“Your meatball grinder is cold now. Do you want me to heat it up?”  “No, that’s OK,” Louis says. The grinder is cold and a little soggy, but he’s too hungry to care.  “You look tired,” says Big Lou.  “I’ve been trying to help a kid at school get a…

The food in Camp Zero was, overall, disgusting. And while my goal was to recreate a rather disgusting and gristly “cat stew” — mountain lion roadkill — with chicken. Admittedly, my version is delicious. “Grant!” the Foreman calls out from the feed line. “Get in line! It’s cat stew night.” “Cat…

Kara expertly butterflied two chicken breasts and rolled them in a spice mix. Her movements were pinpoint, with a speed and precision I’d never seen from professional chefs. Most of the time, even while cutting, her eyes never left mine.…She turned back to the chicken. It had taken a good…

It was Nia’s idea to do something after so that I didn’t have to go straight home. She knew that before seeing Dad, I wouldn’t be able to stomach breakfast, so she suggested lunch. I said, sure, but so long as it was somewhere I haven’t tried before. Somewhere new. …

In Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabinelli, Eve is mourning the loss of her husband. One day, a new friend who is more of a casual acquaintance buys Eve beef and black bean arepas. The food is both nourishing and comforting, exactly what Eve needs. She takes me to the Lyric…