Frank Shyong
@frankshyong.bsky.social
Journalist, most recently as a columnist for the LA Times. I write about food, culture, neighborhoods and Los Angeles at a newsletter called Lunch Box on Substack. Bento.me/frankbear
I wrote about Gina's Pizza, an existential crisis in the heartland of American chains, and what's behind the persistent myth of a "good Shakey's" frankbear.substack.com/p/what-happe...
November 29, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I wrote about Gina's Pizza, an existential crisis in the heartland of American chains, and what's behind the persistent myth of a "good Shakey's" frankbear.substack.com/p/what-happe...
Snapped this on a walk today but accidentally created some kind of heavy-handed Michael Moore esque social critique
November 27, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Snapped this on a walk today but accidentally created some kind of heavy-handed Michael Moore esque social critique
I feel like 5x more affection for people's obviously, unfake-ably crappy hand drawn art now in an age of AI slop. Here are my sloppy but sincere drawings of ekiben, Japanese train station bentos.
November 22, 2025 at 11:33 PM
I feel like 5x more affection for people's obviously, unfake-ably crappy hand drawn art now in an age of AI slop. Here are my sloppy but sincere drawings of ekiben, Japanese train station bentos.
For the past year or so I've been researching ekiben and Japanese train bentos and this illudstrated guide is my attempt to distill this all into a user friendly format. It has a short history of ekiben, my picks and favorites and tips on how to find them. please enjoy substack.com/home/post/p-...
November 19, 2025 at 10:59 PM
For the past year or so I've been researching ekiben and Japanese train bentos and this illudstrated guide is my attempt to distill this all into a user friendly format. It has a short history of ekiben, my picks and favorites and tips on how to find them. please enjoy substack.com/home/post/p-...
Imagine me in all my effortful decorum parsing whether to use streamer slang about harmful addictive drugs and then being out-cool-guy’ed by Ezra Klein. Thanks to the council of youth who provided me with essential side-eye during this time
November 7, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Imagine me in all my effortful decorum parsing whether to use streamer slang about harmful addictive drugs and then being out-cool-guy’ed by Ezra Klein. Thanks to the council of youth who provided me with essential side-eye during this time
The LA fitnesses in SoCal are just stunning this time of year
October 30, 2025 at 10:38 PM
The LA fitnesses in SoCal are just stunning this time of year
No Kings Protests good, actually
October 21, 2025 at 7:46 PM
No Kings Protests good, actually
Went to No Kings Day in Riverside and wrote about how we should let the protest be cringe frankbear.substack.com/p/let-protes...
October 21, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Went to No Kings Day in Riverside and wrote about how we should let the protest be cringe frankbear.substack.com/p/let-protes...
Scenes from the inland empire
October 13, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Scenes from the inland empire
Are you sick and tired of east coast bread elitism? Do you want to enjoy sandwiches without people trying to gatekeep and gaslight? Do you have some legitimate, respectful complaints about the Bay Cities Godmother? I made this LA sandwich guide for you frankbear.substack.com/p/the-lunch-...
October 12, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Are you sick and tired of east coast bread elitism? Do you want to enjoy sandwiches without people trying to gatekeep and gaslight? Do you have some legitimate, respectful complaints about the Bay Cities Godmother? I made this LA sandwich guide for you frankbear.substack.com/p/the-lunch-...
I wrote a guide to sandwiches on my newsletter, Lunch Box, and I'm pretty sure I've solved this whole thing. Looking forward to seeing the internet move on to some new topics after this.
October 11, 2025 at 9:39 PM
I wrote a guide to sandwiches on my newsletter, Lunch Box, and I'm pretty sure I've solved this whole thing. Looking forward to seeing the internet move on to some new topics after this.
I have a lot of complaints about the Bay Cities Godmother but I still put it on the list because LA loves the frontrunners. Order it fresh
October 11, 2025 at 9:21 PM
I have a lot of complaints about the Bay Cities Godmother but I still put it on the list because LA loves the frontrunners. Order it fresh
Wrote a guide to sandwiches on Lunch Box and I'm pretty sure I've solved the sandwich debate here.
October 11, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Wrote a guide to sandwiches on Lunch Box and I'm pretty sure I've solved the sandwich debate here.
