Foodies Clan

The planets have nothing to do with your fries, but McDonald’s and Del Taco are offering deals tied to Mercury retrograde anyway

Since humans could contemplate their existence, they have looked to the stars for guidance. We have assigned meaning to planets and stars and celestial movements, grasping for answers. Am I alone in this universe? Do my ancestors speak through you? Can your placements help me know myself? And now, finally, What kind of salad should I eat if I’m a Virgo?

The mystical pseudoscience has gained massive mainstream popularity in the past few years, prompting otherwise secular people to wonder whether Mercury is to blame for their problems, to ask tarot cards for dating advice, or to avoid Capricorn roommates. So of course it was only a matter of time before the food brands found astrology and other witchy arts. McDonald’s, Dole, and Del Taco have all recently announced enchanting, planet-based deals. Which means the cosmos are officially over. Sorry, moon.

Mercury retrograde is an optical illusion during which it appears that Mercury is moving backwards in its orbit from Earth’s vantage point, which some astrologers say causes disruptions in communication and technology. To “celebrate,” McDonald’s is offering a McChicken or McDouble with the purchase of a medium fries exclusively in the McDonald’s App on May 10 and 11, and is partnering with TikTok tarot reader Madam Adam for a “McDonald’s-inspired tarot reading,” which I can only hope means the Ten of Hamburglars tells me it’s time to release my burdens (hamburgers) to him. A live reading starts at 6 p.m. ET on May 10.

Del Taco has also been running a Mercury retrograde special since January, offering a buy one get one free chicken taco from its $2 under 20 menu during the four periods of Mercury retrograde this year. “Recognizing the positive and satisfying value of a good meal and deal no matter the circumstances, Del Taco is turning a perceived negative time frame into a win/win,” the company writes on its blog.

Dole is also getting into the cosmic arts, celebrating May’s National Salad Month (sure) by publishing 12 salad recipes, one each for the 12 signs of the zodiac. For instance, “​​Aquarians are clever, unique, glass-is-half-full individuals who add a breath of fresh air to any situation,” which is why they’ve been assigned the watermelon and shaved ricotta salata with mint salad. And a chopped tahini-Caesar salad with grilled chicken appeals to “harmony and balance-seeking Librans.” Dole does not say what will happen if you attempt to eat a salad not assigned by a marketing department to your sun sign. Terrible things, we assume.

These stunts follow food brands getting into metaphysical practices in other ways, from a new tequila that is “nourished by the good energy that seeps from the sun and stars to infuse cocktails with bright bursts of citrus,” to water bottles that infuse your drinks with crystals, to a cookbook that uses the tarot to help you figure out dinner.

And while some of these creators are sincere, there’s no doubt that McDonald’s does not actually care about the planets or the belief systems that follow them. It’s cynical and obvious, a way for an exploitative, destructive corporation to align themselves with what some people think is cool, and use a TikTok star to launder their image, and that’s it. Sorry to be a bitch about it, but I am a Scorpio.

Most bottled water is a scam, but here’s what to look for to identify the best-tasting brands

Everyone has to drink water, especially in our hydration-obsessed era, and it’s that fact that has turned bottled water into a multi-billion dollar industry. When you walk down the water aisle, there are seemingly endless options, from alkaline to mineral to vapor-distilled, all promising to make your body healthier than plain old tap water.

But as with many things, the bottled water category is replete with marketing hype and bad science, all intended to make you spend money on something that flows freely from the tap in this country. To help swim through this sea of water propaganda, we reached out to Martin Riese, who earned a Mineral Water Sommelier certification from the German Mineral Water Trade Association in 2010 and now develops full menus of water options for Los Angeles restaurants like Fellow. Below, he shares his essential guidance on buying the best-tasting water.

A caveat: Bottled water is never going to be the most environmentally friendly choice, and Riese recommends carrying around a reusable water bottle that’s filled with filtered water as the most sustainable option. But for those situations when that’s not possible, like when you’ve forgotten your bottle and are fighting serious dry-mouth in an airport terminal, these guidelines can help you make a more sustainable choice that actually tastes good.

Consider the source

According to Riese, the brand of water that you buy isn’t actually all that important. What matters most is the source of the water, or where it came from before it was packaged into those convenient plastic bottles. “When I’m in a grocery store, the first thing I’m looking at is where the water is actually coming from,” he says. “When it comes from a naturally occurring source, like spring water or mineral water or glacier water, that’s what I want to buy.”

Riese tends to avoid brands that market themselves as “purified,” or “vapor-distilled,” largely because they tend to be sourced from public water systems just like the water that comes out of your tap. “I don’t like the business model, it’s a little bit like a scam. They’re filtering everything out of tap water, and maybe adding back some small amount of minerals or electrolytes to call it healthy,” he says. “I want my water from a naturally occurring source that’s designed by Mother Nature.”

Don’t get tricked by marketing hype

When you stroll down the water aisle, there are a slew of marketing buzzwords like “alkaline,” and “electrolytes” emblazoned on every package. According to Riese, these selling points are almost always just marketing hype. There’s no solid research that indicates that drinking alkaline water, or water with a slightly higher pH, will do anything to improve your health, and the majority of “electrolyte waters” contain only trace amounts of the minerals that water brands insist will make you more hydrated. “I think the whole bottled water industry is very messed up in America,” he says. “Sixty percent of the water sold in this country is nothing other than glorified tap water, and I think that’s the biggest scam on planet Earth.”

Think about your personal flavor preferences

Even though it’s often described as “flavorless,” water definitely has a taste. Some waters, like Texas-born brand Crazy Water, are packed with minerals like zinc, calcium, and silica, each of which impart some amount of flavor. If you’re not a fan of the salty, sometimes bitter flavor profile of mineral water, consider brands that have been filtered by reverse osmosis, a process that can remove up to 99.9 percent of trace minerals and other contaminants. Just keep in mind that most of those reverse osmosis bottled waters, like Aquafina and LIFEWTR, are sourced from public water systems.

Choose a (more) sustainable package

Because of the inherent environmental impact of bottling and selling water, Riese says that there is no truly perfect container for water. He prefers glass, both because it can be recycled and because it doesn’t leach chemicals into the water in the same way that plastic bottles do. Aluminum bottles or cans are also a decent option because they can be recycled, but many are lined with plastic liners to prevent anything in the can (like corrosion or rust) from impacting the flavor of the water.

Surprisingly, water sold in paper boxes is among the least sustainable options for packaged water. “It’s the worst because it looks great from the outside, but these boxes are made from lots of different layers of material, including plastic,” Riese says. “Many recycling companies can’t even recycle them, so they end up in the landfill right away.”

Pour cheese directly into a single-serving bag of Hot Cheetos for the perfect, portable snack

This post originally appeared in the May 9, 2022 edition of The Move, a place for Eater’s editors to reveal their recommendations and pro dining tips — sometimes thoughtful, sometimes weird, but always someone’s go-to move. Subscribe now.

Cheese and chips belong together. Nachos, despite being a Tex-Mex dish, are everywhere. Frito-Lay has been making nacho-cheese-flavored Doritos since the 1970s, and gas stations or movie theaters often have one of those cheese pumps to add gooey yellow goodness to chips. But I’d argue that nacho cheese has a better use than as a topping for plain tortilla chips. Instead, you should be putting it on Hot Cheetos.

