Getting 4/20 Munchies With Natasha Zhatko

It’s a cold, rainy Sunday in New York and I’m waiting for it to turn 5 pm. I cleared my whole schedule today to meet Natasha Zhatko for a Chinatown food crawl. Not even a year into her social media career, Zhatko, known online as @natashahasthemunchies, has already built a following of over 2 million across TikTok and Instagram. What is the 32-year-old mom of two best known for? Exactly what her handle implies: downing 100mg of edibles and chowing down on a sumptuous spread at a local spot.

Since it’s 420 tomorrow, it was only right for us to meet downtown and venture into the best of Chinatown’s eateries. The sun is back out, and I take it as a sign from the universe that something spiritual is about to go down. Before we even make it inside our first stop, the ritual begins. She tells me she’s taking “a light 50 [mg]” and I decide to dabble as well, although my serving is much more conservative. What follows is a stoned conversation about dream blunt rotations, rehab, and why Zhatko just might be the real-life Serena van der Woodsen.

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5:02 PM, HEYTEA CHINATOWN

LUCIA BROWN: So it’s your first day in the city? What did you get up to today? 

NATASHA ZHATKO: Yeah. I slept till 11:30 because I’m still on California time and then I got up and we just walked around a little. We’re staying very close, so I’m showing my husband around. He’s getting the vibe.

BROWN: Oh, it’s his first time here?

ZHATKO: It’s his first time walking around here. He was a truck driver, so he’s driven through many times. He’s never settled and walked. So I’m like, after this, “Dude, we’re going out. We’re going to go walk everywhere.”

BROWN: You grew up in Manhattan, you said?

ZHATKO: I did. So the first part of my life, I was just a regular Manhattan kid. Then, my parents came into a lot of money when I was around 12, 13, so I was kind of thrown into that private school scene.

BROWN: Like Gossip Girl.

ZHATKO: Yeah. Literally. It really is kind of like that. There’s a lot of pressure. How you look is very important. How skinny you are is the most important, and a lot of drugs.

BROWN: Yeah everyone who I know who grew up here says it’s literally the same [as the show].

ZHATKO: Yeah, as a kid, as a teen, it’s hard. I went to rehab when I was 20. I moved to North Carolina, stayed there for about five years, and then I just never really felt mentally well enough to move back to New York. I just kind of realized New York’s not a place for me to live. I can visit there, but I can’t live there. I was like, “What’s the opposite of New York?” California. So literally, I went there. I feel like I have adjusted to being a California girl. People who knew me in the past, they probably wouldn’t even recognize me with how chill I’ve become. You know what I mean? 

BROWN: Yeah [New York] is full-on. It’s a lot to adjust to. When I found out you were from New York, I was kind of shocked.

ZHATKO: But the thing is that the people who knew me growing up, if they hear that I’m living a mom life in California, they’re shocked. I was crazy. 

BROWN: The Serena. 

ZHATKO: I was literally Serena. I was getting sent away all the time. I was always disappearing in trouble.

BROWN: Did you ever go to boarding school?

ZHATKO: No, but it was always a threat. My parents were threatening me even with wilderness. Do you know what that is?

BROWN: Yeah. Where they capture you in the night…

ZHATKO: So scary. 

6:02 PM, SHANGHAI 21

ZHATKO: So you’ve been here before. What do you recommend?

BROWN: The soup dumplings are really good. Fried rice is good. The beef and broccoli is good, but I eat anything. 

ZHATKO: Okay, yeah.

BROWN: What’s speaking to you?

ZHATKO: I saw some kind of…oh, I think this is what I want. Yeah. I saw somebody eating that [sautéed beef]. I definitely want that. 

SPEAKER 1: Ready?

ZHATKO: Hi. Should I take the reins? Okay. We’re going to start with some soup dumplings. And then beef and broccoli. And then can we also do this dry sautéed beef? Let’s do bok choy. Thank you.

