina-municipal-marketplace-food-hall-opening-tenderloin\">La Cocina’s Marketplace\u003c/a> in the Tenderloin, where multiple vendors will be able to host pop-ups and build new food businesses. It will function as a sort of “think tank,” Kirnon says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And for those who will specifically miss the food at Miss Ollie’s, there’s some good news as well. Kirnon says she’s in the process of finding a new location in Oakland to house Miss Ollie’s, not as a proper restaurant, but at least as a takeout window where people can pick up food, order delivery via apps and get food catered for their companies or events.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As for the original Miss Ollie’s, the restaurant will host a number of farewell events in the coming weeks—keep an eye on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/missolliesoakland/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their Instagram\u003c/a>. While the current plan is to stay open until the end of the month, Kirnon says longtime customers should come by in the next week or two the ensure a chance to say their final goodbyes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "This Vegan Carnicería Wants to Be the Latinx Answer to Impossible Foods",
"headTitle": "This Vegan Carnicería Wants to Be the Latinx Answer to Impossible Foods | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n the future that Raul Medina imagines, not only will America have a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2016/09/02/492390405/-memeoftheweek-taco-trucks-on-every-corner\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">taco truck on every corner\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but all of those trucks will also offer a full slate of vegan meats. Carnitas, carne asada, chicharrón—each taco a delicious miracle crafted out of tofu skins and dehydrated soy chips. And the supplier of these stellar faux meats? Naturally that would be Medina himself, whose vegan carnicería, Taqueria La Venganza, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/Cult-favorite-vegan-Mexican-pop-up-is-opening-a-16530555.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">opened in Oakland earlier this year\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I want to be the Impossible Foods—the Beyond Meat—of the Mexican meat world,” Medina says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s a bold ambition for a chef whose entire operation, at the moment, is based inside a small downtown Oakland bodega. Just a couple of months in, La Venganza has already garnered a reputation for serving the best vegan tacos in town. But Medina has his sights set much higher: He doesn’t want to be known as just a taquero. He wants to be the guy up the supply chain who makes your favorite taquero \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">want\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to offer a vegan option—who makes meats that are delicious enough, and profitable enough, that every taqueria in the country will want to use them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In short, Medina wants \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">his\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> vegan carne asada—not Impossible’s or Beyond’s—to be the one that goes national. And in the process, he hopes to strike a blow for smaller, less corporatized and more Latinx-centric businesses. “I don’t want them to do ‘Beyond Asada’ or ‘Impossible Asada,’ and then suddenly we’re eating some other corporate shit.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910278\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910278\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Chef Raul Medina presses a tortilla by hand.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-2048x1280.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-1920x1200.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">After launching his pop-up in Berkeley six years ago, Medina made a name for himself when La Venganza won the title for best taco in all of Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Raul Medina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ten or 20 years ago, vegans like Medina could scarcely have imagined a time when “plant-based meat” would be seen as the trendiest, most lucrative sector in food—the subject of dozens of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/impossible-burger-fake-meat\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">breathless reviews\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/24/opinion/climate-change-meatless-meat.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">earnest thinkpieces\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. These days, you can buy an Impossible Burger at Burger King. You can find the patties in the freezer aisle of your local Walmart or Target.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For me, veganism was always punk rock,” Raul Medina says of his early days of meat abstention. “You were looked upon as a weirdo. Like, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">what the fuck are you doing\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, he says, companies like Beyond and Impossible have helped take veganism to the masses. But their proliferation has also led to a certain homogeneity in the vegan food scene. The national fast food chains sell the same faux meat patties that customers might shell out $20 for at their favorite boutique pop-up. For the most part, vegan chefs aren’t even bothering to experiment with their own personalized take on an old-school black bean burger anymore. “I don’t care how much you say, ‘Oh, I make it taste different. I season it differently,’” Medina says. “It tastes the same to me everywhere I go.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]“At the end of the day, that’s the vision—to have a vegan carnicería in every major city and have it supply the meats to every taco truck on every corner.”[/pullquote]Medina doesn’t deny that the Impossible Burger tastes good, and he acknowledges that any reduction in meat consumption that comes as these companies become more mainstream is a net positive. But for him, veganism was always about more than just protecting animals. It was also about all of the other systemic abuses that were endemic to the industrial meat complex—the way the workers in the slaughterhouses were treated, for instance. In his past career, Medina worked at an immigration law firm, and he says he saw firsthand how the big poultry plants would bus in workers from Mexico and “literally deport them after the season’s done.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Medina questions whether the big plant-based meat companies are set up so differently, even if they’re applying a “green bandage” to the food system. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Is that the same situation that’s going to go on with soy and wheat and coconut oil? I’m not blind to consumerism and capitalism,” he says. “I know what happens when something becomes popular. There are ways that they’re going to try to cut down costs. Who are we getting to work the fields? Are we paying them more, or are just paying them what the fuck we need to pay them?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910280\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910280\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A styrofoam container with three tacos, rice, and beans.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A plate from La Venganza’s collaboration with L.A.’s Taco Vega. \u003ccite>(Raul Medina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Indeed, part of what motivated Medina to really push the Taqueria La Venganza brand and extend its reach was hearing the news that Beyond Meat was working on a (\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/22827004/taco-bell-beyond-meat-carne-asada-test-canceled-plant-based-fast-food\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">thus far unsuccessful\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">) vegan carne asada for Taco Bell. La Venganza’s attempts at global expansion have seen more modest success thus far: In addition to his own taqueria, Medina also supplies vegan meats for Oakland’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/taqueria-el-cruzero-oakland\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taqueria El Cruzero\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and he recently ran a collaboration with \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CakmlXcP5u0/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taco Vega\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a vegan taqueria in Los Angeles, with an eye toward opening his second location down in L.A. Toward that end, he’s actively looking for \u003ca href=\"https://wefunder.com/venganzafoods/\">investors\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In comparison to the food tech giants, Medina says his supply chain is relatively straightforward and analog. For his carne asada, for instance, he imports dehydrated soy chips from Taiwan and seasons them with various spices (including Vietnamese rice powder) to emulate the smoky, slightly burnt effect you get when a nice piece of skirt steak hits the grill.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Who’s getting rich off of that? Me, a Taiwanese company and whatever Mexican just sold you the taco,” Medina says. “I want Mexican people making money off of my products. At the end of the day, that’s the vision—to have a vegan carnicería in every major city and have it supply the meats to every taco truck on every corner.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]“It opened people’s eyes to be like, ‘This guy is making Mexican food vegan, but it tastes like my mom made it.’ … You didn’t have to ask for something with a stupid name. What you were used to is what you got.”[/pullquote]Of course, none of these plans would have much hope for success if the tacos themselves didn’t taste good. For Medina, basing his first carnicería in the East Bay marks something of a homecoming: La Venganza first burst onto the vegan food scene six years ago as a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/faux-meat-keeps-it-real-at-the-butchers-son-and-taqueria-la-venganza-2-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">popular Berkeley pop-up\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The chef went on to make a name for himself in Los Angeles, where in short order La Venganza was tapped to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://chooseveg.com/blog/6-vegan-food-vendors-at-coachella-that-will/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">sell tacos at Coachella\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and then—its biggest break—won L.A. Taco’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lataco.com/taco-madness-2018/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Taco Madness” competition\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for the coveted title of best taco in all of Los Angeles in 2018.