I first encountered this combination as a high school student in South Texas, so I was surprised to learn as an adult that many people haven’t tried it. The “dish” is exactly what it sounds like — a single-serving bag of Hot Cheetos opened up and nacho cheese poured directly inside. Gripping the bag shut and shaking it up is optional, but highly recommended to ensure an even cheese distribution. Since it’s an eat-with-your-hands kind of snack, it does get a little messy, but the flavor payoff is worth it.

Hot Cheetos on their own? Great, fantastic, no notes at all. And nacho cheese has always been that girl. So when you combine the crunch and spice of the chips with the warmth and saucy viscosity of the cheese, you have a dynamic snack with its own convenient container. The only preparation required is warming up the cheese, but even that can be as easy as microwaving it in a heat-safe cup or bowl. After that, you just pour and enjoy. (Although I would not recommend pouring the cheese directly after removing it from its heat source, as you might melt a hole in the bag and be forced to eat from a bowl instead, and where’s the fun in that?)

In Texas, the combo pops up at concession stands for sporting events or fruterias that specialize in Mexican snack foods. You might even find it on the menu of a neighborhood ice cream truck, often with the bag of chips served horizontally with the top half cut off so that it fits more sturdily in one’s palm. And if, for some reason, you’re not a fan of Hot Cheetos, there’s a whole flamin’ hot world out there to explore when making this at home. Brands like Takis, Zapp’s, and Andy Capp’s offer a host of spicy chips with varying heat levels. I love to sub in some Chester’s Flamin’ Hot Fries because they’re more porous and soak up the nacho cheese well, but the original Flamin’ Hot Cheetos still can’t be beat for crunch.

When it comes to cheese, there’s likely a shelf dedicated to nacho cheese and/or cheese sauce at your local grocery store, but if you can find my beloved Ricos Gourmet Nacho Cheese Sauce, then look no further because that’s your best bet as far as processed cheddar cheese in a can goes. Ricos also has a salsa con queso dip that’ll do the trick. If all else fails, Velveeta works well in a pinch.

Now, if you want to give it a little kick, you can add toppings like sliced jalapenos or some hot sauce, just as you would with nachos. You could even sprinkle in some cotija cheese for added salt and flavor. Again, closing the bag and shaking it all up helps spread any add-ons evenly over the chips. Make it unique, make it your own, but most of all, make it cheesy.

The Chicago Headline Club announced Eater’s win at the 2021 Peter Lisagor Awards

Eater Chicago won for Best Online Food or Restaurant Coverage at the 2021 Peter Lisagor Awards, the annual distinctions given by the Chicago Headline Club, the country’s largest chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The team was recognized for “Chicago Sues Grubhub and DoorDash for Allegedly Scamming Basically Everyone: Restaurants, Drivers, and Customers”, written by Eater Chicago editor Ashok Selvam with additional reporting by Eater Chicago reporter Naomi Waxman. The feature was a part of the Chicago team’s ongoing coverage of the city’s attempt to regulate the ever-growing industry of food delivery apps. At the start of the pandemic, Chicago authorities were early leaders in the push to curb the steep and often deceptive fees that the apps, particularly Grubhub and DoorDash, charge restaurants, customers, and drivers, including a eyebrow-raising “Chicago Fee.” Other states and cities have followed suit with their own lawsuits against third-party delivery apps.

Grubhub, founded in the Chicago in 2004, was an early success story in the online food delivery industry. The allure of it was obvious for the consumer: easy-to-find food options, available with a mere tap on a screen, arriving at your door without leaving the house. Fast-forward nearly two decades and the downsides of this supposedly seamless system are becoming clearer and clearer. Restaurant owners have been vocal about how destructive the system of online food delivery apps are for the restaurant industry, especially smaller establishments, thanks in large part to the exorbitant percentages of sales taken by the apps. But it was only at the height of the pandemic, with actions taken by local governments like Chicago’s, that restaurants, diners, and drivers started to witness some real change.

This is the first Chicago Headline Club award win for the Eater team.

At buzzy Taiwanese restaurant Wenwen, it’s thrifted dad sweaters, leather pants, and lots of Balenciaga

Welcome to Best Dressed, a new Eater series where restaurant diners show and tell what they’re wearing out to dinner, from the small details to the splashy pieces — and how they approached getting dressed for each spot’s specific scene. After two years of inside time, how do we dress to go out these days?

The Restaurant: Wenwen
Location: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Menu Highlights: Huadiao shrimp, cold sesame noodles, hot honey popcorn chicken, “BDSM” (brined, deboned, soy milk) chicken, pork belly, and cuttlefish

At Wenwen, a Taiwanese restaurant from New Guard member Eric Sze and restaurateur Andy Chuang, the red brick walls and light wood tables contrast with vibrant decor sourced from Taiwanese night markets and colorful, tropical-leaning cocktails. The contrast makes for an environment where diners feel right at home, if home takes months of scouring reservation apps to get into and is also where they throw damn good parties. It’s likely that Chuang will ply you with baijiu shots, and the bar is just as welcoming as a table. Keep an eye out for what the servers are wearing: You may spot a pair of Balenciaga shorts.

Here’s how people turned out to dine at Wenwen on a Friday night.

Patricia, 28, medical industry and Rita, 26, medical industry

Eater: How has the pandemic changed how you dress to go out?

Rita: Going out to eat — going out at all — has become just an excuse to feel good and dress good. It’s just a treat going out. I think that Patricia and I specifically always dress up when we go out because we like to have fun.

Patricia: When we work, we’re always in scrubs. When we are not working, it’s like the only time where we can actually look good. Especially with COVID and with the pandemic, it’s just been really great to have an outlet to feel feminine and human and feel good about yourself.

Rita: We text each other before we plan to go out and we’re like, we want to dress cute, we want to look cute, and we always do. We always do that for us and we’re having a great time, we’re having a great day and it’s probably because we look cute. Patricia always sends photos to me first and I’m like, “We’re late.”

Patricia: Vibe check! And if we’re bumming it, we also bum together.

Rita: We’re in the medical industry — but style is really important to both of us.

When you dress to go out, do you go harder now than you did before the pandemic?

Rita: I would say so. I’m from Massachusetts; I moved here during the pandemic, so I’ve become more aware of what people are dressing like on the streets and I just take advantage of every opportunity to dress up because it’s really fun for me. I think the pandemic absolutely affected that.

Patricia: During the [early waves] of COVID, Rita was still in school. I was working 80 hours a week in a COVID ICU; for six days a week, literally I looked unwell. Now that life is getting back into a [relatively] normal pace, I think we’re all just trying to make up for lost time.

Rita: Going out to eat is something that’s really important to us. Our friendship started with a foundation of food and fashion. We thrive off of that together.

Did you cater what you’re wearing to Wenwen in particular?

Rita: Not to this restaurant, but I definitely dressed a little bit more fun tonight for Brooklyn.

Patricia: I think whenever you go out for dinner, because it’s New York, you never know what the night will bring you, where you’ll end up. I try not to go too dressy but I’ll like, wear something versatile where like, you can kind of go with the flow and see where the night brings you.

Is there anything you’re wearing right now that you’re like, “This is my armor”?

Rita: This is the second time I’ve worn these boots. I was like, “I feel good and I’m wearing these boots and I never wear them.” It was exciting for me.

Patricia: I think leather is really in right now and especially in this transition season here, it’s kind of cold at night but warm during the morning and the afternoon. These are Agolde leather pants and they just fit really well and they’re comfortable and you can have a food baby and still look cute.

Justin, 27, music advertising and William, 25, fashion industry

Why did you decide to come to Wenwen tonight?

