Naomi Tomky's Profile | Serious Eats

Why Jianbing is China's Most Popular Street Breakfast

@suebaru that Bing of Fire was poor imitations, but there are plenty of other places in Seattle to find it. Dough Zone has two locations on the eastside and Country Dough in Pike Place has it too. Uway Malatang in the ID did for a time as well, I've seen it at a few other places I can't think of off the top of my head.

Subtle Steps Lead to the Best Tabbouleh Salad

I love tabbouleh, and I love the ideas here, but I would argue the point that "using the tomato water is no more complicated than using water." For anyone cooking on any sort of timeline, this stretches the prep time by a fair amount--you have to pre-chop and then drain the tomatoes before you can even start the (hour+) bulgar soak. Not a complaint, per-se, but certainly a consideration that makes a significant difference for something floated as "an easy switch."

Also makes me wonder about the 1 hour 15 min "total time" listed on the recipe--if you're chopping tomatoes, then draining them 20 minutes, then heating the water, then soaking the bulgar for an hour, then prepping the salad, you're looking at at least an hour and a half, minimum...

Just something to think about when people cook in real life!

Kenji's Excellent Asian Adventures, Part 1: Beijing-Bound

@ChazL FWIW, and it sounds like you agree, the one in Seattle was a not very good impression of jianbing--in her goodbye letter, the owner said something to the effect of "people who don't like my food should probably get new taste" but all I could think was that they just were nothing like the amazing breakfast food I dream of from Beijing. There is a place called Dough Zone in Bellevue that does a half-decent version, though. I've tried to track down the SF one you mention, but it's never been operating when I was in town.

Kenji's Excellent Asian Adventures, Part 1: Beijing-Bound

We had a similar late-night intro to Beijing food--though I don't think we even made it to the hostel, it was just walking from the bus at 2am to the hostel when we ran into food.

When we asked our friend who lived in china what those soft buns were, he just called them bao zi, and didn't get any more specific. (From 2009: http://www.thegastrognome.com/2009/12/14/beijing-part-2-holes-in-the-wall-and-xinjiang-restaurants/)

A Day in the Life of a Singapore Hawker

@Jeremy, yes, his stall is in Berseh--the photo at the top is just to give a general idea of a hawker center for the intro.

A Day in the Life of a Singapore Hawker

Thanks @sonyaccs & @AgentVX--both are fixed now!

Spicy, Seared, Smothered, Stacked: An Introduction to Mexican Sandwiches

@Illini--not that I could find. I had to track this down via Interlibrary loan, then translate the needed sections myself.

The Best Po' Boys in New Orleans

Other than my personal favorite (Parkway) on here, I'm most excited that I haven't tried these all, so I have so many to go. While I agree with PSFam--I've had some great ones at Verti Mart, I trust that this just means there are so many more that I need to try that came in ahead of it! And god, my experiences at Mothers were terrible, with you there, Max.

Going to Seattle? Don't Miss the Vietnamese Food

@Andrea thanks for even more of your expertise!

Going to Seattle? Don't Miss the Vietnamese Food

@Irene, Thank you! I try to be in Asia as often as possible (flew home from Hong Kong in June), and, in fact, as I finished up this article, I said to my husband we should really get back to Vietnam! It's been 6 years since we were there.

Going to Seattle? Don't Miss the Vietnamese Food

Hard to tell--instinct is that the holes on that look much larger than in what we ate, but that could be variation. There was definitely no crunch after these were cooked in the hot pot, though--they were completely soft.

Going to Seattle? Don't Miss the Vietnamese Food

@Irene: It could be! I tried to google it a bit after the server told me that's what it was, because I hadn't heard of it like that, but it was hard to tell from the photos if they were or not.

Going to Seattle? Don't Miss the Vietnamese Food

@johnnytakes5--Thanks for the note! My research suggested there was some fermentation during the resting period, possibly natural fermentation, but we're going to take the word out while doing some deeper research on it.

@annieNT--That's a great idea, I also didn't even try to start into the drinks (my favorite is the soda sua hot ga, egg yolk and soda, not to mention the lime soda and coffees) because there is just so much to cover. Hopefully there's another article in the future!

