I love Momofuku Noodle Bar, but it’s in Manhattan, 275 miles away.

I love Momofuku Shoto, but it’s even further away, more than 400 miles, and on top of that, it’s on the other side of the Canadian border.

So when Chef David Chang expanded his empire to Washington, D.C. which only requires a minor rather than a major road trip, I was thrilled. I’ve made several visits to the new Momofuku CCDC since it opened, and knew that when it came time to record an episode of Eating the Fantastic with Rosemary Claire Smith—who was part of my 2013 Franklin BBQ expedition—this was definitely the place.

Rosemary has published multiple science fiction stories—plus multiple guest editorials—in Analog. And between the time we recorded this episode and you’ll be hearing it, she’s received an additional recognition from the magazine, and has become an AnLab Awards finalist.

We discussed why she can’t seem to stop writing about dinosaurs, how her years as a lawyer helped her become a better writer, what caused an angry audience member to confront her after one of her readings, whether she’d be willing to risk Ray Bradbury’s butterfly effect by traveling back in time, if there are editorial differences between Analog editors Stanley Schmidt and Trevor Quachri, and much more.

But before you give this episode listen, remember—if you’d like episodes of Eating the Fantastic to come at you more frequently, you can help me achieve that goal by making a small recurring monthly donation over at Patreon. Check it out!

And now—here’s how you can share the ramen—

1) Head over to the iTunes store and subscribe—and browse the 31 previous episodes.

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3) Or simply click on the embed below.

As promised, here’s what Rosemary and I dug into this episode—

Shiitake buns (hoisin, scallion, cucumber)

Pork buns (hoisin, scallion, cucumber)

Pork ramen (pork belly, pork shoulder, poached egg)

Braised fried chicken (scallion, cabbage, shallots)

Crack pie and cookie milk ice cream

If you enjoyed this episode and the ones that preceded it, please rate Eating the Fantastic over on iTunes and like us on Facebook, both actions which will help bring the show to the attention of new listeners.

What’s next? Coming up in two weeks will be dinner with Sunny Moraine, who’s published short fiction in Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Apex, Uncanny, Lightspeed, and other magazines, and was dubbed by Locus Online to be the most promising author of 2013. I hope you’ll be back then.

Thanks for listening!