Justin: We’ve been trying so hard to get a reservation here. I’m actually on the American Express Resy app and they send you a notification when there’s a table open, and we were able to get a table that way.

How did you decide what to wear tonight?

William: This is his shirt, this is also his shirt. I love a pair of jeans. I need something comfortable. I knew we were going to eat a lot. Something to look cute in but still stay a little tight.

Justin: I just love the outfit I put together. I’m wearing Peter Do, he’s a newer designer but he’s up-and-coming and he’s doing really great. This is Balenciaga; my bag and my shoes are also Balenciaga.

William: He always gets dressed for dinner.

Did the pandemic change what you wear to go out?

Justin: [Over the first years of the pandemic] I feel like I had more time to articulate my style and kind of figure out what my goals were, because I feel like going out was much more of an event rather than going to work every day then throwing something on. Obviously it would look good, but now it’s more special. I definitely invest more time in thinking about what I would wear.

William: I do like to stay home and stay in my pajamas and eat, but nothing beats the experience of going out and having a full dining experience.

Did you dress specifically for this restaurant?

Justin: No. We’re actually going to go out after this probably to see some friends so I wanted to put on something cute.

William: I was like, “What can I wear to dinner, but also out to go drink and party after?”

Are there some nights that you go really hard and you’re like, “Tonight I’m going to look super special”?

William: Yeah.

Justin: Like, you kind of have your party clothes, you have your dinner with friends, or going to a movie, some kind of nice event. There’s definitely the sexy, playful kind of clothes.

Is it different if you’re going out to a bar or club rather than if you’re just going out to dinner?

Justin: I try to look much more polished when I go out to dinner.

William: I’ll wear a T-shirt to a bar.

Justin: I wouldn’t wear a T-shirt.

Do you feel like you fit into the scene here in terms of how you’re dressed?

Justin: I didn’t really notice anyone’s clothes. I’ve been focused more on the ambience here as well as the food and just general decor. I guess everyone feels in place here.

William: It’s nice, it’s cute. We sat down and he was like, “I love the waiter’s shorts.” They’re Balenciaga, of course.

How do you feel the pandemic will change how people dress in the future?

William: I hope they want to dress better!

Justin: It also feels like this kind of resurgence of loungewear and being comfortable and making that feel elevated. I think especially with technical wear like gorpcore, people are getting more into fitness and caring about hiking and activities and things that they’re doing outdoors. I think that’s definitely influenced their style.

William: I prefer when there’s not an expectation of what I need to wear to be somewhere. I wanna dress and get dressed for this in my own vein. Everybody else is going to dress how they want to dress. There’s not like, “You have to wear this.”

How would you describe your personal style?

William: Casual. I’m so much more casual.

Justin: I would say mine’s very playful, but also elevated. I have to look chic. I definitely want to incorporate something funky or fun, like a big earring or a crazy shoe and definitely kind of want it to echo my personality but also look put together.

Taylor, 30; Cheryl, 28; Joanna, 33; Terrence, age withheld, all work in tech

Has the pandemic changed what you wear to go out?

Joanna: The other day I put on pants I used to wear and they don’t fit anymore. They are also really uncomfortable, just high-waisted denim. I don’t wear that anymore. Pants [need to] have an elastic band. Comfort!

Terrence: I’m similar. I like wearing stuff that’s looser now, so I wear what I wear outside and inside.

Cheryl: I feel different actually. Today doesn’t reflect it because I literally rushed from work, but I feel like when I go out now, because we were inside for so long, I want to dress like I’m going out more, even more celebratory. [That’s] definitely not reflected today.

Does that mean doing makeup, doing the whole thing?

Cheryl: Yeah.

Taylor: I feel the same where I’ll definitely sport a ’fit and I’m in some very dad minimal outfit right now, it’s very cozy — I’m happy with this ’fit — but typically I would think about what I wear. During the pandemic, I’m just wearing shorts, so now I think more about compositionally what I’m going to wear to go somewhere. Kind of the vibe too, if it’s fancy or if it’s not, if it’s more casual.

Specifically for this restaurant, did you think, “Oh this vibe is going to be like this so I want to dress in this way?”

Cheryl: I feel like this restaurant has a really homey vibe; I didn’t really feel like I needed to get changed into something fancier to come. It was a really easy Friday night out.

Taylor: It also depends on what’s after dinner. If we planned to go out or to have a longer night, I’d probably wear something appropriate for that. Tonight’s very casual, though, a very chill night.

Terrence: It’s casual, so, this is the same jacket I wear to walk my dog. It’s a vintage find. I got it for $30 at one of the stores around here. It’s a Sergio Tacchini. I like to play tennis, so I identify with it.

When you go out to eat, do you also look at the people around you and see what they’re wearing and compare notes?

Cheryl: I think it depends on where we go. Here, it wasn’t so much. I think because it’s casual and our table is secluded; I think it depends on the area of the restaurant sometimes, too. I feel like on East Broadway in the Lower East Side, it’s very fun to people-watch because there are really good outfits there.

Taylor: We lived in the Bay Area before, too, so I think even being in New York in general I look at people’s outfits a bit more. It’s a lot more inspiring. [There’s] more cultural diversity and diversity as far as what people are wearing, stuff like that. It’s a little more monotone in the Bay.

Joanna: I have friends who moved away from New York and came back; they’re always like, “Wow people in New York always dress up and it’s so fun. It’s so fun to watch.” I feel like because of those comments I always notice it more.

Can I ask about your bracelet? It’s so beautiful.

Joanna: Oh yeah, it’s from my mom. I can’t take it off. It’s literally on me forever. I can’t remove it.

You sleep in it and shower in it, the whole deal?

Joanna: Yeah.

Can I ask about this sweater? Is it a thrifted find?

Taylor: It is thrifted, the knit is very pretty. There’s some geese on it. It’s my cozy dad sweater.

Maya, 41, design lead in tech; Ross, 29, menswear designer

Eater: What brought you to Wenwen tonight?

Maya: We both live in Stockholm, Sweden but I’m from around here.

Ross: She’s a Bushwick girl.

Maya: I think I maybe we saw Wenwen on Eater, maybe I saw it somewhere, and I was like, “This place looks great and new and fun.”

How did you decide what to wear tonight?

Maya: We are going to the Knockdown Center after this for Bushwig and I wanted to wear something.

Ross: It’s for Fatboy Slim and Hercules & Love Affair.

Maya: And drag queens.

How has the pandemic changed how you dress?

Ross: Oh my god, I feel like people are more up for being a bit more extravagant now. Everybody was dressed so sloppy and they didn’t give a shit, and then now it’s like, even in Stockholm, which is way more tame and pulled back, when people go out, they’re like, “Honey, we’re going out.”

Maya: He also works in fashion.

Ross: I’m a menswear designer. People want to party. You know when you get ready with your friends and go out on a night it’s a big, long, drawn-out thing, you’ve been trying on stuff and whatever. But now people are like, “Girl, I’m wearing this.”

Maya: We went through a lot of outfits tonight.

How did you land on what you’re wearing?

Maya: We tried on a lot of things to get to where we are.

Do you compare notes?

Ross: Always with a glass of wine.

Maya: I definitely dress up when I go out. I always love to dress up when I go out. I’m not going to go somewhere and not.

Ross: [Because of] the pandemic, it’s either I’m in really bad clothes at home, working from home, or I’m so overly dressed up; there’s no in-between anymore.

Maya: I mean, I had a full sequin mesh dress tonight and he was like, “It’s too much for going out to dinner.” I toned it down.

