A talented rap artist and humble soul, Meyhem Lauren possesses an exceptional palate and an unceasing love for food, the latter of which is on full display each week on Fuck, That's Delicious. A Queens native, he was raised between Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, and met FTDstar Action Bronson back in the seventh grade. "I grew up having friends from all over the world, from Albania to the Dominican Republic," he says. "Growing up in Queens meant being surrounded by a lot of culture, and food came with that."
Never separating those two things, Meyhem often lards his rhymes with food references. He named his third album Piatto d'Oro, meaning "plate of gold," after one of his favorite restaurants in East Harlem, which is now closed. "For a lack of a better word, I've always been a foodie and food has always been a part of my life. I have the same philosophy toward music as I do for food. Ratings don't matter—it's either good music or it's not. Same with food."
I recently joined Meyhem on an edible tour of his stomping grounds in Queens, where we gorged on lobster tail Greek salads and truffled green beans, classics like bagels and pizza, and even vegan chicken wings. While getting to taste a slice of real NYC, I got to the stomach of what makes Meyhem's appetite tick. He constantly credited the immigrant communities he grew up around with inspiring his palate. "I grew up around so many cultures and food came with that," he told me. I wondered what would New York's food landscape look like if it weren't for those immigrants who brought the flavors of their homeland to America.
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