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s L.A. It’s Mexicans,” Medina says of the street cred that the victory gave his business. In many ways, it also set off a whole new wave of vegan taquerias in Los Angeles and beyond. What set La Venganza apart from much of the previous generation of vegan tacos was that, apart from whatever textural magic Medina was able to work out of yuba and other soy and wheat gluten products, the chef’s approach was \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/faux-meat-keeps-it-real-at-the-butchers-son-and-taqueria-la-venganza-2-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">fundamentally nostalgic\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, meant to capture everything that people loved about getting tacos at an old-school taqueria—just without the meat. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910279\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910279\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Vegan carne asada with all the fixings on a flour tortilla, ready to get rolled into a burrito.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-2048x1280.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-1920x1200.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The burritos at Taqueria La Venganza weigh two pounds. \u003ccite>(Raul Medina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It opened people’s eyes to be like, ‘This guy is making Mexican food vegan, but it tastes like my mom made it.’ Before that it was, ‘This person is putting kale and roasted potato in my taco, what the fuck is this?’” Medina says. “Finally you saw something that was asada. You didn’t have to ask for something with a stupid name. What you were used to is what you got.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13908103,arts_13906738,arts_13895209']At La Venganza’s downtown Oakland storefront, Medina makes the tortillas by hand. The taqueria offers a streamlined menu of greatest hits: carnitas, chicharrón, carne asada fries and cauliflower al pastor. It sometimes offers, as a special, vegan versions of less mainstream cuts, like beef cheek or lengua, but it also sells giant burritos that weigh two pounds. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And though Medina is dubious of the prospect of companies like Impossible and Beyond bringing vegan food to the masses, that is what he aspires to do, too, at the end of the day—to be, as he puts it, a “regular-ass taqueria,” and to bring his vegan meats to other regular-ass taquerias. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s not like I’m using Calabrian chilies, or adding amaranth or ancestral ingredients,” Medina says. “Fuck all that shit. I’m putting in what your mom used to put in. There isn’t meat in it, but it tastes just like you remember.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thevegantaqueria/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taqueria La Venganza\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is open Thursday through Saturday, 1–7pm at 597 15th St. in Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Oakland's Taqueria La Venganza is hoping to bring its vegan carne asada to the national stage.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">I\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>n the future that Raul Medina imagines, not only will America have a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2016/09/02/492390405/-memeoftheweek-taco-trucks-on-every-corner\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">taco truck on every corner\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but all of those trucks will also offer a full slate of vegan meats. Carnitas, carne asada, chicharrón—each taco a delicious miracle crafted out of tofu skins and dehydrated soy chips. And the supplier of these stellar faux meats? Naturally that would be Medina himself, whose vegan carnicería, Taqueria La Venganza, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/Cult-favorite-vegan-Mexican-pop-up-is-opening-a-16530555.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">opened in Oakland earlier this year\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I want to be the Impossible Foods—the Beyond Meat—of the Mexican meat world,” Medina says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s a bold ambition for a chef whose entire operation, at the moment, is based inside a small downtown Oakland bodega. Just a couple of months in, La Venganza has already garnered a reputation for serving the best vegan tacos in town. But Medina has his sights set much higher: He doesn’t want to be known as just a taquero. He wants to be the guy up the supply chain who makes your favorite taquero \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">want\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to offer a vegan option—who makes meats that are delicious enough, and profitable enough, that every taqueria in the country will want to use them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In short, Medina wants \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">his\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> vegan carne asada—not Impossible’s or Beyond’s—to be the one that goes national. And in the process, he hopes to strike a blow for smaller, less corporatized and more Latinx-centric businesses. “I don’t want them to do ‘Beyond Asada’ or ‘Impossible Asada,’ and then suddenly we’re eating some other corporate shit.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910278\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910278\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Chef Raul Medina presses a tortilla by hand.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-2048x1280.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_raul-1920x1200.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">After launching his pop-up in Berkeley six years ago, Medina made a name for himself when La Venganza won the title for best taco in all of Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Raul Medina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ten or 20 years ago, vegans like Medina could scarcely have imagined a time when “plant-based meat” would be seen as the trendiest, most lucrative sector in food—the subject of dozens of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/impossible-burger-fake-meat\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">breathless reviews\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/24/opinion/climate-change-meatless-meat.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">earnest thinkpieces\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. These days, you can buy an Impossible Burger at Burger King. You can find the patties in the freezer aisle of your local Walmart or Target.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For me, veganism was always punk rock,” Raul Medina says of his early days of meat abstention. “You were looked upon as a weirdo. Like, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">what the fuck are you doing\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, he says, companies like Beyond and Impossible have helped take veganism to the masses. But their proliferation has also led to a certain homogeneity in the vegan food scene. The national fast food chains sell the same faux meat patties that customers might shell out $20 for at their favorite boutique pop-up. For the most part, vegan chefs aren’t even bothering to experiment with their own personalized take on an old-school black bean burger anymore. “I don’t care how much you say, ‘Oh, I make it taste different. I season it differently,’” Medina says. “It tastes the same to me everywhere I go.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Medina doesn’t deny that the Impossible Burger tastes good, and he acknowledges that any reduction in meat consumption that comes as these companies become more mainstream is a net positive. But for him, veganism was always about more than just protecting animals. It was also about all of the other systemic abuses that were endemic to the industrial meat complex—the way the workers in the slaughterhouses were treated, for instance. In his past career, Medina worked at an immigration law firm, and he says he saw firsthand how the big poultry plants would bus in workers from Mexico and “literally deport them after the season’s done.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Medina questions whether the big plant-based meat companies are set up so differently, even if they’re applying a “green bandage” to the food system. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Is that the same situation that’s going to go on with soy and wheat and coconut oil? I’m not blind to consumerism and capitalism,” he says. “I know what happens when something becomes popular. There are ways that they’re going to try to cut down costs. Who are we getting to work the fields? Are we paying them more, or are just paying them what the fuck we need to pay them?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910280\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910280\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A styrofoam container with three tacos, rice, and beans.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_tacovega-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A plate from La Venganza’s collaboration with L.A.’s Taco Vega. \u003ccite>(Raul Medina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Indeed, part of what motivated Medina to really push the Taqueria La Venganza brand and extend its reach was hearing the news that Beyond Meat was working on a (\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/22827004/taco-bell-beyond-meat-carne-asada-test-canceled-plant-based-fast-food\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">thus far unsuccessful\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">) vegan carne asada for Taco Bell. La Venganza’s attempts at global expansion have seen more modest success thus far: In addition to his own taqueria, Medina also supplies vegan meats for Oakland’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/taqueria-el-cruzero-oakland\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taqueria El Cruzero\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and he recently ran a collaboration with \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CakmlXcP5u0/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taco Vega\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a vegan taqueria in Los Angeles, with an eye toward opening his second location down in L.A. Toward that end, he’s actively looking for \u003ca href=\"https://wefunder.com/venganzafoods/\">investors\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In comparison to the food tech giants, Medina says his supply chain is relatively straightforward and analog. For his carne asada, for instance, he imports dehydrated soy chips from Taiwan and seasons them with various spices (including Vietnamese rice powder) to emulate the smoky, slightly burnt effect you get when a nice piece of skirt steak hits the grill.