Even though you were going out to a club afterwards?

Ross: It was the in-between, the transition.

Do you gear what you’re wearing to the the kind of restaurant you’re going to?

Maya: Yes. I booked this before the Knockdown Center purposefully because I was like, “I know this is going to be a fun vibe and we can kind of be dressed up here and we’re going to look okay.”

Ross: I’m wearing heels for the first time. They’re annoyingly, overly expensive. I was like wearing all the Stockholm brands.

Are you going out anywhere else while you’re in town?

Maya: I’m going to Mood Ring tomorrow.

What will you wear then?

Maya: I have a Discount Universe astrology jacket that is perfect for Mood Ring.

These interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity.

Christian Rodriguez is a New York City-based photographer interested in creating work that dives into his diasporic roots. He has been published in the New York Times and New York magazine, among others.

Gig worker collectives across the country have successfully argued for more worker protections and in some cases, have prevented pay cuts. What many want next is the ability to form a proper union.

This story was originally published on Civil Eats.

In late April, New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined food delivery workers and the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection in Times Square to mark a historic moment. When gig workers in New York City signed on the next day and began rushing bagels, burgers, and bags of groceries to high-rises and walk-up apartments, a few critical things would be different, Adams announced. Unlike the people delivering for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and other apps all over the country, New York City-based workers be guaranteed upfront information on routes, pay, and tips for each delivery, among other new protections.

“These are the men and women who made sure your families were able to shelter in place safely,” Adams said at the rally, where many workers congregated while wearing camera-equipped helmets and bags made to keep pizza and French fries warm. “They delivered for New York, and now we’re delivering for them.”

The new rules are part of the final implementation of a law passed by the City Council last September. But that legislation didn’t simply show up on workers’ doorsteps; it was the result of nearly two years of organizing by delivery workers.

Exactly one year prior, members of a pandemic-borne movement dubbed Los Deliveristas Unidos brought together thousands of workers in to march through Times Square to call attention to their plight. Workers had been repeatedly exposed to COVID-19 while customers stayed home safely and food delivery app companies’ revenue rose. They endured extreme weather, violent attacks, and traffic accidents, while covering all their own expenses, bringing home what often amounted to less than minimum wage. The Brooklyn-based Workers’ Justice Center of New York helped Los Deliveristas Unidos get organized, and the subsequent City Council legislation was a direct result of their actions.

In February, nine smaller advocacy groups that represent both food delivery workers and the city’s thousands of ride-share drivers announced the formation of Justice for App Workers, another coalition that will extend the movement’s reach.

All of this is happening amid a broader labor uprising, but it’s particularly notable because app-based delivery workers are not employees. While companies have been pouring millions of dollars into making sure they won’t be legally required to put delivery people on payroll, these workers are organizing for their rights.

“What drives the organizing is the issues... and the issues are the same. It doesn’t matter if you’re... an employee or an independent contractor,” said Hildalyn Colon Hernández, director of policy and strategic partnerships for Los Deliveristas Unidos. “The three most powerful, most energetic organizing campaigns of workers across the country are at Amazon, Starbucks, and delivery workers. What they have in common is the same poor working conditions, benefits, and low wages.”

While their status as contractors makes it harder to organize traditional labor unions, groups including Justice for App Workers say that over the long-term, they are working toward doing so. A 2019 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling made it easier for employers to classify employees as contractors, which means they are not covered by the federal law that guarantees the right to unionize. Nothing in the law prevents them from unionizing, but they are not protected from employer retaliation. And in December 2021, the NLRB announced it’s considering reevaluating the ruling,

Dachaun Nie is a worker with the International Alliance of Delivery Workers, one of the founding members of the Justice for App Workers Coalition. He said that a union could help workers secure benefits like healthcare and give them a stronger, unified voice. “If we can have a union, there will be someone who can can speak for us,” he said.

Although food delivery workers in different parts of the country face different challenges and have varying demands, many say they are continuing to fight for better jobs even as the attention they commanded during the early days of the pandemic has waned.

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“Essential but Unprotected”

Most food service workers earn hourly wages. Many are undocumented immigrants who aren’t eligible for the same support as other Americans and they take home some of the lowest wages in the country. So when COVID shut down restaurants in early 2020, a loss of income meant most of those workers couldn’t just stay home. As demand for at-home meals spiked, many turned to Postmates and Grubhub and began delivering food, Hernández said. Some had already been delivering food in addition to working in restaurants to make ends meet, she said, but it soon became a full-time gig for many.

In 2021, Los Deliveristas Unidos worked with Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School to survey 500 app-based food delivery workers in NYC. In September, they shared the data in “Essential but Unprotected,” a report that laid out the conditions driving workers to take action. Workers, the majority of whom were immigrants from Guatemala, Mexico, and South Asia, reported being denied bathroom access during shifts, paying out-of-pocket for medical care when they had on-the-job bike accidents, and being harassed by restaurant employees and customers.

Safety is one of Nie’s top concerns. He has driven for Uber and delivered food for various apps and is now organizing mainly Chinese immigrants through the International Alliance of Delivery Workers. Once last year, Nie said he arrived to pick up a rider immediately next to a crime scene where another Uber driver had just been shot. “My whole body was shaking,” he said. On May 10, the coalition is holding a memorial for app workers who have lost their lives due to accidents, violence, COVID, and suicide.

Still, Nie said that low wages are the number-one concern among the workers he organizes. “It’s very hard. They are working 10 hours a day, and they only make like $150 or $200,” he said. In recent months, he said, workers delivering for apps that cater to Chinese restaurants and communities like ChowBus and HungryPanda, have been reporting that rates per delivery change often and have been going down overall.

In the Los Deliveristas Unidos survey, low pay was by far the biggest concern cited by workers: 64 percent reported that they worked six or seven days a week, and the average hourly net pay, with tips included, was $12.40. New York City’s minimum wage is $15 per hour.

Workers are also responsible for their own expenses, including the e-bikes most NYC delivery workers use, batteries and maintenance for those bikes, helmets, monthly data plans, and insulated bags. The new NYC laws will require companies to cover the bags, but the overall expenses reported in the survey averaged out to $339 per month.

Outside of densely populated cities, most food delivery workers travel by car, so recent surges in gas prices have also been incredibly hard on workers. “About 50 percent of the offers that I see are ones in which there is no feasible way to profit,” said Vanessa Bain, an Instacart shopper based in the San Francisco Bay Area. “You are either going to break even, or more likely than not, you’re going to lose money by taking it.”

Bain started the Gig Workers Collective in 2016 to help Instacart shoppers organize for fair compensation. That year, the company tried to remove tipping, but reinstated it after the organization led a boycott. And they’ve successfully fought other changes to the pay algorithm that cut wages since then.

“There have been many, many instances in which Instacart either reduced pay, removed transparency, or otherwise manipulated or tweaked our earning capacity,” Bain said. “Shoppers have responded with ... action, and we get a concession almost every single time.” Still, she said, Instacart’s pay per delivery is now completely driven by a proprietary algorithm, which means the company can “shave off a few cents” or make changes to how and how much shoppers get paid at any time, without disclosing those changes.

In the Bay Area, she said, the number of people working in the app-based food economy at any given time is so high that when she logs onto Instacart, she has to wait for an offer to pop up and then make a split-second decision about whether or not to accept it — even if it might not pay off — before another shopper snaps it up.