An Introduction to Sri Lankan Cuisine

Oh, I eat shrimp shells and tails all the time! On these, you'd probably barely even notice, since they are tiny, but even on bigger shrimp, you can totally eat it. Best if it's grilled or deep-fried, but often if it's easier than peeling, I'll just eat them.

The Best Ice Cream (and Other Frozen Desserts) in Seattle

@MayoHater I agree, Mallard is fabulous! It was just a little too far for an article about ice cream in Seattle.

The Best Ice Cream (and Other Frozen Desserts) in Seattle

I wasn't overly impressed with Old School (we checked it out in the name of research for this piece). It is certainly good, but didn't feel like it was up to the level of these places in terms of best-in-category. I wouldn't kick it out of bed--er, cone--though.

Where to Eat Outdoors in Seattle, 2014 Edition

@gamingwithbaby, I agree with you in theory, but in practice, technically Dick's is takeout, not outdoor dining--there's no seats, you' getting the food to go and need to find your spot to eat it outdoors.

Leftovers: Meat Map, Ice Cream Cleanse, and More

As a traveler who's been hit with various bugs while eating around the world, all I can say is if ciproflaxacin is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Manner Matters: Hands off My Cake

I know it seems gross, but in defense of the friend, a sinus infection is very unlikely to be contagious.

Can't Get Into Talde? Where to Eat and Drink Instead

A bit of a longer walk, but since the wait was long, we did our talde wait at Skylark--with a good kim chi pancake to boot.

Biang! Makes a Bang with Spicy Xi'an Noodles Near Seattle

David, you are correct that Xinjiang foods are generally Halal, however, Biang is serving Xi'an foods--from Shaanxi province, some 1500 miles east of Xinjiang.

Four Hours for Barbecue: the Psychology of Waiting in Line for Food

@ilovebroccoli: You're dead on. A lot of this research comes from Disney and other theme parks. Other related research I read was also on general waiting and came from shipping companies (FedEx,etc) and from airports. Not quite close enough to make the article cut, but one of my favorite from the psych part: Since occupied waiting is 'shorter' than unoccupied, airlines found that they had happier customers if they parked the plane further from the baggage claim and let people spend the time it took their bags to get to the carousel walking to the carousel, rather than get off the plane, be at the carousel, and have to wait that same amount of time for the bags to arrive.

Four Hours for Barbecue: the Psychology of Waiting in Line for Food

@laem I have actually stood in the Hot Doug's line, at the behest of my Mother-in-Law, and really did NOT enjoy it, actually. I believe we only waited maybe 45 minutes, but it seemed to take forever--felt about 4 times as long as the Franklin line. I thought it was very hot, but in asking my man, he claims it was winter and cold. Regardless, we were unhappy. Furthermore, I also interviewed Doug for this piece, though didn't end up adding in any of his quotes, as he didn't really do anything that fit in with the psychological factors--which might explain why that line felt so eternal.

Four Hours for Barbecue: the Psychology of Waiting in Line for Food

@laerm: This was not intended in any way to be a review of Franklin. As I said in the article had absolutely no intention to stand in the line, except that when we drove by to check it out, and I got out to talk, I ended up having such a good time that I decided to stay until it stopped being fun--which never happened.

This article is an examination of why this happened--I too thought that it was not possible for a wait in line to be worth it/fun/not miserable, so when it was, I wanted to know why. Hence the title is not a review, but about the psychology of waiting in line.

Four Hours for Barbecue: the Psychology of Waiting in Line for Food

@Lorenzo: Yes, this was the best BBQ I've had in my life, but I will mention I live in a BBQ desert, so that is not saying much. I felt similarly about being unable to imagine why I would do that--and I was prepared to walk out of that line the SECOND it stopped being fun--I only got in it to have something to do while my partner-in-crime got us breakfast tacos. It just, as I say in the article, didn't stop being fun.

@Where'sPancake'sHouse I'm sure if there aren't already there will soon be places doing better bbq, I make no claim to being a bbq authority--in fact, I didn't even go to the other reputable place (La BBQ) by our hotel. Regarding denial: certainly it could be a factor, but that's why I mention in the final paragraph that before I even ate the meat, I already knew it was worth it. The quality of the food was irrelevant to the enjoyment of the food. (Also, expect a private message next time I'm in Austin, I promise I'm good with secrets ;) )