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Who’s getting rich off of that? Me, a Taiwanese company and whatever Mexican just sold you the taco,” Medina says. “I want Mexican people making money off of my products. At the end of the day, that’s the vision—to have a vegan carnicería in every major city and have it supply the meats to every taco truck on every corner.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "“It opened people’s eyes to be like, ‘This guy is making Mexican food vegan, but it tastes like my mom made it.’ … You didn’t have to ask for something with a stupid name. What you were used to is what you got.”",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Of course, none of these plans would have much hope for success if the tacos themselves didn’t taste good. For Medina, basing his first carnicería in the East Bay marks something of a homecoming: La Venganza first burst onto the vegan food scene six years ago as a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/faux-meat-keeps-it-real-at-the-butchers-son-and-taqueria-la-venganza-2-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">popular Berkeley pop-up\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The chef went on to make a name for himself in Los Angeles, where in short order La Venganza was tapped to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://chooseveg.com/blog/6-vegan-food-vendors-at-coachella-that-will/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">sell tacos at Coachella\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and then—its biggest break—won L.A. Taco’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lataco.com/taco-madness-2018/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Taco Madness” competition\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for the coveted title of best taco in all of Los Angeles in 2018.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s L.A. It’s Mexicans,” Medina says of the street cred that the victory gave his business. In many ways, it also set off a whole new wave of vegan taquerias in Los Angeles and beyond. What set La Venganza apart from much of the previous generation of vegan tacos was that, apart from whatever textural magic Medina was able to work out of yuba and other soy and wheat gluten products, the chef’s approach was \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/faux-meat-keeps-it-real-at-the-butchers-son-and-taqueria-la-venganza-2-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">fundamentally nostalgic\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, meant to capture everything that people loved about getting tacos at an old-school taqueria—just without the meat. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910279\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910279\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Vegan carne asada with all the fixings on a flour tortilla, ready to get rolled into a burrito.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-2048x1280.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/venganza_burrito-1920x1200.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The burritos at Taqueria La Venganza weigh two pounds. \u003ccite>(Raul Medina)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It opened people’s eyes to be like, ‘This guy is making Mexican food vegan, but it tastes like my mom made it.’ Before that it was, ‘This person is putting kale and roasted potato in my taco, what the fuck is this?’” Medina says. “Finally you saw something that was asada. You didn’t have to ask for something with a stupid name. What you were used to is what you got.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At La Venganza’s downtown Oakland storefront, Medina makes the tortillas by hand. The taqueria offers a streamlined menu of greatest hits: carnitas, chicharrón, carne asada fries and cauliflower al pastor. It sometimes offers, as a special, vegan versions of less mainstream cuts, like beef cheek or lengua, but it also sells giant burritos that weigh two pounds. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And though Medina is dubious of the prospect of companies like Impossible and Beyond bringing vegan food to the masses, that is what he aspires to do, too, at the end of the day—to be, as he puts it, a “regular-ass taqueria,” and to bring his vegan meats to other regular-ass taquerias. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s not like I’m using Calabrian chilies, or adding amaranth or ancestral ingredients,” Medina says. “Fuck all that shit. I’m putting in what your mom used to put in. There isn’t meat in it, but it tastes just like you remember.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thevegantaqueria/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taqueria La Venganza\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is open Thursday through Saturday, 1–7pm at 597 15th St. in Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "rocky-island-oyster-bar-richmond-waterfront-view-lobster-roll",
"title": "A Slice of New England Oyster Culture Comes to the Richmond Waterfront",
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"content": "\u003cp>The only kind of restaurant Danny Pirello ever wanted to open was some kind of oyster shack or crab shack—the kind of laid-back spot his childhood in Scituate, Massachusetts, had imprinted onto his DNA. So that was Pirello’s first thought, years ago, when he saw the Craneway Pavilion, the sprawling, 45,000-square-foot, former Ford assembly plant on the Richmond waterfront: \u003ci>Wouldn’t this be the perfect site for an oyster bar?\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pirello finally brought that dream to fruition this past October when he quietly opened \u003ca href=\"https://www.rockyislandoysterco.com/\">Rocky Island Oyster Co.\u003c/a> at that very location, at the site of the old auto plant’s boiler room. He’s fashioned the place to be exactly the kind of oyster bar he missed from his days back East: a casual, family-friendly spot where a group of seafood enthusiasts might take down a few dozen oysters on the half shell, a couple of lobster rolls and a big, gorgeous, caper-studded plate of crudo. It doesn’t hurt that the outdoor tables overlook one of the most spectacular views of the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909658\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909658\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Several people enjoy the waterfront view at Richmond's Craneway Pavilion.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of Rocky Island’s chief virtues is its million dollar view of the bay. \u003ccite>(Rocky Island Oyster Co.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re not trying to do anything too fancy,” Pirello says. “It’s casual and it’s for the community. It’s for the Bay Area people to come and kick their feet up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rocky Island Oyster Co. sits inside the space previously occupied by Assemble, a restaurant that shut down near the start of the pandemic when the entire Craneway Pavilion was set to be \u003ca href=\"https://richmondpulse.org/2020/12/18/craneway-medical-facilities-in-richmond-on-standby/\">converted into an overflow hospital\u003c/a>. That plan never came to fruition, and when the facility came under new management last year, Pirello and his business partners, Michael Petrilli and Calvin Young, decided to reconceptualize the restaurant space as a Ferry Building–style food hall—a fitting plan given the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11765409/after-a-successful-weekday-launch-richmond-ferry-begins-weekend-service\">recent launch of the Richmond Ferry Terminal\u003c/a> right outside the Craneway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The newly conceived \u003ca href=\"https://www.assemblemarketplace.com/\">Assemble Marketplace\u003c/a> is now home to three mini-restaurants and a full-fledged cocktail bar. In addition Rocky Island, there’s a barbecue spot called Tommy’s and a new iteration of Assemble run by the folks behind Brezo, which, before its original Point Richmond location closed during the pandemic, served one of the region’s best California-Mexican brunches. The restaurants share a handful of indoor tables and a little outdoor patio that faces the water. In the evenings, when that outdoor area is lit up with twinkling string lights—and everyone’s digging into a tray of plump oysters with a cold beer in hand—it’s about as quaint a scene as you can find in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Pirello, the particular vibe that Rocky Island is shooting for is drawn straight from his own New England childhood. In one of Pirello’s earliest memories, he’s sitting on the beach outside his grandparents’ house in Scituate eating a giant stuffed clam. He’d spend weekends digging up clams on that same beach. His family would drive down the coast to Duxbury for fresh oysters just plucked from the water, or up to Cape Cod for lobster rolls at some little clam shack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909659\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909659\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A lobster roll and a side of potato chips, served on top of red checkered paper.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The lobster roll is served in the East Coast style, with a top-cut bun. \u003ccite>(Rocky Island Oyster Co.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When you sit down at that clam shack, it just feels like vacation, you know?” Pirello says. “And I noticed that that didn’t really exist in the same way in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pirello worked for years as a bartender in Berkeley, and he’d always felt that the East Bay, in particular, was in desperate need of a destination oyster bar—its own answer to North Bay staples like \u003ca href=\"https://hogislandoysters.com/\">Hog Island Oyster Co.