Stop ordering spicy noodles with no spice

A personal message from the CEO of Xi'an Famous Foods.



Look, if you go to Xi'an Famous Foods and order your noodles "not spicy" -- honestly, what's the point? -- then complain that the food is "too bland," that shit is on you. I'm sorry, but you have made a bad life choice.

The New York City noodle chain has an important advisory for its customers: "Not Spicy = Not As Good." Xi'an's CEO Jason Wang recently posted a "personal message" to customers at the company's 14 locations, warning people that if they order certain menu items as "not spicy," they may be disappointed. You can have it the way you want it. Just know that the way you want it... does not taste good.

How Anthony Bourdain helped a Flushing family food stall become a New York noodle empire

Xi'an Famous Foods will donate 100% of Friday's net sales to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.



The tragic news of Anthony Bourdain's death by suicide stunned fans and colleagues of the internationally renown chef, television personality and world traveler, with a deluge of tributes to his unique life, career and legacy pouring out Friday across social media and beyond.

One such remembrance came from Jason Wang, CEO of New York City noodle chain Xi'an Famous Foods, who shared about the time Bourdain visited and ate at his family's tiny basement food stall in Flushing for Travel Channel's No Reservations in 2007. The endorsement lit a spotlight that helped propel Xi'an from a small noodle stand to a popular restaurant mini-empire boasting a dozen locations and counting.

Wang was still a college student at the time (and no idea who Bourdain was). But years later, he had the opportunity to tell Bourdain how that visit to his family's restaurant had changed their lives.

On Friday, June 8, in honor of Anthony Bourdain's memory, Xi'an Famous Foods will be donating 100 percent of all net sales to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Here's Wang's tribute, shared on social media:

File Under Badass: Four women fight off restaurant robber

"I just told the other girls to just hurt him and I'll hold the register."



This robber messed with the wrong restaurant -- a restaurant staffed with some badass ladies.

Earlier this month, a man attempting to rob the cash register at Tony's Breakfast in Northeast Washington was met with the full fury of four employees who smacked, slapped and thwacked the crap out of him.

Four women fought off a robber at a restaurant. 'You guys are crazy,' police told them.

On the morning of November 7, manager Justine Choe opened the cash register to make change for a customer, when a man suddenly lunged across the counter and made a grab for a cash drawer.

But Justine, whose parents own the restaurant, was not letting go without a fight. And this dude definitely got a fight. A crazy five-person tug-of-war ensued as three more of the restaurant's employees jumped into the fray.

Breaking Stereotypes When It Matters Most

Heroes from Houston's restaurant industry step up during Hurricane Harvey. Guest Post by Thomas Nguyen.



Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on August 25, 2017, and is likely to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rainfall in Houston, Texas, causing catastrophic flooding and damage to over 200,000 homes and businesses.

With over 12,000 restaurants that include everything from Ethiopian, Pakistani, barbeque, Viet-Cajun, Tex-Mex, to South African, Houston has unofficially become the most diverse city in America. But what makes Houston unique isn't just the diversity of cultures and people, it is seeing everyone come together in times of tragedy, catastrophe and chaos. Among the overwhelming number of inspirational and heroic stories during Harvey these past few weeks were chefs, owners and volunteers from Houston's burgeoning restaurant industry.

A handful of these stories involving Asian Americans stood out to me. Not because they were more significant than any others, but because they demonstrated traits that went against typical Asian American stereotypes. These individuals were not weak, silent or passive. They were leaders, they were compassionate, and they wholeheartedly contributed to those who needed help.

Restaurant calls customer "Ching Chong" on receipt

Manhattan's Cornerstone Cafe apologizes after racial receipt goes viral.



This again. It's the return of the Racial Receipt! The latest sighting occurred in New York, where a Manhattan restaurant recently apologized for referring to an Asian American customer as "Ching Chong" on a receipt.

Last Wednesday, a server at Cornerstone Cafe in the East Village entered an Asian customer's name as "Ching Chong" on the slip for a to-go order of steak and eggs. Because why bother asking for a customer's actual name when you can silently mock them with a racial slur, right under their nose?

The incident started picking up attention when a friend of the customer, Facebook user Ziggy Chau, posted a photo of the offending receipt on social media. That's when the internet went in on Cornerstone Cafe.

"I just take no racism. Get that shit out of my face."