Learning to love LA's sandwiches is a lot like learning to love LA. A good sandwich supports it own weight, moves well, maintains structure through a bite and doesn't get soggy. On Lunch Box I wrote a guide to 10 sandwiches I've been eating for a while. open.substack.com/pub/frankbea...
October 11, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Learning to love LA's sandwiches is a lot like learning to love LA. A good sandwich supports it own weight, moves well, maintains structure through a bite and doesn't get soggy. On Lunch Box I wrote a guide to 10 sandwiches I've been eating for a while. open.substack.com/pub/frankbea...
This plastic scrape graffiti virgin guadalupe on the menu of Super Tortas DF goes so hard
October 8, 2025 at 9:45 PM
This plastic scrape graffiti virgin guadalupe on the menu of Super Tortas DF goes so hard
I wrote about the surprising story behind a 127 year old ham sandwich ekiben, the history of Asian sandwiches and how none of it would be possible without a beautiful tea house waitress named Kane open.substack.com/pub/frankbea...
September 29, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I wrote about the surprising story behind a 127 year old ham sandwich ekiben, the history of Asian sandwiches and how none of it would be possible without a beautiful tea house waitress named Kane open.substack.com/pub/frankbea...
I wrote about the surprising story behind a 127 year old ham sandwich ekiben, the history of Asian sandwiches and how none of it would be possible without a beautiful tea house waitress named Kane
September 29, 2025 at 6:41 PM
I wrote about the surprising story behind a 127 year old ham sandwich ekiben, the history of Asian sandwiches and how none of it would be possible without a beautiful tea house waitress named Kane
New piece: I write about losing my cat and how helpless I felt when I had to depend on the average benevolence of strangers; how we’re all in this situation now, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death.
September 23, 2025 at 5:01 PM
New piece: I write about losing my cat and how helpless I felt when I had to depend on the average benevolence of strangers; how we’re all in this situation now, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death.
I write about visiting kissaten in Otaru, a city in Hokkaido shaped by historic encounters with Western culture, and how the porous stone of city's vintage stone warehouses makes for good acoustics. frankbear.substack.com/p/a-hidden-k...
August 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I write about visiting kissaten in Otaru, a city in Hokkaido shaped by historic encounters with Western culture, and how the porous stone of city's vintage stone warehouses makes for good acoustics. frankbear.substack.com/p/a-hidden-k...
I wrote a little about the enduring miracle of the SGV dim sum restaurant, how dim sum is like newspapers and why I'm basing Lunch Box on it.
August 22, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I wrote a little about the enduring miracle of the SGV dim sum restaurant, how dim sum is like newspapers and why I'm basing Lunch Box on it.
Latest Lunch Box Letter digs into the history of peach donuts on Route 66, offers a mini review of Yang’s kitchen and reflects on how “Californian Asian” is more about code switching than fusion:
August 18, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Latest Lunch Box Letter digs into the history of peach donuts on Route 66, offers a mini review of Yang’s kitchen and reflects on how “Californian Asian” is more about code switching than fusion:
The Lunch Box Atlas is a series of guides to the things I love and why, where to eat but also history, context and narrative. The first one is on coffee in Los Angeles. open.substack.com/pub/frankbea...
August 12, 2025 at 9:06 PM
The Lunch Box Atlas is a series of guides to the things I love and why, where to eat but also history, context and narrative. The first one is on coffee in Los Angeles. open.substack.com/pub/frankbea...
Major new Frankbear initiative launched this week (aka a sausage fingered man discovers procreate and sticker printers)
August 12, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Major new Frankbear initiative launched this week (aka a sausage fingered man discovers procreate and sticker printers)
Resharing my review of Great Western Steak and Hoagie, a Venice Beach classic never reviewed by a major publication. Hoagie has lasted for 51 years with a $14 sandwich smack dab in the middle of the most expensive real estate in California and is the oldest restaurant in the area
August 8, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Resharing my review of Great Western Steak and Hoagie, a Venice Beach classic never reviewed by a major publication. Hoagie has lasted for 51 years with a $14 sandwich smack dab in the middle of the most expensive real estate in California and is the oldest restaurant in the area