\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"https://themarshallstore.com/\">Marshall Store\u003c/a>, or to \u003ca href=\"https://swanoysterdepot.us/\">Swan Oyster Depot\u003c/a> in San Francisco. But he also wanted to put a particular New England spin on the menu, right down to the types of oysters that he offers, which are almost exclusively New England oysters that he ships in overnight from \u003ca href=\"https://islandcreekoysters.com/\">Island Creek Oysters\u003c/a> in Duxbury, Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Counterintuitively, Pirello says, these East Coast oysters come in much fresher—literally just a day out of the water—than anything he’s able to source on the West Coast. More importantly, he believes the New England oysters are a special treat for Bay Area oyster lovers who haven’t had them before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love a Kusshi. I love a Kumamoto or a Miyagi,” Pirello says of the popular West Coast oyster varieties. “But eating them is a whole different experience. It’s not that super-crisp, briny oyster that I’m used to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In another gesture toward New England, Rocky Island also always has a lobster roll on the menu and, often, a Dungeness crab roll served in the same style: cold, dressed in mayo and served on a proper top-cut bun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the restaurant also highlights the things Pirello loves most about the West Coast’s own unique oyster culture. It serves an Italian fish crudo, topped with capers and pickled red onions, that’s a direct homage to the version made famous by San Francisco’s Swan Oyster Depot. In a nod to a popular menu item at the Marshall Store, it pairs garlicky grilled oysters with garlic bread. Eventually, Pirello hopes to offer a full slate of East Coast \u003ci>and\u003c/i> West Coast oysters so that customers can conduct their own side-by-side taste test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while Rocky Island is the kind of place where it’s easy to drop a couple hundred dollars on a big, celebratory seafood spread, Pirello says it was important to him for the place to still retain a community-oriented vibe, which he sees as one of the hallmarks of the West Coast’s multicultural oyster scene—a scene where, for instance, big groups of Filipinos and Mexican Americans routinely spend the day picnicking out on Tomales Bay with their families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909660\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909660\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"The inside of the Craneway Pavilion's massive, warehouse-y space lined with long oak tables for a special dinner.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For Valentine’s Day, the restaurant spread out over the entire length of the Craneway Pavilion. \u003ccite>(Rocky Island Oyster Co.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So far, Pirello says, Rocky Island has a lot of that same kind of feel. “Everybody comes to the oyster bar,” he says. “It’s frequently not the Silicon Valley crowd that I’m used to at restaurants in San Francisco. It’s everyone else.” It’s people in Richmond who tell Pirello they’re so moved that he’s put an oyster bar right in their hometown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13908798,arts_13908432,arts_13907197']\u003c/span>That laid-back community spirit doesn’t mean the restaurant isn’t intent on providing a special experience, however. Pirello says his long-term goal is to open an adjacent diner that’s going to offer an “elevated,” sit-down extension of the Rocky Island experience. (By that point, he also hopes to convert the business into a co-op or collectively owned restaurant of some sort.) And already, Pirello is trying to think of ways to creatively utilize Rocky Island’s prime piece of waterfront real estate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, last week on Valentine’s Day, the restaurant set up long oak tables throughout the length of the Craneway Pavilion—a makeshift dining room the size of two football fields. Pirello himself spent the night skateboarding up and down the Craneway, pouring champagne for diners who were there to enjoy their oyster dinner and the sparkling view of the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oysters are such a deeply nostalgic food for people,” Pirello says. And he hopes Rocky Island will be a place where people can tap into those childhood memories. “Come with your family, come with your friends,” he says. “Take up as much space as you want. Stay all day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rockyislandoysterco/\">Rocky Island Oyster Co.\u003c/a> is open at \u003ca href=\"https://www.assemblemarketplace.com/\">Assemble Marketplace\u003c/a> (1414 Harbour Way S, Richmond) Fridays 3–7pm, Saturdays 4–8pm, Sundays 12–5pm and Mondays 4–8pm.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Rocky Island Oyster Co. Brings New England Oyster Culture to the Richmond Waterfront | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The only kind of restaurant Danny Pirello ever wanted to open was some kind of oyster shack or crab shack—the kind of laid-back spot his childhood in Scituate, Massachusetts, had imprinted onto his DNA. So that was Pirello’s first thought, years ago, when he saw the Craneway Pavilion, the sprawling, 45,000-square-foot, former Ford assembly plant on the Richmond waterfront: \u003ci>Wouldn’t this be the perfect site for an oyster bar?\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pirello finally brought that dream to fruition this past October when he quietly opened \u003ca href=\"https://www.rockyislandoysterco.com/\">Rocky Island Oyster Co.\u003c/a> at that very location, at the site of the old auto plant’s boiler room. He’s fashioned the place to be exactly the kind of oyster bar he missed from his days back East: a casual, family-friendly spot where a group of seafood enthusiasts might take down a few dozen oysters on the half shell, a couple of lobster rolls and a big, gorgeous, caper-studded plate of crudo. It doesn’t hurt that the outdoor tables overlook one of the most spectacular views of the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909658\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909658\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Several people enjoy the waterfront view at Richmond's Craneway Pavilion.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_view-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of Rocky Island’s chief virtues is its million dollar view of the bay. \u003ccite>(Rocky Island Oyster Co.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re not trying to do anything too fancy,” Pirello says. “It’s casual and it’s for the community. It’s for the Bay Area people to come and kick their feet up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rocky Island Oyster Co. sits inside the space previously occupied by Assemble, a restaurant that shut down near the start of the pandemic when the entire Craneway Pavilion was set to be \u003ca href=\"https://richmondpulse.org/2020/12/18/craneway-medical-facilities-in-richmond-on-standby/\">converted into an overflow hospital\u003c/a>. That plan never came to fruition, and when the facility came under new management last year, Pirello and his business partners, Michael Petrilli and Calvin Young, decided to reconceptualize the restaurant space as a Ferry Building–style food hall—a fitting plan given the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11765409/after-a-successful-weekday-launch-richmond-ferry-begins-weekend-service\">recent launch of the Richmond Ferry Terminal\u003c/a> right outside the Craneway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The newly conceived \u003ca href=\"https://www.assemblemarketplace.com/\">Assemble Marketplace\u003c/a> is now home to three mini-restaurants and a full-fledged cocktail bar. In addition Rocky Island, there’s a barbecue spot called Tommy’s and a new iteration of Assemble run by the folks behind Brezo, which, before its original Point Richmond location closed during the pandemic, served one of the region’s best California-Mexican brunches. The restaurants share a handful of indoor tables and a little outdoor patio that faces the water. In the evenings, when that outdoor area is lit up with twinkling string lights—and everyone’s digging into a tray of plump oysters with a cold beer in hand—it’s about as quaint a scene as you can find in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Pirello, the particular vibe that Rocky Island is shooting for is drawn straight from his own New England childhood. In one of Pirello’s earliest memories, he’s sitting on the beach outside his grandparents’ house in Scituate eating a giant stuffed clam. He’d spend weekends digging up clams on that same beach. His family would drive down the coast to Duxbury for fresh oysters just plucked from the water, or up to Cape Cod for lobster rolls at some little clam shack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909659\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909659\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A lobster roll and a side of potato chips, served on top of red checkered paper.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_lobsterroll-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The lobster roll is served in the East Coast style, with a top-cut bun. \u003ccite>(Rocky Island Oyster Co.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When you sit down at that clam shack, it just feels like vacation, you know?” Pirello says. “And I noticed that that didn’t really exist in the same way in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pirello worked for years as a bartender in Berkeley, and he’d always felt that the East Bay, in particular, was in desperate need of a destination oyster bar—its own answer to North Bay staples like \u003ca href=\"https://hogislandoysters.com/\">Hog Island Oyster Co.\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"https://themarshallstore.com/\">Marshall Store\u003c/a>, or to \u003ca href=\"https://swanoysterdepot.us/\">Swan Oyster Depot\u003c/a> in San Francisco. But he also wanted to put a particular New England spin on the menu, right down to the types of oysters that he offers, which are almost exclusively New England oysters that he ships in overnight from \u003ca href=\"https://islandcreekoysters.com/\">Island Creek Oysters\u003c/a> in Duxbury, Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Counterintuitively, Pirello says, these East Coast oysters come in much fresher—literally just a day out of the water—than anything he’s able to source on the West Coast. More importantly, he believes the New England oysters are a special treat for Bay Area oyster lovers who haven’t had them before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love a Kusshi. I love a Kumamoto or a Miyagi,” Pirello says of the popular West Coast oyster varieties. “But eating them is a whole different experience. It’s not that super-crisp, briny oyster that I’m used to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In another gesture toward New England, Rocky Island also always has a lobster roll on the menu and, often, a Dungeness crab roll served in the same style: cold, dressed in mayo and served on a proper top-cut bun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the restaurant also highlights the things Pirello loves most about the West Coast’s own unique oyster culture. It serves an Italian fish crudo, topped with capers and pickled red onions, that’s a direct homage to the version made famous by San Francisco’s Swan Oyster Depot. In a nod to a popular menu item at the Marshall Store, it pairs garlicky grilled oysters with garlic bread. Eventually, Pirello hopes to offer a full slate of East Coast \u003ci>and\u003c/i> West Coast oysters so that customers can conduct their own side-by-side taste test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while Rocky Island is the kind of place where it’s easy to drop a couple hundred dollars on a big, celebratory seafood spread, Pirello says it was important to him for the place to still retain a community-oriented vibe, which he sees as one of the hallmarks of the West Coast’s multicultural oyster scene—a scene where, for instance, big groups of Filipinos and Mexican Americans routinely spend the day picnicking out on Tomales Bay with their families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909660\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909660\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"The inside of the Craneway Pavilion's massive, warehouse-y space lined with long oak tables for a special dinner.