penn appétit

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Randy Bach

MANAGING EDITOR

EDITORIAL STAFF

Emily Truong

Andie Goldmacher, Anushka Dasgupta, Brett Levy, Cathy Li, Corey Rudman, Emily Zhang, Haley Creighton, Hannah Kim, Helen Wu, Kristin Osika, Rebecca Jiang, Roger Ge, Talia Desai

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Monika Lee

DESIGN STAFF

Abbey Piatt Price, Alice Choi, Ani Nguyen Le, Christine Cheng, Cosette LaChance, Davis McCourt, Delia Rivera, Douglas Sandler, Elena Grajales, Elizabeth Xu, Emily Xiong, Hailie Goldsmith, Heather Shieh, Joyce He, Lucas Lee, Olivia Tang, Wei-An Jin, Yune Kim

PHOTO DIRECTOR

PHOTO STAFF

Daniel Shi

Ben Tausner, Christine Kang, Fiona Wu, Ilana Jacobs, Jasmine Young, Katherine Kim, Kristin Osika, Liliann Zou, Maggie Miller, Natalia Pallas, Paloma Gulick

DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR

DIGITAL TEAM

Isabelle Lin

Alex Bardwell, Emily Liu, Cole Suplee, Connor Nakamura, Laya Yalamanchili, Man-Ching Fung, Mina Nair, Nakyung Lee, Priya Agarwal, Sarah DiPietra, Sophie Meinen, Talia Desai

CULINARY DIRECTOR

Zain Salloum

CULINARY TEAM

Anh Ngo, Annie Wang, Anya Arora, Ashrit Challa, Ben Tausner, Brigette Fuentes, Corrine Yuan, Eddie Kiev, Eesha Bhavesh Balar, Gloria Cheng, Helen Yeung, Henry Thomas McDaniel, Jad Abouchalache, Jasmine Weiss, Jason Gao, Joey Wu, Kadee Lui, Kaya Patidar, Liam Umbs, Medha Bhupen Patel, Melody Cheng, Michelle Zhang, Peyton Ronkin, Randy Bach, Ron Batra, Tate Park, Zoe Millstein

MARKETING DIRECTOR

MARKETING TEAM

Kade Shippy

Amaliya Yunusova, Anna Metzger, Emmy Keogh, I’deyah Ricketts, Isabelle Glat, Jasmine Gambhir, Katherine Kim, Kennedy Tidjani, Paloma Gulick, Redina Rapi, Rene Chen, Saskia Chermayeff

EVENTS CHAIR COMMUNICATIONS

SOCIAL IMPACT CHAIR

SOCIAL IMPACT TEAM WEBMASTER

Eitan Goodman

Sienna Chen

Qianhan Huang

Alexander Song, Esther Werbach, Sophia Lee

Vibha Makam

At three years old, hair freshly cut like Dora’s, my favorite food in the world was barbeque chicken feet. That was my order request every time my family ate dim sum, and at that young age, I didn’t care that consuming chicken feet was considered strange — I didn’t even know that people thought that.

Now, at 20, I can’t remember liking chicken feet. I don’t remember staring into the camera, mid-bite into some chicken feet, as my mom captured the photo that inspired the letter that I’m writing to you now.

And by the way, if your nose just wrinkled at the mention of chicken feet, this magazine may not be for you. Because this issue is “weird.” (Note the quotation marks.)

In this issue, we embrace “weird” and “different.” We’re big fans of candy corn, despite its quirks and rather poor reputation, and we might just convince you to try your hand at making spicy ice cream or apple pie steamed buns. We think that stinky, fermented foods deliver some of the best flavors, and we’ll even walk you through the history of these “expired” goods.

But we’re also touching on topics that might not otherwise find themselves in the spotlight, both in and outside of the food industry, such as how to make the most of your SNAP benefits, or how the ‘lunchbox moment’ can be a limiting narrative.

Overall, this issue is a celebration of unconventional food, people, and ideas. Keep reading to learn about the vast world of meatless meat, hear from Ben Puchowitz about the development of his Jewish-Asian fusion noodle bar, and discover the joy that comes with Kiki Aranita’s yarn sculptures of beloved childhood foods.

Welcome to the Alt Issue. It’s a little weird, a little quirky, and a bit unorthodox, all with a dash of satire. We’re glad to have you here.

So long, Emily Truong

BEYOND IMPOSSIBLE MEAT

KRISTIN OSIKA | OLIVIA TANG

HIDDEN IN PLAIN BITE: INSIDE PENN'S EXCLUSIVE SPEAKEASY

REBECCA JIANG | KATHERINE KIM | MONIKA LEE | DOUGLAS SANDLER

PLEASE DON'T OBNOXIOUSLY COUGH IN LECTURE (QUIZ)

HANNAH KIM | YUNE KIM

ESCARGOT? WHY NOT ESCAR-NO?

ROGER GE | ELENA GRAJALES | DELIA RIVERA

CHOOSE YOUR OWN CHICK-PATH

TALIA DESAI | ANI NGUYEN LE

FOOD, FIBER, FUN

EMILY TRUONG | JOYCE HE

FIVE QUIRKIEST RESTAURANTS IN PHILLY

ANDIE GOLDMACHER | MAGGIE MILLER | MONIKA LEE

CHEU FISHTOWN

ANDIE GOLDMACHER | RANDY BACH | LUCAS LEE

A REFRESHING ARGENTINIAN EXPERIENCE ON 45TH AND WALNUT

BRETT LEVY | RANDY BACH | HAILIE GOLDSMITH

SPICE CREAM

EMILY TRUONG | OLIVIA TANG

FANTASTIC FOODS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

EMILY ZHANG | WEI-AN JIN

A SPITEFUL ODE TO MY YELLOW, ORANGE, AND WHITE STRIPED LOVER

HALEY CREIGHTON | KATHERINE KIM | CHRISTINE CHENG

WORTH THE WAIT?

COREY RUDMAN | KATHERINE KIM | DAVIS MCCOURT | HEATHER SHIEH

SHOP WITH SNAP

CATHY LI | NATALIA PALLAS | JOYCE HE

DON'T TRUST YOUR SENSES: EAT THE STINKY STUFF

HELEN WU | ALICE CHOI

I DON'T CARE THAT PEOPLE MADE FUN OF YOUR SCHOOL LUNCH

HANNAH KIM | DANIEL SHI | COSETTE LACHANCE