Magazine
J. Kenji López-Alt | Uncommon Sense
Sage words from the Boston-born food wiz.
J. Kenji López-Alt
Photo Credit: Aubrie Pick
Photo Credit : Aubrie Pick
“I wouldn’t want a superpower. Way too much expectation and responsibility…. Batman is my favorite superhero. No superpowers—just intelligence and perseverance.”
—J. Kenji López-Alt (born October 31, 1979). A best-selling food writer and chef, this Boston native did not take the most direct route to the kitchen. At MIT, he started out as a biology major, then switched to a degree in architecture, but it was his part-time jobs in restaurants that eventually led to his life’s work: studying, making, and celebrating delicious things to eat. Now a food columnist for The New York Times, he is the editor of The Best American Food Writing 2020, due out November 3.