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/rockyisland_vday-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For Valentine’s Day, the restaurant spread out over the entire length of the Craneway Pavilion. \u003ccite>(Rocky Island Oyster Co.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So far, Pirello says, Rocky Island has a lot of that same kind of feel. “Everybody comes to the oyster bar,” he says. “It’s frequently not the Silicon Valley crowd that I’m used to at restaurants in San Francisco. It’s everyone else.” It’s people in Richmond who tell Pirello they’re so moved that he’s put an oyster bar right in their hometown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>That laid-back community spirit doesn’t mean the restaurant isn’t intent on providing a special experience, however. Pirello says his long-term goal is to open an adjacent diner that’s going to offer an “elevated,” sit-down extension of the Rocky Island experience. (By that point, he also hopes to convert the business into a co-op or collectively owned restaurant of some sort.) And already, Pirello is trying to think of ways to creatively utilize Rocky Island’s prime piece of waterfront real estate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, last week on Valentine’s Day, the restaurant set up long oak tables throughout the length of the Craneway Pavilion—a makeshift dining room the size of two football fields. Pirello himself spent the night skateboarding up and down the Craneway, pouring champagne for diners who were there to enjoy their oyster dinner and the sparkling view of the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oysters are such a deeply nostalgic food for people,” Pirello says. And he hopes Rocky Island will be a place where people can tap into those childhood memories. “Come with your family, come with your friends,” he says. “Take up as much space as you want. Stay all day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rockyislandoysterco/\">Rocky Island Oyster Co.\u003c/a> is open at \u003ca href=\"https://www.assemblemarketplace.com/\">Assemble Marketplace\u003c/a> (1414 Harbour Way S, Richmond) Fridays 3–7pm, Saturdays 4–8pm, Sundays 12–5pm and Mondays 4–8pm.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Baking a Cake for the Afrofuturism Potluck",
"headTitle": "Baking a Cake for the Afrofuturism Potluck | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A crash course on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901009/omca-afrofuturism-mothership-review\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Afrofuturism\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> might include \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black Panther’s \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">portrayal of a utopian, techno-centric Wakanda, the science fiction novels of Octavia Butler and a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13864915/the-liberated-pop-future-missy-elliott-envisioned-is-now\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Missy Elliott music video\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—all visions of a liberated future seen through a Black lens. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But what will Black people be eating in this thriving, revolutionary future? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the question that \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eattheculture.com/about/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eat the Culture\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a collective of Black food bloggers, explores this month through a series of Afrofuturism-themed \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/eattheculture/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">social media posts\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and online gatherings, including a Feb. 24 collaboration with the magazine \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cuisine Noir\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Framed as a “Virtual Potluck,” the series celebrates Black History Month by remixing traditional dishes of the African diaspora to create new recipes that are artful and, at times, deeply political: A plate of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://senseandedibility.com/salmorejo-jueyes-coconut-grits-cakes/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">stewed crab and grits\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> fuses together African and Puerto Rican traditions. A \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://meikoandthedish.com/sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-brulee-black-history-month-virtual-potluck/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">coconut rice pudding\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> doubles as a commentary on gentrification. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s this intersection of technology, culture, innovation and politics,” co-organizer Stefani Renée, of the Bay Area–based blog \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://savorandsage.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Savor and Sage\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, says of Afrofuturism. “How do we explore that through food?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The event stems from a similar virtual potluck that a\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> handful of prominent Black food bloggers—including Aaron Hutcherson (of the blog \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thehungryhutch.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Hungry Hutch\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">) and Meiko Temple (of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://meikoandthedish.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mieko and the Dish\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">)—put together each year for Black History Month \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tastingtable.com/693332/black-history-month-african-american-food-blog-2017/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">starting in 2017\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Renée, a relative newcomer to food blogging, joined in the past two years and started talking to other participants about expanding the group’s efforts beyond just one or two virtual events each year. In particular, the group wanted to create a support system for Black food bloggers, given the unique set of challenges that they face.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909336\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909336\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a plate of tempura-fried okra served over a bright orange pool of confit tomatoes\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Food blogger Kenneth Temple’s riff on stewed okra includes fine dining touches like confit tomatoes and smoked sausage “dust.” \u003ccite>(Kenneth Temple)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Folks don’t know that we’re here,” Renée says. “When we start looking at who gets the most exposure, it’s usually white female food bloggers—and they’re getting attention for foods that aren’t necessarily authentic or native to them.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Stefani Renée\"]“Black food isn’t a monolith. There are so many different aspects to Black food that people don’t know.”[/pullquote]Meanwhile, Renée says, Black and other BIPOC food bloggers struggle to get that same level of recognition and, just as importantly, to land the kind of lucrative sponsorship deals that make food blogging a viable full-time career. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eattheculture.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eat the Culture\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> was created as a platform for Black food bloggers to share that kind of information with one another—a place where they could access tutorials on shooting food videos and get tips about search engine optimization. As Renée puts it, “How do we break these barriers and create our own space?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This year’s Afrofuturism-themed potluck is one of the collective’s first signature events. Renée sees it as an extension of the work of \u003ca href=\"https://savorandsage.com/\">her own blog\u003c/a>, which focuses on updating and expanding people’s definition of “soul food” to include things other than just fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. “\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black food isn’t a monolith,” she says. “There are so many different aspects to Black food that people don’t know.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In presenting a vision for the future of Black food, several of the dishes that Eat the Culture members created for the virtual potluck explicitly challenge the idea that food with African origins isn’t “refined.” There’s a modern take on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://thefooddisciple.com/yam-gnocchi-served-w-oxtail-pepper-soup/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">West African oxtail pepper soup\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> made with yam gnocchi, for instance, and a version of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://kennethtemple.com/smothered-okra-and-tomatoes-recipe/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">smothered okra\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that features fine dining elements like confit tomatoes and smoked sausage “dust.