From Midwest Mexican to Best American
The most vulnerable thing I’ve ever published is now part of a long-running American literary anthology.
Hola comrades. It’s turning out to be a beautiful spring here in Detroit.
Today, I’m incredibly honored to share that my essay “When the Food Journalist Needs Food Stamps” was selected for Best American Food and Travel Writing 2026, guest edited by José Andrés, and published by Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
This recognition feels especially meaningful because the essay was one of the most vulnerable things I’ve ever published.
I remember as a child being pulled aside at school and led to the clothing closet where the low-income kids could pick through donated clothes. I remember moving from apartment to apartment for most of my childhood. I started working the moment I was old enough to fill out that McDonald’s application because I understood early that my survival depended on it.
For most of my life, memories like these felt like scenes from a movie I was watching instead of something that was actually happening to me. Journalism gave me a way out of poverty and a sense of purpose, even if the struggle still lingers at the edges of my life. Writing this essay forced me to stop dissociating from those experiences and recognize them as a part of my own story.
I published the essay in October, at a moment when my severance from Eater had run out and my unemployment benefits were about to expire. For months, I had been treating Midwest Mexican like a full-time job, using my severance to subsidize this new venture without fully knowing the strategy. What I did know was that whenever I’ve fully bet on myself, my life has opened in unexpected ways.
What came next reminded me why I took the risk in the first place. The essay began in Midwest Mexican before finding a wider audience through Bon Appétit, a conversation on Michigan Public Radio, and now this anthology.
What surprises me most is realizing that the story I was most afraid to tell ended up resonating because so many people recognized parts of themselves in it.
I’m incredibly grateful to every reader who’s supported the piece, shared it, subscribed, or simply made me feel seen while I was writing through one of the hardest periods of my life. Your support kept me going more than you probably realize. I’m also deeply thankful to Joey Hernandez and Jamila Robinson from Bon Appétit for giving my piece a larger platform, to Jaya Saxena, one of my esteemed former Eater colleagues and the Best American series editor for championing the work, and to José Andrés for selecting it for this year’s collection. There’s something especially meaningful about having an essay about struggling to afford food while working in food media recognized by someone whose humanitarian work has long insisted that food is inseparable from humanity itself.
Mostly, I’m just grateful I believed in my own worth.
The beautiful irony here is that an essay about struggling financially while working in food media is now part of a major literary anthology while I’m still very much building Midwest Mexican in real time.
If you believe in independent journalism rooted in lived experience, cultural reporting, and telling the truth even when it’s uncomfortable, I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support has already changed my life more than you probably realize.
P.S. If this email was forwarded to you, you can get Midwest Mexican in your inbox by subscribing here.
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Just pre-ordered the book!