Unlike in NYC, where Los Deliveristas Unidos found most food delivery workers are doing the work for 40 hours or more each week, Bain said she has been seeing fewer people working for Instacart in the Bay Area full-time.

“As the profitability and sustainability of this work has slipped further and further away from us, there are not as many people who are able to do this work full time and pay their bills and stay afloat,” she said. As a result, organizing workers within the Gig Workers Collective has gotten harder, as people cycle in and out of the job quickly.

Still, Bain has a core group of about 1,000 members, she said, and the group’s main focus is on fixing what she calls “misclassification.” She believes that under California law, app-based food and grocery workers should be classified as employees and that the state has not been enforcing the law. Under AB5, app-based delivery workers were supposed to be classified as employees, but a law approved by voters in 2020, which was heavily backed by companies such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, exempted those companies from the law. Both laws are tied up in court battles.

“This is dangerous work. It’s expensive work. And the onus of responsibility of the true costs of the work should not be on an individual worker, which is essentially the model that they have established,” she said. “To me, anything short of proper recognition of our employment status is not going to address all of our actual needs.”

However, some surveys have found that many app-based workers around the country prefer the freedom of being classified as independent contractors. In NYC, Hernández said many of the workers involved in Los Deliveristas Unidos prefer it to restaurant jobs they held before, where they typically had no control over when and for how long they were scheduled to work. They can pick their kids up from school in between shifts, for example. And while the pay can be low and unpredictable, it may be preferable to wage theft at the hands of abusive bosses, which is common in food service. As one DoorDash worker expressed in a Facebook group for “Dashers” recently, “I left working horrible fast-food jobs for this.”

Whether or not food delivery companies can continue to avoid making delivery people employees, everyone Civil Eats spoke to said Los Deliveristas Unidos and Justice for App Workers will continue to fight for local worker protections. The new laws that make some changes are just being implemented, and Dachaun Nie said he and the workers he organizes have yet to see the effects on the ground.

On April 28, Los Deliveristas Unidos announced it will launch a training program with the Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. School of Labor Studies at SUNY Empire State College. The program will provide financial, technology, and street-safety training for food delivery workers. At the same time, the group is developing a “Deliverista Hub” with the help of Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York), which will consist of a network of locations that provide services including a training center, restroom access, and e-bike charging and repair.

Despite the long odds, the workers are improving their circumstances. Will they follow in the footsteps of unionizing food workers at places like Starbucks? “That is the ultimate goal,” Hernández said.

• The Next Frontier of Labor Organizing: Food-Delivery Workers [Civil Eats]

They also produce 30,000 flour tortillas per day.

Tacombi, one of NYC’s favorite taco chains, places so much importance on serving the perfect tortilla, that they opened up their own tortilla factory called Vista Hermosa, in Piscataway, New Jersey. Here, workers make 100,000 corn tortillas and 30,000 flour tortillas every day for the restaurants, as well as independent grocers throughout the country.

The operation wasn’t always this large, though. In 2015, they started producing nixtamal tortillas solely for the taco restaurants. “Back then we were cooking maybe six, seven bags a week,” says Jason Debriere, owner of Vista Hermosa. “And now we’re cooking 72 bags a day.”

In order to begin the process of making corn tortilla and the nixtamal, they start with white grain, maize, water, calcium hydroxide, and heat.

The process of making nixtamal, which will be ground into masa to make the tortillas, was developed thousands of years ago by the Mayans and the Aztecs.

“It’s pretty incredible that they were able to do this thousands of years ago and understand that kind of science and chemistry behind it,” Debriere remarks.

The corn that was steeped in water and calcium hydroxide is completely rinsed off and put into a mill made with 16-inch stones, which serve a vital role in making good masa.

Debriere explains, “What the stones really do is really emulsify the oils and the starches and the fat.”

The result is an airy masa that then gets put into a mixer where some salt is put into it and water, as needed.

The finished masa goes to a machine called the “sheeter,” which allows the team to “print” the tortillas. It pulls the masa and cuts out the tortillas to the desired size, which, for this team, is 14 centimeters. The cut tortillas roll onto an oven and get baked on what is basically a mechanized komal, which is heated between 500 and 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Each tortilla goes through three passes on the machine.

“I’ve watched the women in the markets in Mexico...and how they place [the tortillas] on different hotspots on their komal,” Debriere says. “It’s the same concept, we’ve just mechanized it.”

The tortillas then go on a cooling conveyor belt, which is essential to prevent moisture and mold because these don’t have any preservatives or additives.Once off the cooling conveyor, they go to a counter-stacker machine which stacks the tortillas so they can be easily packaged and sent off to retail or food service.

But for Debriere, the process is never over: “I feel like I’m always going to be chasing the perfect tortilla.”

Why aren’t more fast-food restaurants serving fried pickles?

In the world of fast food, we’ve been numbed by so much “innovation” that isn’t actually innovative, like different shapes of (still potato) French fries and yet another huge new chicken sandwich launch that merely adds a little spicy sauce. But the geniuses at Sonic Drive-In have managed to come up with a fast-food innovation that is actually worth getting excited about: pickle fries.

Launched on April 26, Sonic’s new pickle fries really seem like a no-brainer. Who doesn’t love the deep-fried goodness of tangy, crunchy dill pickles, especially when dipped in a tub of buttermilk ranch sauce? Instead of going with the classic pickle chip, arguably the fried pickle platonic ideal, Sonic’s version involves a short, thin spear of pickle that’s breaded lightly and fried to a crisp.

The pickle fries I ordered were mostly crispy, and were made with a pickle that’s definitely higher quality than the typical fast-food pickle chip that you might find on a burger. They were light in color, instead of that weird, chemically neon green, and spiced with more than just dill, with a little garlic and sugar in the mix to make things interesting. My order was a bit skimpy — only about six or seven thin spears were tucked inside the little paper cup — but maybe that’s because the location near my apartment was nearly sold out. Still, they were almost startlingly good, and one of the most interesting new things I’ve had out of a drive-thru window in a long time.

In the days following their debut, these pickle fries have become an absolute phenomenon thanks to, of course, social media. Dozens of TikTokers have posted their (mostly favorable) reviews of the chain’s latest offering, and videos tagged with #sonicpicklefries have been viewed on the platform more than 300,000 times. There are even videos of frenzy-induced sell-outs at Sonic, where a beleaguered drive-in worker tells a customer that they’re all out of pickle fries.

In addition to the pickle fries, the chain also debuted the “Big Dill” cheeseburger, which is topped with both regular pickles and the deep-fried spears. But while that feels like a silly, limited-time-only gimmick, pickle fries are the kind of fast-food side with staying power. In fact, why hasn’t anyone thought of this before? Pickle fries may be a mainstay on sports bar menus, but very few fast-food chains, with the exception of regional favorites like Zaxby’s and Chicken Express, have made the foray into fried pickles, and that just doesn’t make any sense. The world needs more fried pickles, and even better if I can score a cup of crispy spears without having to get out of my car.

The shortage plaguing Vietnamese restaurants is just one among many, but it’s an example of the constant challenges being thrown at already-strapped small business owners

Saigon Hustle, a Vietnamese drive-thru restaurant in Houston, has been having trouble making spring rolls and vermicelli bowls, two big pillars of its menu, basically since it opened in February. “We’re experiencing a rice paper and rice vermicelli shortage right now,” says co-founder Cassie Ghaffar, who adds that this has been the case for over two months. And it’s not just rice paper and vermicelli noodles: “We experience this on a lot of food line items,” Ghaffar says. Just days before, their vendor had run out of condensed milk, which is used in both versions of the restaurant’s ca phe sua da.

