Irvin Lin

1 month ago | seriouseats.com | Irvin Lin

My husband and I are coffee fanatics. At times, we even plan our vacations around the best coffee shops. We don’t necessarily travel for the best coffee (we’re not that far gone), but we do seek it out wherever we are. But we also love camping and road tripping, where coffee options are sparse. To make sure we’re properly caffeinated, we almost always travel with a manual coffee grinder, some coffee beans, a gooseneck kettle, a small coffee scale, and a pour-over device.

2 months ago | simplyrecipes.com | Irvin Lin

Simply Recipes / Getty Images Confession: I typically don’t buy pre-made herb and spice blends. Other than a few standard ones (like five-spice powder, za’atar, and herbes de Provence), I like to make my own blends because I can control what goes into them. But recently, I tried McCormick’s "I’m a Total Spud" potato topping seasoning on a whim, and I’m sold on the flavor and convenience.

2 months ago | yahoo.com | Irvin Lin

Confession: I typically don’t buy pre-made herb and spice blends. Other than a few standard ones (like five-spice powder, za’atar, and herbes de Provence), I like to make my own blends because I can control what goes into them. But recently, I tried McCormick’s "I’m a Total Spud" potato topping seasoning on a whim, and I’m sold on the flavor and convenience. McCormick’s Flavor Maker line of herb and spice blends comes in larger containers, roughly twice the size of its single spice jars.

Feb 21, 2025 | seriouseats.com | Irvin Lin

My father once referred to my husband’s and my obsession with coffee as “our hobby” and as much as I immediately wanted to protest what seemed like a dismissive comment…my dad had a good point. We love coffee so much that we seek it out when we travel. The minute I book a hotel or Airbnb, I research the closest specialty coffee shops to where we’re staying. We both wanted to go to the Hario café when we were visiting Tokyo this past summer.

Dec 22, 2024 | simplyrecipes.com | Irvin Lin

San Francisco, my adopted hometown, does not lack hip and trendy brunch spots. But one of my favorite spots, just a few blocks from my apartment, is the restaurant Kitchen Story. Both it and its sibling restaurant Sweet Maple are packed each weekend with folks inside and a crowd just outside waiting patiently for a table. Though their whole menu is great, most folks go to them for the Millionaire’s Bacon, a dish once featured on the Discovery Network’s United States of Bacon.