selected:
Verse from the New West (Desert Companion, March/April 2020)
The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko is a Nevada tradition: This year’s theme of Black Cowboys addresses a long-neglected history.
Catfish Stew Along the DMZ (Eater, March 2018)
On the Border Between North and South Korea, Spicy Catfish Stew Is on the Menu
In Korea, one housing development offers new versions of tiled-roof residences, and with them, a less frenetic lifestyle.
The practice of making makgeolli at home was derailed in the last century, but a new generation is reclaiming old traditions.
More stories:
Seven decades on, a Las Vegas meat-lovers’ paradise still draws crowds (L.A. Times, July 2020)
John Mull’s Meats, a third-generation-owned butcher shop and barbecue joint, has evolved with the city’s shifting fortunes—and a little help from Guy Fieri.
An Introduction to Korean Cooking in Recipes (Serious Eats, July 2020)
A starter kit of Korean recipes 101, from juk to japchae.
Las Vegas Mural Project Brings Color to Businesses Closed By Coronavirus (Next City, May 2020)
When small businesses downtown battened down the hatches, the city government stepped in to provide funding for murals on the plywood—locals say it not only gave artists a lifeline, it made the Arts District feel alive again.
In this small rice cake atelier in Seoul, a teacher expounds on the art of tteok.
This is a Story about Eating Grasshoppers (Desert Companion, December 2019)
When the grasshoppers invaded Las Vegas, we decided to eat some.
Pies with a Past (Desert Companion, April 2019)
Yukon Pizza has a special 122-year-old ingredient
Community Fabric (Desert Companion, March 2019)
Artist Amanda Browder encases buildings in enormous fabric sculptures with the help of the community
Gold Standards (Desert Companion, March 2019)
The latest buzz on the sweet world of honey in the desert
Dining: Sweet Satisfactions (Desert Companion, February 2019)
Sure, love is in the air, but can you eat it? No. That’s why we invented sugary Valentine’s treats like these!
Best of the City: Best Korean Barbecue (Desert Companion, January 2019)
“…for a truly festive barbecue experience, you can’t go wrong with Hobak: It’s a boisterous, buzzing venue with interior décor that recalls vintage Seoul dining districts.”
Dining: Bread Head (Desert Companion, December 2018)
Baker Brett Boyer on bringing a new kind of sourdough to town
The Palestinian Chefs Building a Bridge to their Culture through Food (Civil Eats, December 2018)
Featured on the new season of KCET’s ‘Migrant Kitchen,’ Reem Assil and Lamees Dahbour are redefining their cuisine and culture, and serving up a message of peace.
Hamburger Mary’s: Sliders with a Side of Drag (Desert Companion, September 2018)
Las Vegas welcomes back Hamburger Mary’s, a casual eatery that serves up burger joint classics with drag queen performances in a diner-meets-beauty-pageant venue.
Selina S. Lee’s cooking workshops focus on the seasonings, techniques of Korean home cooking.
Treats from the East (Desert Companion, August 2018)
What to order at Asian bakeries in Las Vegas
We’d pile the buns and breads onto our trays and walk out with white plastic THANKYOUTHANKYOU bags bristling with crinkly cellophane-wrapped treats… And when my mom made Korean-style to-seu-teu, she used the thick-cut, squishy white bread that seemed impossibly fluffy and soaked up butter like a charm.
Meat-free Beefcake (Desert Companion, August 2018)
An interview with David (named PETA’s sexiest vegan) and Ivonne, both committed vegan bodybuilders
Motivators (Desert Companion, April 2018)
An interview with Tanesha Williams and Sandra Todd of Black Girls Run
How to Stock a Korean Pantry (Serious Eats, Feb 2018)
Jeot, Jang, and More Ingredients to Know
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Korean pantry is a living one. “Fermentation is essential to Korean cooking,” Jung says. With Korea’s hot, humid summers and freezing-cold winters, preserved foods naturally became a cornerstone of the cuisine.
Inside a Dreamy Seoul Gallery Dedicated Just to Chopsticks (Food52, Feb 2018)
Run by a mother-daughter designer duo who work with local artisans
You Need these Noodles (Desert Companion, Feb 2018)
Six soul-warming Korean dishes to cozy up with this season
A Guide to Traditional Korean Rice Alcohol (Esquire, Jan 2018)
There’s more to Korean booze than green bottle soju.
It’s like CPR, but for traumatic bleeding
Courage Amid Chaos: Dr. Deborah Kuhls (Desert Companion, Nov 2017)
Profile of a surgeon on the front lines of the Oct. 1st shooting in Las Vegas
There are images that will stay with Dr. Deborah Kuhls for a long time. The lethal gunshot wound to the head. The woman who kept her friend alive by keeping her fingers in the bleeding bullet wound all the way to the hospital.
Behind the “Jang” in Gochujang (Food52, Oct 2017)
A guide to Korean fermented soy products and how they’re made
“We Koreans create our soy sauce and doenjang together in the same jar, like twins from one mother.”
The Desert Reborn (The Planthunter, Oct 2017)
My profile of a desert restoration project in the middle of Las Vegas (writing + photos)
Maybe the greatest irony of the Springs Preserve is that its rebirth depends on the overconsumption that destroyed it in the first place.
Nonghwal (Civil Eats, Sept, 2017)
The story of a new program bridging Korean history to the contemporary food and farm justice movements (writing + photos)
Onggi (Double Dot Magazine, Issue 8, 2016)
An essay + photos on jars and memory (writing + photos)
Time Out Seoul
Starting in March 2015, I helped launch the Seoul edition of Time Out Magazine, a bilingual publication that highlights the best of the city’s sights, shopping and eating. I wrote over 100 pieces for both print and web, ranging from short clips on tiny boutiques to longer features on restaurant trends. I also created a style guide for the English edition, which included standardized translations and Romanizations. Time Out Seoul ceased operations in late 2017.
Selected features below, more clips available here.
Sonja Swanson 