Kitchen Ink: 3 Awesome Food Tattoos

This is PA Eats’s first installment of Kitchen Ink, where we discover food lovers who are taking their love of all things culinary to permanent levels. We are always on the hunt for new kitchen-inspired tattoos, with details on how to nominate your favorite food ink below. Now, meet our first three inked foodies—all of which are based in the Philadelphia area.

When West Chester burrito hotspot Burrito Loco tweeted a photo of a fan sporting a tattoo of its logo, the image struck a chord with us. After all, The Town Dish writers are passionate about food and we love to chat with others who are share this passion. Only dedicated foodies would ink their favorite restaurant logos or food items on their skin. We decided to put out word to friends in search of folks with #awesomefoodietattoos, and we discovered a few colorful characters who wear their foodie pride on their sleeves.

Burrito Loco

West Chester resident (and Kutztown University student) Kyle Zazik loves his burritos. When in West Chester, he eats a chicken burrito “at least once a week” from Burrito Loco, the little Mexican restaurant just off campus at West Chester University. Kyle liked the logo, which shows a cactus riding a bull, and recently got it inked on his rib cage. When people ask what the tattoo stands for, Kyle usually replies, “I’ll say it is for a burrito place and they haven’t heard of it. It is hard for them to grasp the concept.”

PB&J

Stacy Pierce is an artist and a foodie with a love of sweets. The University of the Arts graduate manages the art concessions at Sesame Place and is also an artist at the Blue Velvet Tattoo Shop in Langhorne, Pa. She first reached out to tell us about the peanut butter and jelly sandwich tattoo inked on her hand, divulging, “I love peanut butter and jelly, I eat it practically every day.”

In our discussion, we discovered Stacy’s arm is dedicated to several sweets, most notably the donut immortalized in The Simpsons, which perfectly frames her elbow. “It has the pink icing—the same donut that is in the movie,” Stacy told us. Stacy’s love of desserts is also artistically displayed on her sleeve, with a giant wedge of cake, an ice cream cone, cookies and rice krispy treats all sharing space. Room for more? Stacy has not one, but three different TastyKakes—a butterscotch Krimpet, a peanut butter Tandy Kake and the chocolate cupcake (creme filled). She even has video game icon Yoshi eating cookies. Stacy’s fingers are inked with breakfast foods —bacon, eggs, toast and orange juice.

What is Stacy craving for her next potential foodie tattoo? “I’m craving Twinkies or another Tastykake, possibly a Tastykake strawberry pie,” she said with a laugh. As a tattoo artist, Stacy mentioned she doesn’t ink many foodie tattoos, though she told us of a fascinating pure Philly foodie project she is inking. “One of my friends is getting two pigeons fighting over a cheesesteak with the Philly skyline in the background.” Classic.

Hellmann’s Mayo, Philly Soft Pretzels & More

Jess Kalup has a homage to Philly’s favorite foods on her arm. “I worked at a couple of bars, but I’m not a cook or a chef. It’s as much about my love of Philly as it is a love of food.” The South Philly 29-year-old community organizer sports three iconic Philly foods on her arm—a chicken cheesesteak, a Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpet and a Wawa logo all adorn her right sleeve. If that’s not enough Philly goodness, Jess also flexes her muscle to show off her Philadelphia soft pretzel tattoo, and she calls the sleeve her “three course meal.” That’s not all though. Jesse’s love of a condiment has led to an amazing tattoo on her thigh showing a jar of Hellman’s Mayonaise. “I put mayo on everything that is acceptable. Once night I was dipping french fries in mayo, so a friend suggested that tattoo and I did it!”

“I usually go for the chicken cheesesteak just because I like it better,” Jess explained. “Tattoos are permanent but so is my love for Philly, which meant this was something that wouldn’t change.” And where does she go for cheesesteaks? “If I’m taking someone out for cheesesteaks, I’d take them to Tony Luke’s.”

She goes on to explain further, “I’m from Philly so I’m obviously not super picky about food.”

Have a cool food-themed tattoo? Want to recommend yourself or your friend to be featured in the next installment of Kitchen Ink? Send an e-mail to [email protected] with your nominations!