About

I can tell you the very moment I ventured into my role as a food writer.

It was 2019 and the publisher at Hour Detroit shared his copy of Save Me the Plums, Ruth Reichl’s memoir centered on her time as editor of the late Gourmet magazine (Random House, 2019). That hardcover that would become somewhat of a sacred text that I savored like a decadent five-tier slice of double-chocolate cake over the next several months. I’d read just a few pages at a time as not to overindulge.

What I can’t seem to tell you is why it took so long for me to end up in the food realm, which today feels like a place I’ve always belonged.

I started my editorial career in New York City as a beauty editor at glossy magazines, such as Ebony, Glamour magazine’s Glam Belleza Latina, and Teen Vogue. After relocating to Chicago in 2015, I continued to contribute to women’s publications, including Allure, Elle, InStyle, Marie Claire, and many more, and in 2016, I was proud to launch a publication of my own. Beauty Atlas, a bi-annual digital magazine, allowed me to explore my loves of beauty and travel as I traversed the world to uncover beauty rituals across the globe. I covered a centuries-old tooth-shaving ritual in Indonesia, toured hair salons in Cuba, and talked to the formerly incarcerated women handcrafting honey-based soaps and creams at a Chicago nonprofit.

My role as a beauty editor had its perks. I am, after all, still working through a collection of hair, skin, and nail products culled from around the world — a confession that’ll undoubtedly dismay my peers in the beauty industry. (Adhere to your product expiration dates, folks.) At times, it also brought me great joy. Beauty Atlas went on to earn the award for Best Launch at the Digital Magazine Awards in London and in 2017, I had the opportunity to serve as a judge for Marie Claire’s annual Prix D’Excellence Beauty Awards as well as a panelist at the magazine’s Global Beauty Summit.

But if I’m honest, food is where my heart has always been.

In my travels, it wasn’t the beauty boutiques, salons, or spas that were at the top of my itineraries. Instead, it was the cafés, the Michelin-star restaurants, the food festivals, and the food trucks that were top of mind. Industry events during my time as a beauty editor were more memorable for the dishes that were served than the products the brands went to lavish extents to promote. I can tell you that a tempura-fried soft-shell crab at Nobu was served with pickled watermelon bathing in a basin of sweet ponzu — but I can’t quite tell you the brand behind the press luncheon. And a lobster ceviche topped with crunchy popcorn stands out most during a trip to Turks and Caicos Islands for a prestige fragrance brand launch.

Food has always been my comfort and an art form that I draw great inspiration from. It’s the passageway into every culture. The bridge to every locale.

“But if I’m honest, food is where my heart has always been.”

Lyndsay C. Green

As dining editor at Hour Detroit, this New York transplant crossed the threshold into the magical city of Detroit by way of sweet-and-savory pastries at Sister Pie, Vernor’s Floats at Parks & Rec, and spiced wings at Sweet Water Tavern. I’ve earned a cultural education on the city’s Polish, Middle Eastern, and Mexican populations by way of pączki in Hamtramck, knahfeh in Dearborn, and birria tacos in Southwest Detroit. Lessons of love and selflessness were gleaned over countless conversations with restaurateurs implementing triple-bottom-line business practices. And a crash-course in Detroit grit came in the form of stories of perseverance by chefs like Maxcel Hardy who managed to feed more than 80,000 Detroiters during the pandemic, all while launching a new restaurant. I’ve learned most about this city through the chefs, waitstaff, restaurateurs, food entrepreneurs, and farmers shaping Detroit’s food scene.

Food has taught me just as much about myself.

In 2020, when so much of the dining scene shuttered due to the pandemic — when food shortages left grocery store shelves barren and families were challenged to feed their children without access to free school lunches — I awakened to a passion for joining the effort to achieve food sovereignty in Detroit, starting with my own household. In addition to writing about food, you can find me volunteering at local farms and planting seeds at The Green House, my homestead on Detroit’s east side. Learn more about the organic produce that I’m growing and recipes that I’m developing, using ingredients cultivated in my yard at The Greenhouse Journal!

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