Tejal Rao
Hello! I'm a chief restaurant critic for The New York Times and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine.
As the first California-based restaurant critic for the Times, I reviewed a bakery in Long Beach, a tlayuda stall in South Los Angeles, a truck stop in Bakersfield and a sushi restaurant in Malibu. I've also written about the realities of street vending in New York, the pleasures of West Coast bagels, my love for oysters, mall pizza, fake foods, how Kit Kat flavors are born in Japan and new developments in the world of vegan cheese.
I've won two James Beard Foundation Awards for my restaurant criticism and a Vilcek Prize in creative promise. I was previously a restaurant critic at The Village Voice and later at Bloomberg News. Before that, I worked as a translator, copy editor and cook.
My family is from Uganda, Kenya and India, and I was born in London. I live in Los Angeles with my husband, daughter and two extremely food-motivated dogs. The best way to reach me is by email: [email protected]
＼＿ﾍ(◕‿◕✰)
As the first California-based restaurant critic for the Times, I reviewed a bakery in Long Beach, a tlayuda stall in South Los Angeles, a truck stop in Bakersfield and a sushi restaurant in Malibu. I've also written about the realities of street vending in New York, the pleasures of West Coast bagels, my love for oysters, mall pizza, fake foods, how Kit Kat flavors are born in Japan and new developments in the world of vegan cheese.
I've won two James Beard Foundation Awards for my restaurant criticism and a Vilcek Prize in creative promise. I was previously a restaurant critic at The Village Voice and later at Bloomberg News. Before that, I worked as a translator, copy editor and cook.
My family is from Uganda, Kenya and India, and I was born in London. I live in Los Angeles with my husband, daughter and two extremely food-motivated dogs. The best way to reach me is by email: [email protected]
＼＿ﾍ(◕‿◕✰)
BOOKS
My work was included in these anthologies
- Women on Food
edited by Charlotte Druckman
(Rizzoli, 2019)
- The Good Immigrant USA
edited by Chimene Suleyman and Nikesh Shukla
(Little Brown, 2019)
-The Best American Food Writing 2019
edited by Samin Nosrat
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019)
- The Best American Food Writing 2018
edited by Ruth Reichl
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018)
My work was included in these anthologies
- Women on Food
edited by Charlotte Druckman
(Rizzoli, 2019)
- The Good Immigrant USA
edited by Chimene Suleyman and Nikesh Shukla
(Little Brown, 2019)
-The Best American Food Writing 2019
edited by Samin Nosrat
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019)
- The Best American Food Writing 2018
edited by Ruth Reichl
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018)
<<< portrait by Julie Goldstone