556: Bonnie’s Calvin Eng Has MSG Tattooed on His Arm (And All Over His Book)

Calvin Eng is the chef and owner of Bonnie’s, a very popular Cantonese American restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He’s also the author of a great new cookbook: Salt Sugar MSG, an introduction to his unique style of home cooking, cowritten with his partner, Phoebe Melnick. It’s so fun to have Calvin in the studio to talk about growing up in New York’s many Chinatowns, developing recipes for home cooks (instead of line cooks), and more. Also on the show, Matt has a fun conversation with Substack’s Austin Tedesco. We love Substack and talked about the upcoming Grubstack virtual festival, running from March 13-15. We also talked about how Substack is helping writers reach wide audiences, and go over some of our favorites. Mentioned on the episode: Bangers and Jams, Alison Roman, Feed Me, Vittles, Sweet City,  The Best Bit, Perfect City, Bite Sized, The Angel, Cake Zine, Sook, A Small & Simple Thing, Snaxshot, Why Is This Interesting? Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.             READ MORE:Buttery Oyster Sauce Noodles [TASTE]Salted MSG Caramel Sauce [Food and Wine]The Future of Food Media Is in Your Inbox [TASTE]