My First Post, Well Sort Of...

Chief: "Here's a link to the food blog I just created, tell me what you think." Half-chuckling in disbelief at the idea that my longtime friend, of all people created a food blog I starred at the link before my eyes and eventually clicked on it. But as I read his posts from my blackberry I got the same feeling of excitement I get before digging into a pastrami on rye at Katz's. TheDegustationAsian: "Hey this looks pretty good so far, so um would you mind if...I mean, would you want to...so, can we do the blog together?" Chief: "Of course, besides, you have all the pictures." And so it was settled, I became the co-blogger of Law & Food.

One could argue that the transition from two long-time friends eating, working and living in New York City to the food blogosphere was something of a natural progression, inevitable if you will. One of my first memories of Chief was during his first week at college where I was a sophomore RA of the dorm we lived in. It was about 3 a.m. and after a long night of debauchery I witnessed Chief asleep on his couch with an empty pizza box on his lap, crust still in hand. Ultimately that anecdote is an example of what brings both of us and this blog together; a passion for food from two lawyers. From enduring long lines in the most extreme weather for a Shack Burger at Shake Shack to the frustration that is the Momofuku reservation system we do it for the love of food.

Like Chief I'm also a lawyer in New York City. I live in Brooklyn and think that its the home of one of the most progressive and best foods (both low and high end) in New York. I was born in Korea but grew up in Rochester, New York home of Eastman Kodak, Wegmans and garbage plates from Nick Tahou's. In addition to food I love to travel, the Atlanta Braves, indie rock and am partial to kimchi.

So what makes Law & Food different from almost every other food blog on the internet? The simple answer is Chief and myself. Food, like music is a subjective experience. What one person finds delicious another finds disgusting; what one finds innovative another finds boring. Keeping in mind that we're not Frank Bruni, nor do we hold ourselves out to be one we will attempt to share our culinary adventures with you while giving you our personal opinions about the experiences. While the majority of my posts will pertain to food I also hope to occasionally write about music or law.

In the closure to my first blog post on Law & Food I'll share one more story with you. During law school Chief and I always joked around that if this whole lawyer thing didn't work out, we'd follow our dreams and go to culinary school and open a restaurant together. Fortunately, both he and I passed the bar exam and became lawyers and while we never ended up swapping our law books for whisks and spatulas in culinary school, I still believe we are following our dreams and love of food by sharing this blog with you.

It's Official, Presenting The First Post On My Prestigious Blog

Wow. Surely I am writing to no one, just one among billions, but as the Replacements say, "it's too late to turn back here we go."

I'm originally from Cincinnati, Ohio the culinary home of Skyline Chili and Montgomery Inn ribs, but very little else. I just spent the past 3 years in the sweaty butthole of Georgia. Living in a town where even the soul food was terrible and the fast-food was a sub-par shadow of itself taught me to cook 3 meals a day for myself and my roommate. I also made time for a lot of serious eating in Atlanta, particularly along the Latin American and Asian food wonderland that is Buford Highway. I deeply miss loroco and chicharron pupusas that surpassed the very good ones served at the Red Hook ballfields and need to trek out to Brooklyn to find more.

Now, I'm a lawyer working for a legal non-profit while living and eating in New York City. I do a lot of writing, both legal (I call it "fun with appellate briefs"), and for my organization's blog.

I live in midtown and work in flatiron, but I eat cheap (usually) and expensive (occasionally) across the 4 boroughs (sorry Staten Island, maybe next year). I plan on writing about my food exploits around town, while also throwing a legal or music post in the mix. There are also a bunch of great restaurants I've been to over the past few months that I have been wanting to review. Plus I've got some really good food porn to show people.

Before I wrap up, I'd like to post a few thoughts on my favorite places so everyone knows where I stand:
burger: Shake Shack and JG Melon (2 completely different burgers)
EMP is fabulous. Ko, while very good was a totally different experience. I haven't been since the initial menu and would like to try it again.
Put me firmly in the pro Shopsin's camp, however with all due respect to Zach, the best sliders are my own.
Soto for Japanese.
I have no official opinion on pizza, although I like Roberta's and Motorino very much.
Places I plan on trying soon: Aldea, Corton, Commerce, Masa (yeah right), Per Se, Mile End (will wait for them to sort out their meat situation), DiFara, and about a million places in Flushing and across the city that I hope to review.