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Meet & Eat: Yen & Michi

Posted by Alaina Browne, September 28, 2007 at 12:00 PM

Yen and Michi's blog, Lunch, is exactly what it sounds like: a blog about lunch, updated daily with a photo of what they had for lunch and a 4 p.m. snack. A virtual peephole into Yen and Michi's day, Lunch inspires me to take the time for lunch. We get to know Yen and Michi in this week's Meet & Eat.

Name: Yen Ha and Michi Yanagishita
Location: New York City
Occupation: Architects at Front Studio
URL: lunchstudio.blogspot.com

What prompted you to start your blog, Lunch?
We've always eaten lunch the way we do (which is to say everywhere and everything) and we've always had this slight obsession with cataloging, so it seemed normal to combine the two compulsions in a blog. Architecture tends to be a rather serious profession, so we wanted to create a light and amusing distraction.

What's the most surprising thing to come out of your blogging?
We've been pleasantly surprised to be making friends through Lunch. Using the blog as a pretext, we've been writing old friends, acquaintances, and sometimes strangers, inviting them to share a meal. We're seldom opposed to meeting new people or trying a new place for lunch, which makes for some fun meals.

What do your family and friends think of your food obsessions?
Interesting question, because we don't necessarily think of ourselves as obsessed by food—any one of our friends would instantly agree to hop in a car with us for the six-hour drive to Pittsburgh to have the french toast brunch at Deluca's in the Strip District. Maybe it's because we've (subconsciously or consciously) surrounded ourselves with other food lovers it just seems normal to always be talking about where and what to eat next.

When did you first realize you were a serious eater?
Michi: Probably when I started skipping high school classes to go try our new restaurants.
Yen: Probably when I met Michi.

Favorite comfort food?
Young chow fried rice for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, or dinner. Perfect anytime!

Guilty pleasures?
We don't really subscribe to feeling guilty over food. If it's good, we want to enjoy it for what it is. No guilt!

What food won't you eat?
Cats and dogs. The whole idea of extreme eating doesn't really hold any fascination for us, either.

What's an unexplored food you'd like to try?
We wouldn't know what they are since the answer is pretty much anything we haven't heard of! Although lately we've been dreaming about a trip to Singapore for the food hawker stands as described by Calvin Trillin in the food issue of the New Yorker.

Favorite food person?
We like to read Jeffrey Steingarten for his obsessiveness, the former R. W. Apple for his passion, and Harold McGee for his food nerdiness.

Favorite food sites or blogs?
Jaden's Steamy Kitchen is a total crack-me-up for her no-holds-barred casual food writing. Delicious Days for the delicate photos and beautifully designed website. Pioneer Woman Cooks for the ridiculously detailed step-by-step photos.

Describe your perfect meal.
It starts in the morning, when Jeffrey Steingarten picks us up for some green market shopping; later that afternoon, Thomas Keller comes over to help cook everything; and, finally, early evening Clive Owen shows up to have dinner with us. Aaahhhh...

3 Comments | Tags: bloggers, Meet and Eat, NYC, Q and A