Rice paper may be one shortage among many at the moment, but it’s an example of the constant curveballs being thrown at small business owners, who are still facing a convergence of COVID-related financial, labor, and ingredient issues. For some restaurant owners across the country, the stocking up of the early pandemic hasn’t ended — it’s extended to a changing list of items, with imported ingredients posing a particular challenge. According to Ghaffar, several restaurant owner friends are creating a surplus of essential items in garages and warehouses, stockpiling when they can find something they need. And when distributors don’t have their needed ingredients in supply — sometimes, the available options might not match the restaurant’s needs — staff has to take over the search, which uses more time and more resources.

Perry Cheung, owner of Phorage in Los Angeles, is also having a hard time getting rice paper wholesale. (That’s in addition to recent problems finding vegetarian stir-fry sauce and gluten-free soy sauce.) Whereas pre-pandemic, it was easy to rely on his preferred brand, Three Ladies, it’s been unavailable through his wholesaler due to a container issue. For the past two to three months, Cheung has been driving into the San Gabriel Valley every week to shop for rice paper. It appears that the retail supply chain hasn’t been hit in the same way as wholesale, he says. (Still, Three Ladies rice paper is out of stock through both Walmart and World Market as of this writing.)

Buying ingredients this way isn’t ideal. Since Saigon Hustle’s opening, Ghaffar and business partner Sandy Nguyen saw the need for a porter, a person whose full-time job is to make supply runs from their warehouse to the restaurant; the space is small, so packaging and dry goods need to be replenished from a separate storage area that’s shared with their other restaurants. But that porter is now also tasked “to stop at every grocery on the way [between drop-offs and pick-ups] and pick up rice vermicelli and rice paper at each one,” Ghaffar says. That’s necessitated, in part, by grocery stores placing purchasing limits on items in short supply — a store might specify that you can buy only five bags of noodles at a time, but the restaurant goes through six to seven bags a day, she says.

For Cheung, buying retail instead of wholesale means an increase in cost by 40 to 50 percent. Since it’s him doing this shopping, there are also “opportunity costs, where I need to take time out of my day to go Easter egg hunt this stuff and then shuttle it back, all within LA traffic,” Cheung says. He considers this work non-negotiable though. “For a Vietnamese restaurant, you can’t not have a spring roll, so you have to — by all means — find the product,” he says.

Similarly, the New York City restaurant Bolero got a heads up about a rice paper shortage from their Asian dry goods distributor about a month and a half ago. They’ve also stocked up, but if they run out of rice paper to wrap their crab imperial parcels or spring rolls, they’d rather take them off the menu than use wheat-based wrappers, “because that won’t be Vietnamese,” chef Matt Le-Khac said via email. And when it comes to the rarer morning dew rice paper, he added — thin enough that it doesn’t need to be dipped into water, since the moisture in the greens is enough to hydrate it — Bolero has bought a three-year supply.

For these restaurant owners, this is just another part of running a restaurant now. Shortages have changed the day-to-day for Cheung, but he concludes that part of being a business owner is finding solutions to keep things going as best as possible. For Ghaffar, it’s certainly creating considerations for the future. “I don’t think it’s going to get better anytime soon,” she says. “When we talk about expansion, it definitely makes it harder to swallow.”

From dark to light, regular to sweet, soy sauce is much more than a condiment. So how do you figure out what’s what?

Let’s say your recipe calls for soy sauce. That sounds simple, doesn’t it?

But it’s not — not by a long shot. This mahogany liquid is much more than a condiment, because the type and quality of soy sauce you use in a Chinese dish is as important as the kind of wine or butter you add to a French recipe. So, how do you figure out what’s what and which one is going to taste especially good?

The first big thing you need to know is that there is a world of difference between Chinese and Japanese soy sauces. Because Kikkoman has long been America’s default brand, I used to think that all soy sauces were the same — that is, until I moved to Taiwan in the 1970s and was unceremoniously brought up to speed. What I learned there is that Japan’s products are generally called shoyu (thin soy sauce) and tamari (the stronger-flavored, liquid byproduct of miso production), and as good as these may be in Japanese cuisine, they taste very different from China’s soy sauces, which are called jiangyou or chiyou.

Interestingly, the earliest soy sauces were created during the Zhou dynasty — about 2,500 years ago — out of fermented meat, sort of like ancient Rome’s fish sauce, garum. Experimentation led to happier and cheaper results when beans and grains were used instead of flesh, and from then on generations of Chinese families handed down their own carefully guarded secret recipes for their clan’s signature brews.

Historically speaking, China’s best soy sauces have traditionally been concocted in the areas that surround Shanghai — Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, to be specific — because when it comes to fermentation, the people there long ago broke the code for the country’s headiest rice wines (think Shaoxing), stickiest black vinegars (the famed product of Zhenjiang), and some of its finest hams (from the town of Jinhua). The cuisines of those two provinces are therefore bursting with deep, rich flavors, what the Chinese call xianwei and the Japanese, umami.

Here in the States, though, these flavors are still pretty much unknown. Yes, you can occasionally find products labeled “Shaoxing” and “Zhenjiang” and “Jinhua” in these parts, but they’re sort of analogous to a bottle of balsamic vinegar sold at a big box store: The label may say “Modena,” but that five-buck price tag is a big giveaway.

This holds equally true for soy sauce, because unless you know what you need and what’s out there, getting your hands on the good stuff poses all sorts of problems. Some can be found in Chinese grocery stores, and the rest are only available online. Some brands will be artisanal and natural, while others will not be worth your hard-earned dollar. And not only that, but as with just about any other ingredient made with the help of yeast and bacteria — from wine and vinegar to cheese and charcuterie to breads and yogurt — the local flora and fauna will leave their own distinctive imprints on the finished product.

On the surface, Chinese soy sauce is a relatively simple thing to make. I’ve even brewed it myself with success. You simply steam beans of some sort (usually soybeans or black beans) — maybe with some wheat berries or bran — and then lay them out on a tray, cover them lightly with a damp cloth, and wait for a fuzzy white mold to take over the beans. This slimy mixture is then tossed into salt water and allowed to ferment. That seems easy enough, right? But what no one ever tells you is that brewing a crock of soy sauce on your back porch is like caring for a high-maintenance pet, because you have to deal with the smell, stir it every day, somehow manage to keep the bugs from wriggling into all of that glorious rot, and maintain the proper level of liquid. Fortunately for us, there are now some stellar alternatives that we can just tuck into our shopping carts.

Nowadays, the best ones are made in Taiwan. Look for labels that proudly proclaim they are naturally brewed with no preservatives — the word “organic” is always a good sign — while the ingredient list should ideally read something like water, non-GMO soybeans or black beans, perhaps some wheat, maybe some sugar, and salt. Caramel appears in some soy sauces to add sweetness and a deeper color, and others might include licorice extract, but neither are dealbreakers as far as I’m concerned. Just keep in mind that when soy sauce has no preservatives, you will need to either store it in a very cool place or use it up within two months or so.

China’s soy sauces are generally divided into the following categories: regular, dark, light, and finishing. What follows is a highly opinionated guide to each category.

