I remember receiving the first issue of this newsletter about seven years ago, when I was working as a customer service representative for a food magazine. And now, for just one day, I’m the writer. Life is coming your way fast! This is Priya Krishna by the way.
I’m writing to you from Tulsa, as I traverse the country for our annual list of the hottest places to dine in America. Other than my acid reflux, there have been so many memorable meals. Sonoran wheat croissants in Phoenix; Austin roasted chicken; banana leaf wrapped dumplings in Philadelphia. Can’t wait to share the final list in the fall.
During the summer, traveling often shifts my focus away from enjoying New York City. So, inspired by my colleague Nikita Richardson, I made a bucket list for the next two months: try every ice cream parlor within two miles of my apartment, see a drive-in movie, attend a baseball game, and finally my hometown heroes, the Chicks, to be seen live.
Some people are effortless hosts; I’m not one of them, so I rely on ready-made recipes for drinks and food. Like sweet tea – maybe spiked with a splash of whiskey? Or an orzo salad with bell peppers and feta (Orzo: the rare pasta that you can leave in a sauce for a long time).
I almost always have ingredients on hand for these peanut butter cold noodles. And a real hit is a chaat party, where I will make chakri, sev, boiled potatoes, onions, tomatoes and chutneys and let people put together their own snacks.
Now for some dishes I love for this first summer weekend: Darun Kwak’s kimchi bibim guksu is a hands-off lunch consisting mostly of montage. The store-bought fresh corn looked too sad for this Melissa Clark summer corn spread, but frozen sweet corn worked beautifully. I made Yewande Komolafe’s Roasted Mushroom Larb for my pregnant sister who needed healthy food with flavor. And for inspiration, I used the sauce I made for Kay Chun’s sesame salmon bowls as the base for Dety McKinnon’s stir-fried cucumbers with tofu. The recipe is for four people, but [whispers] I ate it all in one sitting.
Although I talk a lot about my summer plans, realistically I will spend many nights watching television on my couch. I can’t wait to see Harvey Guillén, my TV fan, on the new season of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’, which comes out on FX on July 12. I’m deep in “Ms. Marvel” on Disney+ and in love with Iman Vellani. And the new season of “Rutherford Falls” on Peacock is even smarter and funnier than the last.
If you live in New York and want more summer activity suggestions, The Times has an entire newsletter devoted to it, led by three talented writers, Julia Carmel, Michael Gold and Korsha Wilson.
Speaking of Korsha, she has a great story about the oyster man known as Moody, who is behind the Real Mother Shuckers in Brooklyn, and the long-standing connection between African Americans and oysters.
I’m @priyakrishna on Instagram and Twitter† Message me if you liked this! Maybe the powers will bring me back for another round.