Before she savors her meal, food writer Marisel Salazar shoots photos of it. Lately, she’s been capturing the beauty of modern Hawaiian cuisine at Noreetuh in the East Village. 

Many of us have a career “aha moment.”  Hers was an “olive moment.”

What You Need To Know

  • Food writer Marisel Salazar was born in Panama, but has lived around the world, savoring diverse delicasies  

  • One of Salazar's favorite NYC restaurants is Noreetuh in the East Village, which serves modern Hawaiian cuisine

  • Salazar said people often want to pigeon-hole her and say she should only write about Latin American food

  • While she is a champion of Hispanic cuisine, she writes about all kinds of food

"It was taking a single bite out of the anchovy stuffed olive in Madrid,” Salaza told NY1. “It was just an olive, but it was so much more than an olive. It was incredibly briny, it was a little bit bitter. That really was my Ratatouille moment, where I just had fireworks. And I've been in pursuit of food and the people behind the food ever since.”

Despite the crushing impact of the cornovirus on local restaurants, Salazar continues to cover New York's diverse food scene and also shine a light on the struggles of the Hispanic workers who play such a big role in the industry. 

Salazar is from Panama, but has lived around the world, including Spain, Japan, and Hawaii. 

"Because I am Latina, Latinx, I don't necessarily want to be pigeonholed that you can only cover Hispanic foods," said Salazar.

Still, she often uses her platform to showcase the range of Latin American cuisine. 

"Latin food and Hispanic food has a PR problem. It's always been considered street food. There is as much depth and diversity and nuance in Mexican food and other Hispanic food as there is Anglo-Saxon cuisine. One day, we don't even have to call it ethnic food. it's just going to be food," Salazar said.

Noreetuh is Michelin rated. Chef and Owner Chung Chow said it’s refreshing to have a food writer who is familiar with specialities like his Pork Katsu Sandwich. 

"The beautiful part about Marisel is that she has a wide range of taste and diversity and she knows flavor, not just mainstream flavors, but flavors that are less known for many people," said Chow.

Salazar writes for Zagat, Michelin and many other publications. She has a following on social media for her restaurant visits and cooking concoctions and also for her fun cereal tastings.

Not only does Salazar love sharing her passion for food, she also likes showing her techniques for a great food photo, including a "noodle pull."

"The secret to a great noodle pull is grabbing more than you think you need," said Salazar, as she used chopsticks to pick up a high mound of the house specialty, Chow noodles.

And before you eat it, Salazar said, "post it, in slow motion.”