Regular Soy Sauce

Regular soy sauce is the workhorse of any Chinese kitchen worth its, er, salt. The two brands my family and friends seem to rely on more than any other are Wan Ja Shan and Kimlan, and the best varieties these two brands offer will have the words “aged” and “organic” on them. (For what it’s worth, Eddie Huang wrote about how good Wan Ja Shan is in his unforgettable first autobiography, Fresh Off the Boat.) These two brands are beloved for their depth of flavor, consistent quality, and restrained saltiness. If you cook as much Chinese food as I do, be sure to buy the gallon jugs and decant the soy sauce into smaller bottles, preferably with a bartender’s pour spout jammed into the top for ease of use. (Avoid Kimlan’s “Ponlai” variety, as it is the least tasty of the bunch.)

Regular soy sauces can be used for just about any kind of cooking, from braises to stir-fries. And so, if you can only buy one bottle, let it be a good-quality regular soy sauce. This will have a raw beany flavor and aroma because it’s designed to be added during the cooking stage. Try drizzling it around the inside of a wok, just above whatever is being cooked, because that is where the iron is hottest. The soy sauce will then immediately start to caramelize and its flavors will deepen before gravity lures it down to the bottom. If you are planning to use it in a dip for, say, dumplings or vegetables, mix it with the other sauce ingredients first and then bring these to a quick boil. Your nose and taste buds will thank you.

All regular soy sauces have the consistency and color of espresso: very dark, easily pourable, and thick enough to leave a slick on your fingers. The salt level ought to remind you of a good dill pickle, while the sauce itself should have a nice bean aroma (which will cook off), faint sweetness, and good depth of flavor.

• Wan Ja Shan Aged: Gentle bean flavor and aroma, bright salt notes, medium color, and an almost creamy edge. Naturally brewed. (Taiwan)
• Kimlan Aged: Licorice notes with a faint meaty aftertaste, and so pale that it could be used in lieu of a light soy sauce. Naturally brewed. (Taiwan)
• Ve Wong Royal: Medium color, considerable depth, and a sweet finish. Naturally brewed. (Taiwan)
• Ve Wong XO: Good medium color, deep bean flavor, and sweet with an herbal edge. Naturally brewed, but lots of additives. (Taiwan)
• Kimlan Steam Fish Soy Sauce: Despite its name, this is a tasty, general-use sauce with a licorice edge. Naturally brewed. (Taiwan)
• Kimlan I-Jen Soy Sauce: The plump grains known as Job’s tears provide an unusual but subtle flavor to this brand. Medium color. Naturally brewed. (Taiwan)
• Yummy House Premium Soy Sauce: Good consistency and color. Meaty flavor. Additives and preservatives. (Hong Kong)
• Amoy First Extract Black Bean Flavored Reduced Sodium: Medium color with pale flavor and a slightly acidic finish. Additives and preservatives. (China)

Dark and Light Soy Sauces

Dark and light soy sauces are mainly used in Cantonese cooking. Dark soy sauce comes from the literal bottom of the fermentation barrel. It’s rich in sediment and is used sparingly in braises — usually in addition to regular soy sauce — to add oomph and a dark brown coloration. Light soy sauces are pale in color and flavor, so Cantonese chefs rely on these when dishes need to retain a light hue and require only a soupcon of additional xianwei.

Dark soy sauce should look and pour like warmed molasses. It is very strong and very salty, so use this only in dishes like braises to add a touch of color and flavor. Light soy sauce, on the other hand, looks and pours like weak coffee. This tan color means you should use this soy sauce as you would white pepper, in dishes where you don’t want to disturb a pale appearance.

While there are a few light soy sauces on the market, they can be loaded with additives, and their uses are limited. Skip buying a bottle, and instead substitute with Kimlan Aged, or a finishing soy sauce mixed with a little water.

• Kimlan Lou Chau: Dark soy sauce. Its walnut hue gives way to a beany flavor and decided saltiness. Naturally brewed. (Taiwan)
• Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark: Dark soy sauce. Close to black in color, this brand presents an almost baked flavor with notes of caramel and herbs. Additives and preservatives. (China)
• Pearl River Bridge Mushroom Flavoured Superior Dark: Dark soy sauce. Strong chemical aromas burst out of the bottle as soon as it’s opened. Not much flavor, just very salty. Preservatives. (China)

Sweet Soy Sauce

Sweet soy sauce is often used in the mountainous regions of South Central China, like Sichuan and Yunnan. This condiment should ideally be much more complex than its name implies, for the perfect option is a blend of good soy sauce infused with caramelized sugar, aromatics, herbs, and spices. Since the good stuff isn’t available here yet, I make my own from a recipe in my cookbook All Under Heaven. I reach for it whenever my braises need a bit more kick, to level out the salty-sweet notes in dan dan noodles, and to act as a simple sauce for tofu or cold meats. More importantly, sweet soy sauce plays so well with chile peppers and hot sauce that it can be considered their perfect foil. If you don’t want to make your own, you can buy Lee Kum Kee Sweet Soy Sauce. At present, this is pretty much the only commercial brand available in the States. It’s serviceable, but does not have much flavor. Plus, it’s made with high-fructose corn syrup and lots of additives. Still, experimenting with even a just-okay bottle can be a good incentive to start a DIY production habit — or to further explore the wide and endlessly fascinating world of Chinese soy sauce.

Finishing Soy Sauce

Finishing soy sauce is nowadays the most interesting category, thanks to all sorts of inventive small-batch soy sauces that are making their way into the homes of serious Chinese cooks. Finishing soy sauces can be found in the larger Chinese supermarkets or online. As with anything that’s made by hand and with lots of care, these brands are at times not cheap. And that’s why you shouldn’t consign them to braises, but rather reserve them for dishes and occasions where their flavors can be fully appreciated. Most of these are produced in Taiwan, where a healthy appreciation for organic, crafted ingredients at times feels so robust that even Portland, Oregon, would be impressed.

All of these sauces should have interesting flavors right out of the bottle because they don’t need to be heated first, although a quick tour of the steamer or the residual heat of a dish will not harm their aromas. What you’re trying to do with these soy sauces is offer a final layer of flavor that hovers over the dish itself. A finishing soy sauce will therefore be the first thing your mouth and nose encounter, and that means its flavor and aroma must shine. Many of these will have a gently sweet component that might seem disconcerting at first, but decidedly delicious when used right.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to hunt down my beloved Ruei Chun soy sauce at 99 Ranch Market, and my dwindling stash had me worried. But then a whole new crop of delicious brands started making their way into my kitchen, not only via Chinese markets, but the internet. All of these are made of high-quality ingredients without preservatives. (Note: Thanks to Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry for sending me samples of all of the Yu-Ding Shing sauces mentioned below.)

• Ruei Chun: Hard to find, but the search is justified. Worth sourcing from a Hong Kong vendor, even. Very pure flavor that recalls a decades-ago time before soy sauce became completely commercialized. No preservatives or flavor-enhancers. My personal gold standard for a traditional, finishing-style Chinese soy sauce. (Taiwan)
• Yu-Ding Shing Wood-Fired Black Bean Sauce: This is so close in flavor to Ruei Chun that I am officially a happy camper once again. Made with black beans. Pure, old-fashioned taste and aroma. Salty finish. (Taiwan)
• Yu-Ding Shing Soy Paste with Glutinous Rice Grains: An unusual and delicious condiment, with sticky rice grains thickening the sauce and lending it both texture and a sweet edge. Great for dipping or finishing. (Taiwan)
• Amber River Soy Sauce (Yu-Ding Shing): A very well-balanced traditional soy sauce. Not too salty or sweet, but with a pleasant, meaty flavor. (Taiwan)
• O’Long Black Bean Soy Sauce: Good, clean flavor. Medium salt, nice aroma of black beans. (Taiwan)
• O’Long Gourmet Dipping Soy Sauce: A really tasty bean aroma. Excellent balance of salty and sweet. (Taiwan)
• Wuan Chuang: A sweet, clean flavor that is so mild it’s best reserved for drizzling or dipping. Additives. (Taiwan)

This list is by no means comprehensive or final, so keep an eye out for new brands and varieties as they continue to appear online and in your local Chinese grocery stores. For example, a Taiwanese friend just gave me a bottle she had discovered in 99 Ranch Market: DYB Aged Artisan Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce. “Try this,” Chia-ying said. “It’s my new favorite!” And she’s right, it truly is fabulous; in fact, this brand has won international awards for another of its varieties, DYB Artisan Golden Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce. However, neither is available online quite yet, so take my advice and nab them whenever you can.