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909337\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909337\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L.jpg\" alt=\"Three portions of rice pudding served inside coconut shells, arranged on a wooden cutting board.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meiko and the Dish’s modern take on sombi, the Senegalese coconut rice pudding, is a commentary on gentrification. \u003ccite>(Meiko and the Dish)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several of the recipes veganize dishes traditionally made with meat—a rebuttal, Renée says, to the notion that “Black people don’t really eat vegetables.” Others offer pointed political commentary: \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://meikoandthedish.com/sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-brulee-black-history-month-virtual-potluck/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meiko and the Dish’s\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> aforementioned coconut rice pudding adds a crème brûlée–style burnt sugar topping to a traditional Senegalese dish, thereby mirroring “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://meikoandthedish.com/sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-brulee-black-history-month-virtual-potluck/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the concept of gentrification, the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in and typically displacing current inhabitants in the process.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13901009,arts_13900311,arts_13900855']For her own contribution to the Afrofuturism potluck, Renée did a riff on cornbread soaked in buttermilk, a very traditional, “old-school” snack that she remembers eating in her Southern grandmother’s kitchen when she was a kid. Renée’s version reimagines the treat as a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://savorandsage.com/coconut-lime-cornmeal-tres-leches-cake/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tres leches cake\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, soaking the cornmeal cake in buttermilk, coconut milk and sweet condensed milk, then topping the whole thing with toasted coconut. The dessert is meant to feel new and modern, but it’s also a nod to the often forgotten history of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/19/afro-mexicans-census-history-identity\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mexicans of African descent\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, who have long fought for recognition in their home country.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s a combination of different cultures,” Renée says of the cake. “That’s what Afrofuturism means to me.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Throughout the month of February, Eat the Culture will highlight Afrofuturism-themed recipes on its \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/eattheculture/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instagram page\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The page will also offer details about other virtual events once they’ve been finalized, including the Cuisine Noir collaboration.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A crash course on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901009/omca-afrofuturism-mothership-review\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Afrofuturism\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> might include \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black Panther’s \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">portrayal of a utopian, techno-centric Wakanda, the science fiction novels of Octavia Butler and a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13864915/the-liberated-pop-future-missy-elliott-envisioned-is-now\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Missy Elliott music video\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—all visions of a liberated future seen through a Black lens. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But what will Black people be eating in this thriving, revolutionary future? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the question that \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eattheculture.com/about/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eat the Culture\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a collective of Black food bloggers, explores this month through a series of Afrofuturism-themed \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/eattheculture/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">social media posts\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and online gatherings, including a Feb. 24 collaboration with the magazine \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cuisine Noir\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Framed as a “Virtual Potluck,” the series celebrates Black History Month by remixing traditional dishes of the African diaspora to create new recipes that are artful and, at times, deeply political: A plate of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://senseandedibility.com/salmorejo-jueyes-coconut-grits-cakes/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">stewed crab and grits\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> fuses together African and Puerto Rican traditions. A \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://meikoandthedish.com/sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-brulee-black-history-month-virtual-potluck/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">coconut rice pudding\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> doubles as a commentary on gentrification. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s this intersection of technology, culture, innovation and politics,” co-organizer Stefani Renée, of the Bay Area–based blog \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://savorandsage.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Savor and Sage\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, says of Afrofuturism. “How do we explore that through food?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The event stems from a similar virtual potluck that a\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> handful of prominent Black food bloggers—including Aaron Hutcherson (of the blog \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thehungryhutch.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Hungry Hutch\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">) and Meiko Temple (of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://meikoandthedish.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mieko and the Dish\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">)—put together each year for Black History Month \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tastingtable.com/693332/black-history-month-african-american-food-blog-2017/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">starting in 2017\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Renée, a relative newcomer to food blogging, joined in the past two years and started talking to other participants about expanding the group’s efforts beyond just one or two virtual events each year. In particular, the group wanted to create a support system for Black food bloggers, given the unique set of challenges that they face.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909336\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909336\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a plate of tempura-fried okra served over a bright orange pool of confit tomatoes\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Kenneth-Temple_Smothered-Okra-and-Tomatoes-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Food blogger Kenneth Temple’s riff on stewed okra includes fine dining touches like confit tomatoes and smoked sausage “dust.” \u003ccite>(Kenneth Temple)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Folks don’t know that we’re here,” Renée says. “When we start looking at who gets the most exposure, it’s usually white female food bloggers—and they’re getting attention for foods that aren’t necessarily authentic or native to them.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Meanwhile, Renée says, Black and other BIPOC food bloggers struggle to get that same level of recognition and, just as importantly, to land the kind of lucrative sponsorship deals that make food blogging a viable full-time career. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eattheculture.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eat the Culture\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> was created as a platform for Black food bloggers to share that kind of information with one another—a place where they could access tutorials on shooting food videos and get tips about search engine optimization. As Renée puts it, “How do we break these barriers and create our own space?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This year’s Afrofuturism-themed potluck is one of the collective’s first signature events. Renée sees it as an extension of the work of \u003ca href=\"https://savorandsage.com/\">her own blog\u003c/a>, which focuses on updating and expanding people’s definition of “soul food” to include things other than just fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. “\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black food isn’t a monolith,” she says. “There are so many different aspects to Black food that people don’t know.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In presenting a vision for the future of Black food, several of the dishes that Eat the Culture members created for the virtual potluck explicitly challenge the idea that food with African origins isn’t “refined.” There’s a modern take on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://thefooddisciple.com/yam-gnocchi-served-w-oxtail-pepper-soup/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">West African oxtail pepper soup\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> made with yam gnocchi, for instance, and a version of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://kennethtemple.com/smothered-okra-and-tomatoes-recipe/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">smothered okra\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that features fine dining elements like confit tomatoes and smoked sausage “dust.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909337\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13909337\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L.jpg\" alt=\"Three portions of rice pudding served inside coconut shells, arranged on a wooden cutting board.