Anna Mindess
I'm a freelance writer
My passion is exploring the connection between food and culture. I'm a regular contributor to Oakland Magazine, Paste Magazine, KQED.org Bay Area Bites, Edible East Bay and NOSH at Berkeleyside.org.
Filter by
Clients
Reset filters
PROJECTS
AFAR
What I Learned Hawking Sweet Potatoes with a Street Vendor in Taiwan
I MUST LOOK LIKE A LUNATIC to the well-dressed people striding down a busy Taipei street at lunchtime. Brandishing a sweet potato in each hand, I approach passersby, look them in the eye, and loudly declare, “hao-chi-de di-gua”—undoubtedly butchering the phrase I just learned an hour ago, which means “delicious sweet potatoes.” ...
edibleeastbay.com
Fun with Food Insults
Place an eggplant on a plate and the shiny purple globe freely rolls from side to side. You may have never considered the vegetable in this light, but for Hindi speakers, the phrase “thali ka baingan” (eggplant on a plate) is a disparaging put-down for someone who likewise flip-flops, shifting loyalties so easily that they cannot be trusted.
edibleeastbay.com
What’s the Sign for Mozzarella Balloon?
Culinary education thrives at
the California School for the Deaf. High school students dressed in chef’s whites scurry around the kitchen preparing an ambitious Modernist Caprese Salad. Whenever they struggle with the exacting techniques required, culinary arts instructor Vernon McNece patiently clarifies, demonstrates, and corrects in American Sign Language.
ww2.kqed.org
Kristen Rasmussen Creates Smørrebrød Sandwiches with a West ...
Some people create art by applying oil paint to canvas. Kristen Rasmussen fashions edible artwork by applying pomegranate-cured carrots, shaved icicle radishes and foraged fennel flowers to a canvas of dense rye bread.
ww2.kqed.org
For a Sweet Jewish New Year: 10 Bay Area Bakeries with Honey Cake, Round Challah and more (G/F too)
My grandmother swore the secret to her moist Rosh Hashanah honey cake was the black cherry soda she added to the batter. Although I never discovered the origin of her quirky recipe, I have often recreated it to feel close to her memory.
This year, if I don’t have time to bake, no worries, as there’s a bevy of bakeries preparing classic treats...
ww2.kqed.org
Oakland Bloom Nurtures Refugee Chefs at Night Market Pop-Ups
Farid Rafaty dreams of opening a restaurant where he will cook dishes from his native Afghanistan. One of these would be the luscious mantu dumplings he recently made for a pop-up dinner sponsored by Oakland Bloom, an organization that wants to help him in his quest. It’s been a long journey...
pastemagazine.com
Resistance Is a 1-Inch Chile Relleno :: July 2017
Can tiny pictures of tamales, empanadas, ceviche and flan really make an impact on the heated national debate about immigrants? In our boiling political pot of travel ban battles and deportations, one government agency, the U.S. Postal Service, has taken a bold (and possibly subversive) step...
ww2.kqed.org
Reclaiming Tofu: Asian Art Museum Honors the Traditional and Trendy Curd
Walk into any museum, and one of the first items you are likely to spot is a posted warning, a stern reminder not to consume any foods or beverages within its hallowed halls. Last Thursday night, however, visitors to the marble galleries of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum were met with welcoming signs promising savory tastings ahead..
ww2.kqed.org
Tapestry Suppers Serve Up Immigrants' Stories with Good Food and Company
A lovely garden party with delicate shrimp rolls and crusty banh mi sandwiches. But there is another powerful thread running through this recent South Bay get-together, brought into focus as hostess Thoa van Seventer shares her story of leaving Vietnam and suddenly chokes up with emotion...
ww2.kqed.org
Refugees' Life Stories Deepen the Brew at 1951 Coffee Company - KQED Bay Area Bites
When baristas hand over your low-fat latte, you probably don’t consider the paths that brought them to stand across the counter from you. But at 1951 Coffee Company, the Berkeley café that opened in January and is staffed entirely by refugees, the baristas’ life journeys are actually the point...
ww2.kqed.org
To the Restaurant's Immigrant Workers, Ba-Bite in Oakland Feels Like Home - KQED Bay Area Bites
They’ve won accolades for their silken hummus and rainbow of organic salads, but for the owners of Oakland’s Ba-Bite, the most precious thing the almost two-year old restaurant can display right now may be the Sanctuary Restaurant poster on their front door...
ww2.kqed.org
Noodle Soups Share Cambodian Culture at Nyum Bai | KQED Bay Area Bites...
Cambodian noodle soups make a big splash at newly opened Nyum Bai in Emeryville’s Public Market. Nite Yun wants to share her culture by sharing her favorite Cambodian street food...
ww2.kqed.org
La Cocina's 'Voices from the Kitchen' Speak Passionately on Race
Voices from the Kitchen, La Cocina’s latest storytelling performance at The Swedish American Hall featured the impassioned words of more than a dozen chefs, poets, writers, historians and activists on the topic of Race.
edibleeastbay.com
Bundle Up and Chow Down -Warming Winter Foods from 3 Cultures| Edible East Bay
Winters around the Bay do not call for mittens, woolen hats, and snow shovels, but most of us still appreciate an excuse to share comforting soups, stews, and steaming drinks with friends and family around the holidays...
pastemagazine.com
Tofu Showdown Proves It's Anything but Boring :: January, 2017
If you diss tofu by calling it bland, blah and boring, it’s because you don’t really know tofu. In the right hands, the soybean curd’s multi-faceted personality can reveal itself as silky, velvety, unctuous, even crispy, crunchy and chewy...