DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION GALLERY
LEE’S CHINESE TAKEOUT
Lee’s Chinese Takeout, Valerie Caesar, 2025.
I’ve been doing a thing where I take snapshots of old storefronts in Brooklyn that have somehow, miraculously, remained the same in the bracing winds of gentrification. This Chinese food spot on Fulton and Ralph Avenues in Bed-Stuy looks like all the Chinese food spots I grew up with, with its weathered awning in primary colors associated with luck and abundance in Chinese culture, and the ubiquitous bulletproof glass windows, both inside and outside, and the luridly bright 80s images of dishes that no one ever orders, like the egg foo young and Emperor’s Special. I was further inspired to pair it with a story that gives its vintage origins context within lived experience.
The story detailed here about Mr. Lee is based on a true one, although I grew up in the Flatbush part of Brooklyn, and have never actually tasted the culinary stylings of Lee’s on Fulton and Ralph. They’re all mostly the same, although I will say the best Chinese food is always the one you had first in childhood. And Philly Chinese food is not the same as Oakland Chinese food is not the same as Brooklyn Chinese food — like bagels, I think it’s something to do with the water. I am planning to do more of these mini stories, as it also checks the box I had to do more writing, particularly short stories. These are super short short stories, actually prose poems, which are actually more up my alley, to be honest. What do they say? Brevity is the soul of wit. I like all those things.
Additionally, presenting the stories in this way, with me narrating*, is also an interesting departure from the norm. I love children’s storybooks, as I’ve probably mentioned in these essays a million times, mostly from a visual perspective. Along with that nostalgic preference is a fondness for oral storytelling. These pastel-rendered snapshots allow me to insert a sepia-rendered vocal, textual, and textural snapshot of story; an alternative and softer way to archive the memories of my youth and of a very different Brooklyn than the one I find myself in today. I plan to do a few more of these soon.
*Scroll to the bottom of this page to play the video and listen to the story read aloud.
A CLOSER LOOK
Watch this short video at the full screen setting to listen to the story of Lee’s Chinese Takeout aloud, and to view it in closer detail.