Luke Tsai
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theluketsai.bsky.social
Luke Tsai
@theluketsai.bsky.social
440 followers 170 following 99 posts
Food editor, KQED Arts & Culture
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theluketsai.bsky.social
Stoked that my crab fishing influencer profile is featured in this year's Best American Food and Travel Writing, out in bookstores today!

Bay Area folks, come see me chop it up with editor Bryant Terry at @omnivorebooks.bsky.social this Thursday! omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/collections/...
Cover of 'The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2025,' edited by Bryant Terry. Book open to an article by Luke Tsai for KQED. The headline reads, "Meet the San Francisco Influencer Getting Gen Z Girls Excited About Crab Fishing."
October 21, 2025 at 8:08 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
This month's Apple Maps update includes my new favorite Peking duck spot, excellent jjajangmyeon, and topnotch HK cafe–style noodles and rice plates. apple.co/LukeTsai
Spread of Korean-Chinese dishes, including noodles covered in black bean sauce. Pile of sliced Peking duck with crispy, golden-brown skin. Bowl of wonton noodle soup with chunks of beef brisket.
October 5, 2025 at 9:37 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
I made the NYT apple cider doughnuts.
Plate of cinnamon sugar covered donuts.
October 5, 2025 at 6:09 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
Chicago, we are inside you!
Exterior of Johnnie’s Italian Sausage & Beef, lit up at night. Sloppy, soggy Italian beef sandwich covered in peppers. Glorious. A man looking down on a spread of sandwiches, Italian ice, and fries.
June 14, 2025 at 2:33 AM
theluketsai.bsky.social
For my latest Apple Maps update: killer roast squab, drive-thru soft-serve, excellent takeout sushi, and more. apple.co/LukeTsai
A well-browned roast pigeon on a plate, its claws still attached. A hand holding up a cone of yellow-and-white swirled soft-serve ice cream in front of a drive-thru with a large sign that reads, "MILK." Beautiful array of nigiri and maki rolls in a wooden bento box.
June 6, 2025 at 7:21 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
Highlights from the May update to my Apple Maps food guide include Korean spicy raw marinated crab, garlicky McMushroom pizza, and my current favorite cookies in SF. apple.co/LukeTsai
Slice of pizza topped with star-shaped dabs of ricotta cheese. The pizza is on a paper plate in front of a window. A pile of small crabs, coated in a thick red sauce, piled on top of each other on a metal plate. A selection of cookies laid out for display on a wooden tabletop.
May 16, 2025 at 4:53 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
After submitting my stuff for YEARS, I am so excited that my profile of Kaitlyn Bui—Ocean Beach's amazing, infectiously enthusiastic Dungeness crab fishing influencer—was one of 20 pieces selected for this year's edition of Best American Food and Travel Writing! www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
Banner shows the cover of The Best American Food and Travel Writing, edited by Bryant Terry. Text to the left reads, "Featuring my essay, on sale October 21"
May 14, 2025 at 7:17 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
I'm stoked to report that @thiendog.bsky.social and I got a James Beard Award nomination for our illustrated late-night food series, Midnight Diners!

Where should we midnight-dine in Chicago, if we make it out for the ceremony in June?
List of nominees for "Columns and Newsletters" category of this year's James Beard Awards. The second nominee are three editions of Midnight Diners: "Chinese Skewers Are the Last Bastion of Late-Night Dining in the Bay," Sunnyvale's Hottest Late-Night Food Spot is the 24-Hour Indian Grocery Store," and "Taquerias Come and Go, but La Vic's Orange Sauce Is Forever" by Thien Pham and Luke Tsai for KQED
May 8, 2025 at 8:12 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
Forgot to post this month's Apple Maps update, which includes excellent everyday dim sum in the East Bay, a KFC/smash burger combo shop, and my new favorite seolleongtang (in El Cerrito!) apple.co/LukeTsai
Cloudy soup with noodles in a stone bowl. Korean friend chicken wings on a paper-lined plate. A plate of egg custard tarts and crunchy-topped baked bbq pork buns on a Lazy Susan.
April 22, 2025 at 5:52 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
Replenished my supply. 😍
Squeeze bottle of La Vic’s orange sauce
April 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
My latest Bay Area food recs for Apple Maps: fried artichokes in Half Moon Bay, deliciously dank saag paneer inside a liquor store, and my favorite hummus of the moment. apple.co/LukeTsai
A plate of tempura fried fish over thick-cut fries A bowl of hummus crowned with olive oil, sumac, and whole chickpeas A spread of takeout Indian, included naan and several tubs of assorted curries
March 10, 2025 at 6:19 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
For my monthly food map update, I wrote about garlic artichoke bread, my favorite malatang spot, and the best thing on the menu at Arsicault. apple.co/LukeTsai
A hexagonal-shaped bowl filled with red-tinged hot pot soup. A ham and cheese baguette sandwich on a desk.
February 10, 2025 at 8:25 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
My Apple Maps update this month includes super-fun Thai brunch, maybe the best gumbo in the East Bay, and my new favorite karaoke spot. apple.co/LukeTsai
White, oval-shaped rice cakes with colorful toppings, served on a woven bamboo plate. Shallow bowl filled to almost overflowing with dark-brown gumbo garnished with crab legs. A spread of Hong Kong style dishes and drinks on a coffee table.
January 17, 2025 at 6:12 PM
theluketsai.bsky.social
When I do sports...
Screen shot of article excerpt: "I have become intimately familiar with the way gravity hits different in your mid-40s — with all the unlikely angles at which this old and heavy, half-decrepit body of mine can come crashing down onto the mat. Or, in my prouder moments, the way I wheeze my way up to the top, forearms burning, only to spend the next two days bed-ridden with a thrown-out back."
December 13, 2024 at 6:14 PM