Xinyi

The Grocery-First Eater

Xinyi works through New York one grocery store at a time, then eats out with the same checklist running in her head: where the ingredients came from, whether this kitchen would survive a comparison with her own stove, and one small tell she swears by — are the chopsticks single-use? She still has not forgiven the city for closing Cozy Soup & Burger, and she will walk a block back to look twice at a restaurant that hands out real chopsticks. Cook it or order it, she wants to know what is actually in the bowl.