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/meikoandthedish-sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-L-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meiko and the Dish’s modern take on sombi, the Senegalese coconut rice pudding, is a commentary on gentrification. \u003ccite>(Meiko and the Dish)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several of the recipes veganize dishes traditionally made with meat—a rebuttal, Renée says, to the notion that “Black people don’t really eat vegetables.” Others offer pointed political commentary: \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://meikoandthedish.com/sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-brulee-black-history-month-virtual-potluck/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meiko and the Dish’s\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> aforementioned coconut rice pudding adds a crème brûlée–style burnt sugar topping to a traditional Senegalese dish, thereby mirroring “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://meikoandthedish.com/sombi-brown-butter-rice-pudding-brulee-black-history-month-virtual-potluck/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the concept of gentrification, the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in and typically displacing current inhabitants in the process.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For her own contribution to the Afrofuturism potluck, Renée did a riff on cornbread soaked in buttermilk, a very traditional, “old-school” snack that she remembers eating in her Southern grandmother’s kitchen when she was a kid. Renée’s version reimagines the treat as a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://savorandsage.com/coconut-lime-cornmeal-tres-leches-cake/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tres leches cake\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, soaking the cornmeal cake in buttermilk, coconut milk and sweet condensed milk, then topping the whole thing with toasted coconut. The dessert is meant to feel new and modern, but it’s also a nod to the often forgotten history of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/19/afro-mexicans-census-history-identity\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mexicans of African descent\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, who have long fought for recognition in their home country.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s a combination of different cultures,” Renée says of the cake. “That’s what Afrofuturism means to me.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Throughout the month of February, Eat the Culture will highlight Afrofuturism-themed recipes on its \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/eattheculture/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instagram page\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The page will also offer details about other virtual events once they’ve been finalized, including the Cuisine Noir collaboration.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Next-Gen Tea Company Blends Vietnamese American Memories to Create New Flavors",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]V[/dropcap]iolet Diana Nguyen has a vivid memory of dismounting from a moped onto the dirt road that led to her auntie’s house in Vietnam, where she sat down to a sumptuous spread of dragon fruit, longan and lychee while her relatives badgered her about her romantic life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do you translate a memory like that into a flavor or an aroma? \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the type of question Nguyen attempts to answer when she creates tea blends for her new business, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://kinleaftea.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kin Leaf Tea\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Frequently sold out since it launched in November 2021,\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the South Bay company offers blended loose leaf teas rooted in Nguyen’s Vietnamese American upbringing—her memories of pandan waffles and sugarcane juice from San Jose’s food courts and meals shared with family during childhood visits to Vietnam.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The company’s story begins at a place that has become\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora\"> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a crucial marker of identity for many of the Bay Area’s Asian Americans\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: a boba shop. While working as a boba barista on the Peninsula in her early 20s, Nguyen found that the food service industry’s rapid pace, combined with an unlimited access to caffeine, caused her to develop an unhealthy relationship with tea. She would leave work with jitters. At home, Nguyen started to treat the process of brewing hot tea as a ritual, carefully watching the water turn golden. She found that slowly sipping a cup of tea with friends and family inspired thoughtful conversations too. “It really forced me to slow down, make smaller batches and brew them for one or two people,” Nguyen says. “In that moment of brewing, you have to be present.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nguyen remains an avid boba drinker, but she sees her new company as a retort to a fast-paced Silicon Valley fueled by caramelized tapioca pearls and 32-ounce cups of syrup-laden beverages. With Kin Leaf Tea, she wanted to combine the creative flavors found at boba shops with a more mindful approach, so she started exploring tea blends—mixtures of teas that may include flavorings like flowers, herbs and fruits. Typically, Nguyen says, these blends tend to use cheap filler ingredients and low-quality tea leaves that produce watery drinks. For example, lychee-flavored teas are often paired with overpowering amounts of rose: “It drove me nuts because I don’t want to drink potpourri on a daily basis.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908970\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13908970\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3.jpg\" alt='Hot water poured from a kettle into a white ceramic mug next to a canister of \"Milky Pandan\" tea leaves.' width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The “Milky Pandan” blend is an ode to pandan waffles, a classic Vietnamese treat. \u003ccite>(Violet Diana Nguyen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, Nguyen set about the task of creating new tea blends using high-quality ingredients. For inspiration, she turned to her Vietnamese American childhood. After all, her aromatic school lunches and the family pictures she took amongst durian trees all served as a marker of difference for her when she was growing up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Her process begins with matching each category of tea—black, white, oolong and so forth—to a specific memory. She asks herself, “What memories do I have, what sweets have I eaten, or what other foods are common in Asian culture or Vietnam?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]“Kin Leaf is a part of a movement that is changing the way both first-generation immigrants \u003cem>and\u003c/em> people unfamiliar with Vietnam understand Vietnamese culture.”[/pullquote]For example, the pool of coffee that sits at the bottom of Vietnamese bánh flan cà phê inspired Nguyen’s choice of similarly dark black tea leaves for Kin Leaf’s Black Amber blend. Then, in order to select the specific varieties of black tea in the blend, Nguyen attempted to recreate the flan’s sweetness, roasted flavor and soothing iced-coffee base. She eventually arrived at a mixture that minimized astringency and bitterness while embracing the dessert’s honey and caramel flavor profiles. Slivered almonds complement the tea leaves and add nuttiness. The blend evokes flan, Vietnamese coffee and sweetened condensed milk despite having no added sugar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kin Leaf Tea currently offers three other blends: Abundance, a celebration of the dried fruit and candies shared during the Lunar New Year; Lychee’s Pearls, which evokes fruit platters laid out during family visits; and Milky Pandan, an ode to one of Nguyen’s favorite childhood treats—the aromatic, bright green pandan waffle.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each new blend requires weeks of experimentation. Sometimes, Nguyen explains, an ingredient’s effects can be unpredictable. Dried dragon fruit produced teas with a vibrant pink color but lacked flavor. Pandan added a pleasant, grassy aroma to oolong tea.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Drawing inspiration from other second-generation Asian American businesses in the Bay Area like\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.socolachocolates.com/products/the-little-saigon-box\"> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Socola Chocolatier\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.cabakehouse.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">CA Bakehouse\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://christinescookie.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christine’s Cookie Co.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Nguyen believes Kin Leaf is a part of a movement that is changing the way both first-generation immigrants \u003cem>and\u003c/em> people unfamiliar with Vietnam understand Vietnamese culture. For instance, Nguyen is a fan of Socola’s “Little Saigon Box,” which uses unexpected flavors like ph\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ở and sriracha in its truffles.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the other hand, when Nguyen told her relatives in Vietnam about the origins of Kin Leaf’s Milky Pandan blend, one of them was surprised that she would draw inspiration from such a common, everyday food. Why turn a waffle into a tea blend? Her response: “It takes a lot of experience with being proud of your heritage.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]“[Kin Leaf Tea] is me saying [to my parents], ‘This is what I learned from you and your work ethic.'”