Philadelphia restaurateur Han Chieng suffers broken ankle in sidewalk fight with drunken racists.



A Philadelphia restaurateur suffered a broken ankle after getting into a sidewalk fight with several drunk individuals -- a fight that he says started when one of them shouted "ching chong wong" at him.

Han Dynasty owner breaks ankle in sidewalk fight: 'I just take no racism'

Han Chiang, owner of Han Dynasty in Old City, says he and several employees were outside on a cigarette break Thursday night when they encountered a group that had apparently just been kicked out of 2nd Story Brewing, the pub next door. Chiang and his colleagues were about to go back inside when one of the group yelled something to the effect of "ching chong wong" at them. Chiang called him on it.

"I turned around and said, 'Fuck you, you racist motherfucker,'" Chiang said in a phone interview with Billy Penn. "The guy denied saying it, then his friend Ian jumped in and hit me with a skateboard." Then it was on.

The fight escalated, with multiple people joining in, and Chiang getting his ankle broken in the fracas. At some point, the fight was broken up, and Chiang was hospitalized. But not before skateboard guy and the gang yelled "Fuck you, you Chinese faggots!" as they made their getaway.

Later, Ian Carroll, the guy who apparently hit Chiang with the skateboard, posted a note to Han Dynasty's Facebook page, preemptively recounting his version of the altercation, alleging that it was the Han Dynasty employees who started the fight when they tried to jump him and his friends.

Dogs in a Chinese restaurant? It's not what you think.

But the San Antonio Express-News led many to believe a Chinese eatery was serving up something gross.


Over the weekend, the San Antonio Express-News posted a bland weekly roundup on local restaurant inspections. One of them included an area Chinese restaurant, Lee's Garden Chinese Restaurant, where an inspector saw a dog on the premises. Like, somebody's pet. Perhaps not particularly sanitary, depending on where the dog was hanging out, but whatever. It got the necessary citation.

However, when the restaurant inspection report was posted to the San Antonio Express-News' Facebook page on Saturday, they used the headline "Inspectors Find Dogs in Chinese Restaurant" accompanied by a photo of food. The insinuation, of course, is that the Chinese restaurant was caught serving dog meat.

When you click through to the article, the actual headline on mysanantonio.com simply reads "San Antonio restaurant inspections: February 17, 2017." The report notes that "roaches and dogs were seen in the establishment." And that's it. (Okay, the roaches are gross.) That was apparently all they needed to put together a racist, misleading Facebook post. Guaranteed to get some clicks.

Of course, nobody actually reads anything. The misleading headline inspired a deluge of Facebook comments along the lines of "Ooh hell no I just had Chinese last night... Mfs trynna kill us" and "Fuck Chinese lol."

Chinese restaurant workers chase off knife-wielding robber

This fool brought a knife to a soup ladle fight.



This guy messed with the wrong takeout joint. Earlier this month in Brooklyn, workers at a Chinese restaurant chased off a knife-wielding man who police say is wanted in connection with a robbery spree.

Police: Masked Robber Wielding Large Knife Targets Brooklyn Businesses

On January 4, a hooded masked man walked into Chen's Garden in East New York and pulled out a large knife from his waistband, demanding money from the restaurant's employees.

Surveillance video shows the would-be robber hopping on to the counter. That's when the workers fought back, picking up and swinging anything in arm's reach -- including a soup ladle and a stool. Everybody knows that a mere knife is no match for a Chinese guy with a soup ladle.

No doubt freaked out by the unexpected display of not-taking-your-shit and get-the-hell-out-of-here, the suspect fled the restaurant empty handed. Sometimes, you know you've already lost.

The entire 30-second incident was caught on camera:

Customers leave racist "tip" for waitress

"Build that wall, Trump Daddy"



More dispatches from Trump America... A waitress in Virginia received a hateful message from a group of teenage diners who left the message, "Build that wall, Trump Daddy" on the check.

Virginia Beach IHOP server receives hateful message from customer

Rachel Mau, a server at the IHOP in Virginia Beach, says the incident occurred when she waited on a group of high school students on Saturday morning. On one of the receipts, in the area where customers are supposed to add a tip, they left the xenophobic reference to Donald Trump's proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

On the split bill's other receipt, the customers simply wrote "Nah."