It just goes to show you, our access to the best Chinese soy sauces is only going to get better the more we learn to love them and the more we demand the very best.

Carolyn Phillips is an artist and food scholar, and the author of At the Chinese Table: A Memoir with Recipes, All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China, and The Dim Sum Field Guide. She’s presently finishing up her next cookbook.
Michelle Min is a food and travel photographer based in San Francisco.

Jing Gao hopes her brand, Fly By Jing, can help take Chinese food out of the ethnic aisle and into everyone’s pantries. Here’s how she launched a beloved chile crisp brand online

In How I Got My Job, folks from across the food and restaurant industry answer Eater’s questions about, well, how they got their job. Today’s installment: Jing Gao.

Chile crisp has transformative powers. The Chinese hot pepper oil, which usually gets its signature crunch from fried shallots and garlic, significantly upgrades anything it touches, from noodles and soups to eggs and ice cream. That’s why Jing Gao — a native of Chengdu, China, the capital of Sichuan — built a business around it, transforming her own career in the process. After working in brand management and tech, Gao pivoted to food as a way to reconnect with her family and her heritage. She opened a restaurant in Shanghai and then ran a traveling pop-up that eventually evolved into Fly By Jing, a modern Asian food company bringing flavor-packed pantry staples to kitchens around the world.

The brand’s numbingly spicy Sichuan Chili Crisp is its most popular offering, despite the fact that it’s more expensive than the classic Lao Gan Ma brand that many consumers know. As the market for chile crisp heated up in the last two years, Gao bet that people would be willing to pay more for higher-quality ingredients and better taste, and she was spot-on. Gao launched a campaign on Kickstarter to raise capital for production and gauge if there was interest in the U.S. market; there was a lot of interest. Nearly 1,700 backers pledged $120,000 in funds. The success of the Kickstarter led Gao to expand the brand with products like zhong sauce, frozen dumplings, and finishing oils. Now, she plans to continue growing, with her sights set on adding more items from regional Chinese cuisines to her repertoire.

In the following interview, Gao discusses the challenges of moving Fly By Jing to Los Angeles, relying on customer support during rough patches, and taking Chinese food out of the “ethnic aisle.”

Eater: What did you originally want to do when you started your career?

Jing Gao: I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but didn’t know what kind of business it was going to be. I thought I would try a lot of things and would eventually find what was right for me.

What was your first job? What did it involve?

I had many part-time jobs growing up, but my first full-time job out of school was as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble. It was great training to become an entrepreneur because it required you to act as a mini-CEO of a brand, working with many other [departments] across the company, like sales and R&D, to grow the top line. I worked for Gillette [owned by P&G] and CoverGirl [formerly owned by P&G] in the Canadian market.

Did you go to culinary school or college?

I went to business school, somehow a compromise between my parents’ wishes for me to become a doctor and my desire to go to art school. I never went to culinary school, but taught myself to cook by reading cookbooks and practicing. I also staged in a restaurant, which is a great way to learn on the job without going to culinary school.

How did you get into the food industry?

I got into the food world when I moved back to China in my 20s for a tech job. As I started to reconnect with my family there, exploring the country’s food became a way to reconnect with them and my heritage. I started to learn everything I could about Chinese cuisine and launched a food blog where I chronicled my adventures.

That led to writing about food for international publications, learning to cook with Chinese masters, opening a restaurant called Baoism in Shanghai, and launching a traveling pop-up restaurant that I named Fly By Jing. This winding road eventually led me to the realization that Fly By Jing could be a modern Asian food brand that helps introduce incredible Sichuan flavors to kitchens around the globe.

What was the biggest challenge you faced when you were starting out in the industry?

There were many challenges along the way, but probably none as difficult as when I decided to move to LA to launch Fly By Jing as a direct-to-consumer [consumer packaged goods] brand. Despite having found traction pretty quickly, everything that could have gone wrong did, from manufacturing mishaps to logistics catastrophes to the resistance and blatant racism we faced from the beginning.

I couldn’t find any investors who believed in the concept, so I had to bootstrap the company by myself, unable to hire help or even pay myself. But those early constraints helped me to work creatively to find solutions and [learn] never to take no for an answer, which in turn [helped me] build a more resilient business.

When was the first time you felt successful?

Every breakthrough has been [paired] with challenges. The first was our Kickstarter back in 2018. It was an instant success and it showed me that there was a community out there who valued and demanded high-quality Chinese flavors. But the journey to creating the first big batch at scale was long and painful. However, the initial few thousand customers who took a chance, sticking with me through incessant mishaps and delays, were pivotal to our eventual growth.

What was the turning point that led to where you are now?

In 2020, as the pandemic spread across the world and reached the U.S., we saw an overnight surge in home cooking and interest in more diverse flavor profiles. We had been growing steadily in the previous year due to press and word of mouth, but one major feature in the New York Times Sunday magazine by Sam Sifton kind of changed everything for us.

We sold out of several months of inventory overnight and continued to take preorders, which saved the company as we dealt with the ravages of the pandemic on global supply chains. It also catapulted us into the mainstream, as customers in every age group across every state in the U.S. brought us into their homes.

What does your job involve? What’s your favorite part about it?

I wore all the hats at Fly By Jing in the beginning, but now I’ve built a team who are helping me dream even bigger. I continue to set the vision and steer the ship, make sure we attract and retain the right talent to join the team, and ensure that we have the resources we need to achieve our goals. I do all the product development, direct brand campaigns, and work on creating a happy and healthy environment for my team.

Do you have, or did you ever have, a mentor in your field?

Yes, so many. I always encourage other founders who are starting out to seek out mentors who’ve gone down similar paths. It’s so helpful to hear how other people have tackled the same problems and found solutions, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel yourself. Every mistake in the book has been made; seek out resources and mentors to avoid repeating them if you can.

How are you making change in your industry?

At Fly By Jing, our goal is to shift culture through taste and elevate the consciousness and conversation around Chinese food and other marginalized cuisines. We want to take Chinese food out of the so-called ethnic aisle and make it part of everyday cooking everywhere. Our continually expanding line of sauces, spices, oils, and dumplings is doing just that.

What would you have done differently in your career?

I would’ve reminded myself to slow down a little bit and enjoy the process. Easier said than done, but a founder’s life can be so hectic that we forget to stop and breathe every once in a while — and to take a minute to look at how far we’ve come.

What advice would you give someone who wants your job?

Make sure that whatever you are pursuing is driven by your burning desire to bring it into the world. The road to entrepreneurship can be often excruciating and you’ll need a north light to keep you going. Remember that most of us aren’t born with passions. Passions form from interest, dedication, and practice. The more you give to your craft, the more it gives back to you.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Morgan Goldberg is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.