Pouch and Circumstance
Plus a really great package on Chicago Beef and a dessert newsletters you should know.
Jenny Gold in the Los Angeles Times looks at the rise in pouches. If you don’t have a kid, pureed fruit or vegetables (or meat!) are now mostly sold in flexible pouches. Easy and convenient to give kids on the go. This article is a litany of experts saying, “Oh god they are so easy and convenient, but (some horrible potential side effect)”. Mostly, they are often crammed with additives and salt and sugar. But damn, feeding kids is hard. Just last week one of the other playground parents asked me and my wife if we have any rules around pouches. We exchanged worried glances before lying through our teeth that we try to not give my son more than one per day. The article’s main advice for parents is not to worry too much, but to ignore whatever the front of the pouch says and read the ingredient list to get a sense of what it really contains.
Or, maybe we all just give in to Big Pouch? Cathay Erway in TASTE writes about how more and more of our food (for adults as well as kids) is coming in flexible plastic containers. She talks with startup companies about why they are making the switch, scientists about the safety concerns, and supply chain experts about the rise in plastics in the waste stream. This is a great read to better understand your grocery store shelves.
Early in the summer I was lucky enough to get a gift subscription to Mahira Rivers’ new newsletter, Sweet City. Mahira is doing restaurant criticism with a focus on desserts. Full restaurants, but also bakeries and coffee shops. A great recent issue highlighted Atlas Conchas in Harlem, which is balancing the joint tensions of authenticity and sustainability. Or, check out her free article on what it was like being a Michelin Inspector. Overall – this is worth subscribing to if you live in New York or love desserts.
Anna Hezel dives into how Jadeite went from an everyday item to a sought-after collectible. Some combination of nostalgic Americana and Martha Stewart. My wife has a set of Jadeite bowls she inherited from her grandmother that I am afraid to wash after reading this.
The third largest print magazine in the world is from… Costco? The New York Times profiles Costco Connections, which, like most things about the store, has a *slight* cult-y vibe. But it’s beloved, and more companies making good media would be a good thing.
Christine Muhlke in AirMail profiles chef Iñaki Aizpitarte. Aizpitarte has been one of the most influential chefs in Paris for almost 20 years, but recently relocated to open a small cafe near Biarritz on the southwestern French coast. [NOTE FROM JOSH’S SISTER HOPE: My local paper wrote about this.]
Dan Frommer in New Consumer writes about Row 7, a new produce supplier co-founded by chef Dan Barber. Row 7 is dedicated to vegetables bred for flavor rather than appearance or shelf-stability. Frommer’s article is *very* good, diving into the challenges of creating a *brand* in the vegetable aisle and asking Barber some tough questions! Really interesting.
(I know the screenshots are usually funny, but this one was just neat!)
Chicago
Chicago Magazine has a huge section on the Italian Beef sandwich. Driven by The Bear, a sandwich that was once pretty unknown outside Chicago has become *the* tourist attraction of the city. The Magazine highlights classic spots, talks about how to order, and shares where you can find avant garde versions. The online presentation for this was a delight to read.
Lest you think now that once you know Italian beef you are an expert in the street food of the Windy City, Mike Sula at Chicago Reader is here to blow your mind with zapiekanki. He highlights the Zapiekanki XXL truck, serving up giant Polish open-faced cheese, mushroom, and ketchup sandwiches in Schiller Woods.
Eater released a neat 20-minute film about the kitchen at Esmé. It’s always wild just how much work goes into high-end food.
The ongoing lawsuit regarding The Acadia has come to an end (sorta), with a jury awarding former service captain Cody Nason nearly $8 million in damages from chef and owner Ryan McCaskey. McCaskey plans to appeal, but the jury was convinced that the chef harassed Nason for years after he complained online about bad behavior by the chef. Acada is closed now, but it was once considered one of the best restaurants in Chicago.
Boston
I saw many friends on Instagram bemoaning the closure of Fenway institution Thornton’s Fenway Grille. I didn’t realize until this Eater news brief that it closed suddenly and without warning. I wonder what’s going on there.
In what is an extremely good idea, Rachel Leah Blumenthal has a companion list to Boston Magazine’s 50 best restaurants list. It’s a a guide to siblings restaurants that you can go to if you can’t get into ones on the list.
Sheryl Julian highlights Chennai Eats, a new Indian restaurant in the old Strip T’s location in Watertown. The menu plays the hits with a slant towards South India. Julian raves about the dosas.
New York City
Melissa Clark reviews Sawa, a new Lebanese bistro in Park Slope. Clark’s review astutely calls out dishes that are loyal to traditional recipes and ones that riff a bit (in good ways). Sawa is run by friends of mine, and it’s been great to see the place take off. I’ve only been once and can recommend that you get every dip possible and stick to the great wine list. Clark awards two out of four stars.
Ryan Sutton joins the TASTE podcast to talk about one year of running his own food media outlet on Substack. Some really interesting insights here, including that Sutton is doing much better financially than I would have assumed. I mentioned Sutton’s best-of list in the last Snack Cart, but his week-to-week emails are a lot chattier and fun. His most recent one is about how much he appreciates restaurants that send SMS texts and rounds up a bunch of other New York food writing.
Robert Sietsema reviews Cha Cha Tang, a new elevated dim sum parlor from the team behind Nom Wah Tea Parlor. Sietsema loves about the pop-up turned full-time spot. Expect a combination of classic dim sum dishes and new plays on Hong Kong diner foods.
Brooklyn Heights has a new home for fancy pizzas. Scott Lynch reports that Jules, a new restaurant from a crew of veteran Brooklyn restaurateurs, is already well on it’s way to beloved neighborhood classic. This review has a bunch of very good pictures of pizza.
There’s been a lot of bagel discourse in New York the past few weeks, and the New York Times dives in with both arms swinging. Becky Hughes highlights the 17 best bagels in New York right now. Hughes' writing is funny and lively, so this is a fun read. My wife and I prefer bagels from two different places and often argue about which to order. Her spot is on this list and mine isn’t. I’ve never hoped she didn’t get this far in the newsletter more in my life.
A Taiwanese food crawl through the Lower East Side? Yes, please.
Los Angeles
Last week I missed a great column by the Los Angeles Times’ Jenn Harris, who profiles chef Minh Phan. Phan closed her two fabulously successful restaurants a year ago and has a new role as an artist in residence at the nonprofit Food Forward. Harris checks in with Phan as she prepares for a massive meal / event / art installation. This is a really interesting look at chef-as-artist, which can be an eye-rolling trope but really works here.
The Times also profiles Ozzy’s Apizza, which is bringing New Haven-style pies to North Hollywood.
Heather Platt reflects on 20 years of the movie Sideways. She looks at the impact the film has had on wine, Los Angeles, and the Santa Ynez valley.
L.A. TACO recaps their BirriaMania event. It sounds like a lot of fun and after some surprisingly close rankings, newcomer Taquería Frontera won the title of “best birria”.
Heading down south? LAist highlights places in Orange County that should be on your radar.
Out of Context J. Gold of the Week
An Elvirita's cemita, a taco arabe with carne adobada and a cold bottle of Boing — it's what I'd want after several months at sea. - link