Open for Thanksgiving

Guest Post by Jamie Ford



My father ran a restaurant -- a small, unassuming, diner kind of place, with a smoke-filled bar attached.

This meant that while my friends' fathers were engineers and pipe-fitters, with college degrees, journeyman's cards, or at least fancy titles, my dad breaded chops. He wasn't working on his masters on the side and wasn't in line for any kind of promotion, ever.

And to be painfully honest, as a selfish, myopic teenager, I was often embarrassed.

I felt like the Chinese version of Toula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Growing up, on any given Saturday I'd doff my stained dishwasher's apron, go home and shower, then head to some junior high dance wondering if I still smelled of frying oil.

Much to my chagrin, birthday dinners were always held at the restaurant. It was the only way my dad could be there on my birthdays. My friends loved it, of course. Instead of eating delivery pizza, they could order anything off the menu and have the run of the place.

How cool is that?

"Not very," I'd mutter.

Gawd, I was a brat.

Chinese restaurant receives threats after "misunderstanding" with sheriff's department

Skagit County Sheriff's Office says Lucky Teriyaki banned cops; owner says it was a misunderstanding.



Last week in Washington state, the Skagit County Sheriff's Office put a local Chinese restaurant on blast, declaring that law enforcement officers were no longer welcome at the restaurant. The sheriff's announcement, posted to social media, claims that the eatery's owner asked deputies not to eat there anymore.

But it turns out the whole thing might have been a misunderstanding due to a language barrier.

Chinese restaurant owner deluged with threats after sheriff wrongly accuses him of banning cops

On Thursday, the Skagit County Sheriff's Office's official Facebook page posted a status about an encounter that several officers reportedly had at the Lucky Teriyaki restaurant in Sedro-Woolley. The deputies claim the owner asked them to leave, saying they were no longer welcome there because they upset other customers. So of course, the most responsible course of action for a law enforcement agency in this situation: publicly blast the business on Facebook. The Sheriff's post effectively called for a public boycott of the restaurant.

"I understand a business owner has a right to refuse service if he wants to," Sheriff Will Reichardt said. "I also understand that as customers we all have the right to find some other restaurant to take our lunch break in."

Three arrested in racist assault on sushi restaurant owners

"Go back to your own country!"



Three drunken racists walk into a bar... Last week in Boston, two men and a woman were arrested on assault charges after beating up the Asian owners of a sushi restaurant while shouting racial slurs at them.

Cops: Quincy trio assaulted Asian restaurant owners while shouting racial slurs

40-year-old James Mulhern, 54-year-old Colleen McDonough and 50--year-old Timothy O'Sullivan were arrested after police responded to calls about a large fight outside Royal Hotspot Sushi & Bar in Quincy.

According to police, the three walked into the restaurant drunk and repeatedly asked what the special was. When they were told there was no special, they became irate, yelled racial slurs -- because they apparently needed an excuse to yell racial slurs -- and stormed out, slamming the door and damaging the restaurant wall.

One of the owners followed them out and told them she was calling the police, when McDonough punched her and swung a pocketbook, striking the owner in the face and yelling, "Go back to your own country!"

She thought the robber's gun was fake. It wasn't.

Fearless Virginia restaurant owner fights off armed robber with her bare hands.



A badass Virginia restaurant owner fearlessly wrestled a gun out of the hands of a would-be robber because she thought the firearm was fake. She realized later that it was very real -- after it went it off in her hand.

Caught on camera: Business owner fights back with robbery suspect

Last week, an armed robber walked into Crazy Wings in Norfolk and pointed a gun at Keqiu Wang, demanding she open the cash register. Wang, who owns the restaurant with her husband, wasn't having it with this punk-ass robber and his fake-ass firearm. She fought back.

Surveillance camera footage shows Wang struggling with the hooded robber, grabbing his gun by the barrel and refusing to let go. The two wrestled behind the counter until Wang's husband came out of the kitchen with a huge knife and slashed the would-be robber in the back, chasing him off.

Yes, your servers are talking sh*t about you.

Restaurant servers enter rude notes about customers... then forget to delete them from the printed check.



A word to rude or annoying restaurant diners: yes, your servers are talking shit about you. In the recent case of some servers at a Chinese restaurant in Virginia, they entered their opinions about a couple of customers into the restaurant's computer system... then forgot to delete them from the printed check. Oops.