[/pullquote]Nguyen, who holds a master’s degree in sustainable international development, explains that academics often reduce developing countries like Vietnam to their agricultural and economic outputs. But second-generation businesses like Kin Leaf Tea believe there’s value in telling stories about their cultures’ everyday flavors. Nguyen struggles to find the right word to explain Kin Leaf’s relationship to Vietnamese culture—elevate, change, reshape? She knows that rich cultural traditions have long existed in Vietnam, but she also believes her worldview can inspire new ways to celebrate those traditions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13908681,arts_13904913,arts_13902507']For Nguyen, Kin Leaf Tea is all about “changing perspectives, getting people excited about something that has already been there, but showing them how it’s exciting to me because I see it differently.” Her tea blends are a way of publicly embracing dishes that she was mocked for throughout school, even in college. They honor and remix longstanding Vietnamese food traditions from the perspective of a second-generation Vietnamese American who has had to learn to love them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lifelong hustler, Nguyen credits her immigrant parents for inspiring her to turn this interest in tea into a business. Wanting to chip in while her mother worked tiring jobs in the fast-food industry, a younger Nguyen would fill up hundreds of water balloons and sell them for quarters. Now, Nguyen hopes that her parents can see Kin Leaf Tea as an expression of gratitude, even if\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/proud-of-you-children-of-immigrant-parents_b_11397946\"> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">cultural barriers make this a difficult conversation to have\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I feel that in Asian cultures, it’s very common to not express your feelings or your thoughts,” Nguyen explains. “[Kin Leaf Tea] is me saying [to my parents], ‘This is what I learned from you and your work ethic.’”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">V\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>iolet Diana Nguyen has a vivid memory of dismounting from a moped onto the dirt road that led to her auntie’s house in Vietnam, where she sat down to a sumptuous spread of dragon fruit, longan and lychee while her relatives badgered her about her romantic life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do you translate a memory like that into a flavor or an aroma? \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the type of question Nguyen attempts to answer when she creates tea blends for her new business, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://kinleaftea.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kin Leaf Tea\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Frequently sold out since it launched in November 2021,\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the South Bay company offers blended loose leaf teas rooted in Nguyen’s Vietnamese American upbringing—her memories of pandan waffles and sugarcane juice from San Jose’s food courts and meals shared with family during childhood visits to Vietnam.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The company’s story begins at a place that has become\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora\"> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a crucial marker of identity for many of the Bay Area’s Asian Americans\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: a boba shop. While working as a boba barista on the Peninsula in her early 20s, Nguyen found that the food service industry’s rapid pace, combined with an unlimited access to caffeine, caused her to develop an unhealthy relationship with tea. She would leave work with jitters. At home, Nguyen started to treat the process of brewing hot tea as a ritual, carefully watching the water turn golden. She found that slowly sipping a cup of tea with friends and family inspired thoughtful conversations too. “It really forced me to slow down, make smaller batches and brew them for one or two people,” Nguyen says. “In that moment of brewing, you have to be present.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nguyen remains an avid boba drinker, but she sees her new company as a retort to a fast-paced Silicon Valley fueled by caramelized tapioca pearls and 32-ounce cups of syrup-laden beverages. With Kin Leaf Tea, she wanted to combine the creative flavors found at boba shops with a more mindful approach, so she started exploring tea blends—mixtures of teas that may include flavorings like flowers, herbs and fruits. Typically, Nguyen says, these blends tend to use cheap filler ingredients and low-quality tea leaves that produce watery drinks. For example, lychee-flavored teas are often paired with overpowering amounts of rose: “It drove me nuts because I don’t want to drink potpourri on a daily basis.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908970\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13908970\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3.jpg\" alt='Hot water poured from a kettle into a white ceramic mug next to a canister of \"Milky Pandan\" tea leaves.' width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/image_6483441-3-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The “Milky Pandan” blend is an ode to pandan waffles, a classic Vietnamese treat. \u003ccite>(Violet Diana Nguyen)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, Nguyen set about the task of creating new tea blends using high-quality ingredients. For inspiration, she turned to her Vietnamese American childhood. After all, her aromatic school lunches and the family pictures she took amongst durian trees all served as a marker of difference for her when she was growing up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Her process begins with matching each category of tea—black, white, oolong and so forth—to a specific memory. She asks herself, “What memories do I have, what sweets have I eaten, or what other foods are common in Asian culture or Vietnam?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "“Kin Leaf is a part of a movement that is changing the way both first-generation immigrants \u003cem>and\u003c/em> people unfamiliar with Vietnam understand Vietnamese culture.”",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For example, the pool of coffee that sits at the bottom of Vietnamese bánh flan cà phê inspired Nguyen’s choice of similarly dark black tea leaves for Kin Leaf’s Black Amber blend. Then, in order to select the specific varieties of black tea in the blend, Nguyen attempted to recreate the flan’s sweetness, roasted flavor and soothing iced-coffee base. She eventually arrived at a mixture that minimized astringency and bitterness while embracing the dessert’s honey and caramel flavor profiles. Slivered almonds complement the tea leaves and add nuttiness. The blend evokes flan, Vietnamese coffee and sweetened condensed milk despite having no added sugar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kin Leaf Tea currently offers three other blends: Abundance, a celebration of the dried fruit and candies shared during the Lunar New Year; Lychee’s Pearls, which evokes fruit platters laid out during family visits; and Milky Pandan, an ode to one of Nguyen’s favorite childhood treats—the aromatic, bright green pandan waffle.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each new blend requires weeks of experimentation. Sometimes, Nguyen explains, an ingredient’s effects can be unpredictable. Dried dragon fruit produced teas with a vibrant pink color but lacked flavor. Pandan added a pleasant, grassy aroma to oolong tea.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Drawing inspiration from other second-generation Asian American businesses in the Bay Area like\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.socolachocolates.com/products/the-little-saigon-box\"> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Socola Chocolatier\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.cabakehouse.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">CA Bakehouse\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://christinescookie.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christine’s Cookie Co.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Nguyen believes Kin Leaf is a part of a movement that is changing the way both first-generation immigrants \u003cem>and\u003c/em> people unfamiliar with Vietnam understand Vietnamese culture. For instance, Nguyen is a fan of Socola’s “Little Saigon Box,” which uses unexpected flavors like ph\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ở and sriracha in its truffles.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the other hand, when Nguyen told her relatives in Vietnam about the origins of Kin Leaf’s Milky Pandan blend, one of them was surprised that she would draw inspiration from such a common, everyday food. Why turn a waffle into a tea blend? Her response: “It takes a lot of experience with being proud of your heritage.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Nguyen, who holds a master’s degree in sustainable international development, explains that academics often reduce developing countries like Vietnam to their agricultural and economic outputs. But second-generation businesses like Kin Leaf Tea believe there’s value in telling stories about their cultures’ everyday flavors. Nguyen struggles to find the right word to explain Kin Leaf’s relationship to Vietnamese culture—elevate, change, reshape? She knows that rich cultural traditions have long existed in Vietnam, but she also believes her worldview can inspire new ways to celebrate those traditions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For Nguyen, Kin Leaf Tea is all about “changing perspectives, getting people excited about something that has already been there, but showing them how it’s exciting to me because I see it differently.” Her tea blends are a way of publicly embracing dishes that she was mocked for throughout school, even in college. They honor and remix longstanding Vietnamese food traditions from the perspective of a second-generation Vietnamese American who has had to learn to love them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lifelong hustler, Nguyen credits her immigrant parents for inspiring her to turn this interest in tea into a business. Wanting to chip in while her mother worked tiring jobs in the fast-food industry, a younger Nguyen would fill up hundreds of water balloons and sell them for quarters. Now, Nguyen hopes that her parents can see Kin Leaf Tea as an expression of gratitude, even if\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/proud-of-you-children-of-immigrant-parents_b_11397946\"> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">cultural barriers make this a difficult conversation to have\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I feel that in Asian cultures, it’s very common to not express your feelings or your thoughts,” Nguyen explains. “[Kin Leaf Tea] is me saying [to my parents], ‘This is what I learned from you and your work ethic.’”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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},
"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"pbs-newshour": {
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},
"perspectives": {
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"order": 14
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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