2015: Year of the Hot Dog

This year, I interviewed one of my all-time idols, briefly became the burger columnist for a men’s magazine, reported my first story for the New York Times, and accidentally made international news because of some hot dogs. I published around 25 articles, read at two reading series, made one radio appearance on the CBC, took several hundred photos, and handled more raw hot dogs than we need to discuss right now.

In January, Lucky Peach launched their beautiful website, and Gabriella Paiella and I became their resident disgusting experts. Every month, we lovingly bring to life a fresh nightmare for our fans.

Disney Princesses Reimagined as Hot Dogs, Lucky Peach

In March, I wrote a piece in issue 18 of Remedy Quarterly about my grandma’s food hoarding tendencies and how she likes to revive stale doughnuts. It’s in print only, but I just wanted to give this piece a shout-out because it was fun to write, and Kelly Carámbula did a beautiful job with the photos and layout.

Making the Old New Again, Remedy Quarterly

In September, I went to the Pacific Northwest and ate a lot of amazing Thai food and did a lot of research and talked to a lot of chefs and wrote this piece for the New York Times about the changing landscape of Thai food in Portland.

In Portland, Thai Food Moves Beyond the Usual, The New York Times

In October, I ran up 5th avenue in the rain on a Saturday morning to meet Carrie Brownstein at her hotel. She spoke eloquently about pop culture feminism. I mispronounced the word “compartmentalize.” It was perfect.

Carrie Brownstein Discusses Her New Memoir “Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl”, Bitch Media

In 2016 I want more reporting, more interviewing, more idols. More caviar, more 90s musicians, more obscure history, more cultural criticism, and I don’t know — why the hell not? — more hot dogs.