Food Stories Philosophy

Tony sharing a meal in Lhasa Fast Food in Queens.

I remember being knee-deep in an existential crisis back in 2019, realizing that I had to pursue my first love: food.

From the earliest days I can remember, I was being passed around by waitresses at Suchow, a Shanghainese restaurant in New Jersey, with a mouth full of soup dumplings. At Thai Chef, I had a special bond with a waitress who always knew to bring me Tom Kha Gai along with a meal-topping chocolate soufflé. At Grand Sichuan in Chinatown, I’ll never forget the first Sichuan chili wonton I had. I never tasted anything so spicy in my life… and I loved it.

These memories have stayed with me, shaping my appreciation for food and the stories it tells. So, when I found myself stuck in a job I was struggling with, feeling miserable and unsure if I would make it, two years out of college, I thought to myself that I wasn’t honoring the passion that had been with me my entire life. Sitting in my brother’s Lower East Side apartment, watching the Queens episode of Parts Unknown (Season 9, Episode 5), I felt like a brick hit me over the head.

Tony finishes that episode with a line I’ll never forget, one that still gives me chills: “Every meal, every dish has a story. Often a very personal one. Often a story of hardship, separation, difficult times. But when somebody cooks for you, they are saying something. They are telling you something about themselves. Where they come from, who they are, what makes them happy. A whole hell of a lot of people in Queens, the people who make the borough what it is, who make it such a great place to eat and explore, are very far from the places they once called home…but Queens is home now.”

I saved this quote in my phone as a voice memo titled “my food philosophy” and I want to make sure this blog represents that vision. I’m lucky to live in New York City - a place that gives immigrants from all parts of the world a place to showcase their food - and I plan on taking full advantage of that luck from now on.

Today, I find myself actually happy in the same job that I was once running away from, and I’m glad about that. However, I’ve still not been honoring the passion I have for food and the stories tied to it. That’s why I am starting this blog, Food Stories, in hopes I can combine my interests in photography, food, and the stories behind them all.

Thanks for reading!

Zach