New York Times, Friday, December 17, 2021

I've come to like this type of themeless grid construction. There's a nice balance to it — there's a "maw" in the center that's gaping but not too gaping, which means you can fit in some pretty marquee entries while still maintaining the flexibility to do fun stuff in the corners. I seeded this one with THAT HITS THE SPOT, sandwiched the two 10-letter entries around it, and was pleased that all four corners came together nicely from there.

Very excited to debut BIBIMBAP in the Times — long overdue, as it's both a fun word and just plain delicious. And there's some sentimental value there for me, too, as it happens to be what my wife and I had for dinner on our first date, way back when.

It's worth noting that when I constructed this grid over a year ago, I was planning on THAT HITS THE SPOT being a debut as well, but I was sadly scooped a few months back. I see you, Joseph Greenbaum. Interestingly, while Mr. Greenbaum chose to clue this entry with the pedestrian clue of "Ahhhh!", with four H's, I decided to stump solvers with the far more challenging clue of "Ahhh!", with three. Cruel, I know.

Anyway, this puzzle was a blast to construct. I hope everyone out there enjoys solving it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Given his picture (above), Evans should have featured the GIMBAP roll at 1-Across, not BIBIMBAP! I've binged so many K-dramas during lockdown that I'm constantly craving both. Images of sizzling dolsot bibimbap with rice crisped in a stone pot … contrasted with the reality of a soggy paper to-go container. Sigh.

Speaking of sizzling, HOT STREAKS + HOLY SMOKES = aah, THAT HITS THE SPOT! The kids these days might even say that that center is lit.

Is that a fireable offense?

Big quad-corners (8x4) are a tough ask. It's appropriate that the lower-right contains AVERAGES. SABOTAGE and GALAXIES have a lot of potential for clever cluing, but as a whole, there's not enough chili oil to spice things up.

And if you didn't know BIBIMBAP (order it now, if you can eat at the restaurant safely), crossing it with ?OBA and ?ORRIS, along with ORATORIO and ASSYRIA might light some IRES. Perhaps moving the "finger" of black squares up to the ASS of ASSYRIA would allow for improvements, as well as open the bottleneck into the NW corner.

Clever clues make or break Fridays, and today's is a make. HIMALAYAS is already a strong entry, laden with images of climbers and Sherpas clinging on to dear life during their ascent. Wordplay like [It's all downhill from here] — as in the world's highest altitude — mightily elevates (talk about going downhill).

Even better are clever clues for the short, boring entries like SEMIS. [Quarters feed into them] misled this former arcade dweller; "quarters" as short for quarterfinals is used to brilliant effect.

Meaty overall offering, although the rice around the edges could have used more seasoning.