What's In A Quiet Wok?

My educated guesswork on a subtle change in my old local Chinese restaurant

My latest American Diary column at Discourse Magazine is out, and it’s a long bit of informed speculation answering a question I had from a recent visit to New Jersey: Why was my old local Chinese takeout joint so quiet the last time I went there?

I remember it, or any of them, like this:

There was a certain smell in these places as soon as you walked in.…