Servers trash customers in private note on check — then forget to delete it

Management at the Peter Chang restaurant in Arlington, Virginia apologized to customers who were the recent targets of a server's snark after a Saturday night dinner. On the check, under the notations for customer designation, they were identified as "im a plad asshole" and "i have a small penis."

Two servers had apparently typed the comments into the restaurant's point-of-sale system as a joke to one another, then neglected to delete them before presenting the check.

Man arrested for tossing giant snake into sushi restaurant

Angry customer set his 13-foot pet python loose in the restaurant after an altercation with management.



Okay, so this happened. Asians Behaving Badly... Snake Drop Edition! In Southern California, police arrested a man who got angry at the management of a sushi restaurant... and threw a giant snake at them.

Man Accused Of Throwing 13-Foot-Long Python At Sushi Bar Customers In Studio City

On Sunday night, 46-year-old Hiroshi Motohashi had dinner at Iroha Sushi of Tokyo in Studio City. After paying for his $200 meal, he pulled out a small snake -- an actual live reptile -- and showed it off to customers sitting down for dinner. The customers did not respond positively.

Restaurant managers confronted Motohashi and asked him to leave, presumably informing him that snakes are not allowed at Iroha. Motohashi got mad and left, but returned a few minutes later with a 13-foot-long python.

"[Expletive] you guys," Motohashi reportedly said. Then he threw the snake on the floor of the restaurant.

Did you leave $8,000 at a Denny's? Do you want it back?

Police seek unidentified man who left $8,000 in cash at a restaurant near LAX.



Did you lose a sack of a cash? Come forward and claim it! In Los Angeles, police are asking for the public's help identifying a man who left $8,000 in cash at a restaurant near Los Angeles International Airport.

This man left $8,000 near LAX. Have you seen him?

On December 19, an unidentified man had breakfast at the Denny's on Century Blvd. near LAX, then walked out of the restaurant, leaving behind more than $8,000 in cash in the booth where he was sitting. Another customer then found the money and turned it over to police.

If you look at the surveillance image of the guy, he looks Asian. He looks like your uncle.

Man attacks restaurant workers in anti-Muslim tirade

26-year-old Robert Murino arrested on hate crime charges.



There have been so many of these incidents lately, it's hard to keep them straight. In New York, a man was arrested on hate crime charges for assaulting South Asian restaurant workers and throwing chairs into a glass partition after demanding to know if the employees were Muslim.

'Muslim motherf*cker': NY man launches glass-smashing attack on cafe staffers

The incident occurred last week at the Salt & Pepper restaurant in Herald Square, where 26-year-old Robert Murino ordered a slice of pizza then began questioning workers -- who hail from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh -- about their religion and opinions of ISIS, and called an employee a "Muslim motherfucker."

Part of the incident was caught on camera. Murino can be seen reaching across the counter and slapping an employee in the face. Later, he is seen picking up chairs and smashing them into glass partitions.

Jerk customer's anti-immigrant "tip" draws internet fury

"Tip for U.S. citizens only."



There are big tippers, there are stingy tippers... and there are just plain assholes. Big fat middle finger to the asshole who left this "tip" for a waitress at a Southern California Thai restaurant.

'Tip' Left for a Waitress Leads to Fury Online

After dining at Bamboo Thai Bistro in Redondo Beach, the customer wrote his server an anti-immigrant message , rather than a monetary tip, in the gratuity line of his check: "Tip for U.S. citizens only."

Asian customer referred to as "Chino" on restaurant receipt

According to the folks working at The Golden Pear Cafe.



This is brought to our attention by a reader named Warren, who became the latest recipient of the racial receipt during a recent visit with friends to The Golden Pear Cafe in East Hampton, New York.

Upon ordering his food -- a breakfast burrito and a smoothie -- and taking a seat, he was shocked and disheartened to learn that on his receipt, in the space designated for the customer's name, the cashier, Karina, had identified Warren simply as "CHINO." And yes, Warren is Asian, which Karina clearly made note of.

Jeremy Lin Speaks Out Against Wobbly Tables

A very important public service announcement from Jimmy Kimmel Live.



Several current and former NBA stars, including Jeremy Lin, recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to shine a light on one of the most pernicious and under-addressed problems in the world. This is a serious issue that affects us all, and I'm glad that Jeremy lent his voice to this important public service announcement.

Watch and join in this very important cause: