Lunch With @FoodBabyNY, The Cutest Most Popular Foodie On Instagram
A “Food Baby” is what basic girls call their stomach pains after they eat a quarter of a Chipotle burrito. You’re not pregnant and you have no idea what a food baby really is until you start following @FoodBabyNY on Instagram.
@FoodBabyNY is funny because it’s a growing Instagram account which includes two things: copious amounts of food porn and the cutest, most hungry baby in all of New York:
After watching the Instagram account balloon from just a few curious followers to over 33,000 obsessed fans in just a few short months, we knew we had to visit Mike Chau, father of @FoodBabyNY and learn more about him. Is he fat? Is his wife fat? What does he do for a living? How can he afford to seemingly eat out 3+ meals a day in New York City?
After a few e-mails, I was able to connect with Mike on a recent trip to New York and he suggested we link up at Gotham West Market, a dope little food hall in the Hell’s Kitchen part of NYC.
As we pulled up to the market, the first thing I noticed was Mike, @FoodBabyNY‘s father. He caught me at the door, “Elie?”
“Yeah, Mike? Foodbaby’s dad?”
“Yeah, I’m Matthew’s dad,” he smiled. He even greeted us with a box of scrumptious donuts from his favorite joint in NY. This is how @FoodBabyNY’s family rolls, they pregame lunch with donuts. I’m down with that.
The first time I stumbled upon @FoodBabyNY’s Instagram account, I assumed this kid’s father was a tubby middle-aged dude with a muffin top the size of a chicken pot pie.
Boy was I wrong.
Mike and his wife Alex shatter every expectation you’d expect from a couple that eats out 3+ meals a day. But there they were, a tall, handsome and active couple that loves to eat. Either that, or a slow metabolism hadn’t yet caught up to the young couple.
After getting to know one another in typical we-know-each-other-from-the-Internet-but-not-in-real-life fashion I asked where his kid was. He pointed towards a photo booth, where baby Matthew stood fielding some love from a girl nearly twice his age.
Little Matthew had found himself cornered into a photo booth with some wandering girl who had also escaped her parents’ grasps.
“I want to take a picture with him!”
Amazing. Matthew was barely a year old, already pulling more chicks than me and my entire crew combined. His mom grabbed him from the booth and brought him to the table so we could hang and get our grub on:
@FoodBabyNY featuring Matthew (far left), Mike (father, middle) and Alex (mom, right)
During our lunch, which consisted of items from practically every stall in the market, we learned that Matthew’s favorite food was noodles. He put down ramen like a champ, posed perfectly for every photo and the first two words he ever uttered were “apple” and “hot dog.” The kid was a #foodbeast to the core.
We talked a bit about how Mike and Alex met (high school sweethearts), Mike’s job (app developer) and life in the city (they’re moving to a house to give their kid more room to run around).
Alex, Matthew’s mom had some choice thoughts about their baby’s mounting fame.
“People like to ask for selfies with him. I’m still trying to get used to that. Usually, they’re like young girls.” — Alex, @FoodBabyNY’s mom
We asked about the future of the @FoodBabyNY account as young Matthew grows older? Would the account grow with him? Would the name change to foodCHILD, then foodTEEN?
“He’s gonna have siblings. @FoodBabyNY doesn’t have to be just him [Matthew].” — Mike
“We’re just gonna switch out @FoodBabyNY and not tell anybody,” Alex joked.
Matthew getting DOWN on some ramen noodles.