BROWN: What are your plans for 4/20 tomorrow?

ZHATKO: So I actually had a really epic plan, but now it’s kind of like weather-dependent. Tomorrow morning, I have a breakfast thing, and then I was going to do a high-school reunion with all my old stoner friends who I haven’t seen in forever at our old smoke spot. 

BROWN: Where is it? Is it in Central Park?

ZHATKO: Yeah. Our old spot is The Great Lawn.

BROWN: So it’s not a hidden little oasis that I haven’t found out about?

ZHATKO: No, I’ve heard that it’s gotten insane. You can’t smoke there at all anymore. But back in my day, when I was younger, it used to be the spot. That’s where we went. 

BROWN: Does your husband smoke with you?

ZHATKO: Yeah, that’s actually how we met. 

BROWN: Oh, really? 

ZHATKO: It’s really funny. So, I used to work at a delivery service out in California and I was on the phones one day, and he called in, and I heard his accent. I was like, “So where are you from? Are you from Russia?” And then we started speaking Russian. That’s literally how it happened. We exchanged Instagrams, and we started talking.

BROWN: That is so cute. That’s a proper rom-com storyline. 

7:16 PM, MEI LAI WAH

BROWN: Shall we do a few rapid-fire 4/20 questions?

ZHATKO: Yeah.

BROWN: How many gummies have you taken at a time? When do you max out?

ZHATKO: My max is a hundred [milligrams]. That’s where I max out just for my own peace of mind. I don’t want to do more than that. That’s my safe space. 

BROWN: Where the best place to be high?

ZHATKO: Anywhere green. Or the ocean. 

BROWN: What is the first app you open in the morning?

ZHATKO: Instagram, always. It used to be TikTok, but I just like my algorithm better on Instagram. I feel like Instagram was dead for a little bit, now it’s back. I dunno. They’re back.

BROWN: What’s your deli order?

ZHATKO: My deli order is, if it’s afternoon, chicken cutlet on a roll with lettuce, cheese, mayo, and honey mustard. That’s been my whole adolescence.

BROWN: Bev?

ZHATKO: Diet Coke. But if it’s the morning, small coffee, milk and sugar, and a bagel with cream cheese. Nothing too special. 

BROWN: Keep it classic. What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on food while high?

ZHATKO: This is actually a horrible question to ask me because, if I am really in munchies mode and you send me to Costco or something, dude. It’s insane.

BROWN: Those samples go crazy.

ZHATKO: Yeah. But I’ll definitely drop a few hundred dollars at H-Mart completely by accident. And then you get home, and you realize you bought no real food.

BROWN: Yeah. Like, wait, what do I eat? Snacks. What’s the last thing you ordered on Uber Eats?

ZHATKO: I use it very often. Do you want me to literally check? 

BROWN: Yeah. Let’s see. 

ZHATKO: Last thing I ordered, my god, this is so embarrassing. I ordered a Walgreens sick kit. I got tea and honey. Okay. But before that, I ordered Taco Bell at 12:30 at night with my husband when the kids were asleep. 

BROWN: What is your Taco Bell order? I’ve never even had it.

ZHATKO: You know what’s hilarious is that I never had Taco Bell until I left New York City. It’s not a thing here.

BROWN: It does not appeal to me. Those tacos look soggy af.

ZHATKO: They’re not. But it’s like, if you like McDonald’s, you’re going to get it once a month type of thing.

BROWN: Dream blunt rotation? 

ZHATKO: Martha Stewart. Snoop Dog. I feel like they just go together at this point. 

BROWN: Yeah. They’re classic. So if we’re talking a six-seater.

ZHATKO: Okay. PinkPantheress, I love her. Maybe Mac Miller. And then just to round it all up, let’s invite Tupac and Biggie and squash the beef. 

BROWN: Let’s squash it live. 

ZHATKO: “Come on, guys, let’s talk about this!”