Lil’ Deb’s Oasis, the sparkly, tasty, queer restaurant that has became Hudson’s culinary lodestar over the last 5 years, describes its palette as tropical comfort food. The place was cooked up by Carla Kaya Perez-Gallardo and Hannah Black in 2016. Hannah comes from Alabama and Carla’s background is Queens-Ecuadorian-macrobiotic, and merging their tastes involved the use of lots of lime, fish sauce and butter. “Tropical comfort” is meant to evoke both of their origins and describe their sensibilities: “hot, sticky, juicy, moist fever dreams of flavor.” I got to meet Carla recently when she gave a talk at Archestratus and can confirm she’s every bit as warm and animated as Lil’ Deb’s. As she seems well-aware, people visit the restaurant because the food is always delicious and surprising, but also because it embodies this specific aesthetic and personality that she and her team defined and cultivated from the beginning.
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Lil’ Deb’s Oasis, the sparkly, tasty, queer restaurant that has became Hudson’s culinary lodestar over the last 5 years, describes its palette as tropical comfort food. The place was cooked up by Carla Kaya Perez-Gallardo and Hannah Black in 2016. Hannah comes from Alabama and Carla’s background is Queens-Ecuadorian-macrobiotic, and merging their tastes involved the use of lots of lime, fish sauce and butter. “Tropical comfort” is meant to evoke both of their origins and describe their sensibilities: “hot, sticky, juicy, moist fever dreams of flavor.” I got to meet Carla recently when she gave a talk at Archestratus and can confirm she’s every bit as warm and animated as Lil’ Deb’s. As she seems well-aware, people visit the restaurant because the food is always delicious and surprising, but also because it embodies this specific aesthetic and personality that she and her team defined and cultivated from the beginning.