Esther Tseng is a food writer in L.A. -- she writes for The L.A. Times, Food & Wine, Eater -- with a surprising secret: she works a normal nine-to-five job in retail finance. In today's session, we talk about her childhood in New Berlin, Wisconsin, her parents moving here from Taiwan, the Taiwanese food that her mother made at home (including delicious-sounding Bah Tzang), her being embarrassed by her father's accent, and how she attempted to assimilate by going to UCLA... only to find that she didn't fit in with the Asian community there. We also cover the realties of supporting yourself as a food writer, the ethics of taking free trips, getting mugged on the way to the farmer's market (!), and her favorite restaurants in L.A.
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Esther Tseng's Refrigerated Pizza from Von’s Reheated in a Toaster at Work