The looming cheese crisis
Plus love in New York, Ukrainian food in Chicago, weiners in Boston, and a really important Los Angeles Times restaurant review.
Dive into the Reddit community r/ididnthaveeggs, dedicated to bad reviews of online recipes by people who didn’t follow the recipe. It is very funny in the “humanity is a rich tapestry” sort of way.
The article the most people sent me: Kim Severson at the New York Times reviews a new book by photojournalist Kate Medley about the gas stations of the South. Besides selling gas, many of these local stores also have restaurants. The article and the book explore how these local institutions reflect the changing foodways of the region. Beautiful photos here.
Watch this amazing unintentional cameo by Gene Hackman on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
This Vox headline blares that a cheese crisis looms. Popular cheeses like Brie and Camembert won’t go away, but they might be changing. Cheese is created by adding bacteria and fungus to milk. Like most global foods, as producers chased consistency they’ve reduced the number of strains they use down to one or two. That means a slight evolution in that strain could decimate cheese production worldwide. It feels like we spend the 20th century scaling up our food supply and we’re going to spend the 21st realizing how fragile that is.
The video the most people sent me: SNL takes on Stanley cups and Josh wine.
Albert Burneko at Defector tears into the new proposal from Instacart to put digital screens on shopping carts that would serve targeted ads based on what’s in the carts. He rages against the kind of innovation that delivers nothing anyone actually wants other than a spreadsheet that spits out “yeah, more money”.
NEW REGIONAL SANDWICH ALERT. Find out about the “Dutch Crunch”.
Rare wines worth nearly $2 million have gone missing from a famous Paris restaurant. If anyone asks, I was with you the whole time and there is no truth to the rumors that I am the international cat burglar known as “The Shadow.”
Velveeta makes its mark on fans’ lips with its cheesy 14-karat gold drip lip cuff. I do not know what any of those words mean and I’m so very tired.
Matt Reynolds at WIRED dives into efforts by the beef industry to influence how industrial agriculture and farming are taught in schools. It’s one of those articles I read and my brain zooms out and I get sad as I imagine the hundreds, if not thousands, of people employed to influence what we think about beef. Then again, “Don’t kid yourself Jimmy, if a cow ever got the chance he’d eat you and everyone you care about”.
Turns out giant novelty popcorn buckets are a surprising cash cow for movie theaters. I hadn’t realized they only really became a thing a few years ago.
A bizarre Brooklyn mystery occurred when a local bagel shop closed and then reopened the next day with the same name, menu, and staff. The previous owner was baffled and it seems as if a shady investment banking group and competing bagel shop operator is to blame.
In my new job, I’ve been thinking a lot about workplace culture. We’re remote-first, but how would a company make in-office time something to look forward to instead of dread? Anne Chaker in the Wall Street Journal thinks the Swedes might have the answer: Fika, a twice-a-day team-wide coffee and conversation break. It’s more than a quick coffee run with your work spouse: it’s an expected time for everyone to put things down and take an active break.
New York
The Times has a fun Valentine’s day special, with stories about food and love:
On how the kitchen can be the most tense room for any relationship.
Should you cook dinner for someone on the first date? (no, that is insane)
Pete Wells writes a great obit for David Bouley, one of the pioneers of nouvelle cuisine in America. Wells writes that while some of his contemporaries like Daniel Boulud had better business sense, Bouley was a maelstrom of ideas in a way that may have been more influential.
New media cooperative Hell Gate devotes some of their limited budget to food coverage, tapping Scott Lynch for periodic reviews, like his most recent of Doaba Deli, a homey South Indian steam table spot near Columbia. Lynch reflects on the importance of a city full of places that are cheap, welcoming, and fine.
Lynch also visits Bensonhurts for Brooklyn Magazine, where he loves the food at Langham Express, a new Central Asia spot for large, hearty portions.
Based on what I’ve seen on Instagram, the line at Border Town, a breakfast taco pop-up in Greenpoint, is like an hour long when they open. Based on this review by Helen Rosner, I get it.
Eater laid off a number of folks last summer, including some of the best Eater New York writers. The reduced team is still doing the best they can. This story by Emma Orlow on “Listening Bars” is a great primer on a trend that started in Tokyo, is taking over New York, and seems poised to keep spreading.
Ryan Sutton was one of the Eater folks let go, which is a shame. He launched The Lo Times, a newsletter where he continues reviews, lists, and food news. His most recent feature is a list of some of the best things he ate in Midtown before moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn. He aptly describes how, while you’ll always go back to your old neighborhood, you rarely go back to the places kinda nearby.
Tammie Teclemariam makes the case that the trend of adding caviar to things isn’t just trite - it’s getting boring. Is caviar the bacon of the ‘20s?
“This is real carnitas, and it is to the stuff sold at Chipotle what Lucali’s wood-blistered pizzas are to Domino’s.”
I am seeing absolutely wild things bubbling up about the new Frog Club restaurant.
Chicago
Tanikia Carpenter publishes a beautiful reflection on her family’s Mississippi roots and how Chicago migrants brought their food traditions.
The Tribune food section is looking a bit thin, but thankfully Louisa Chu is still holding it down. I loved her survey of the new class of Chicago tavern-style pizzas. The thin-crust pizza is the hottest style around but it originated in Chicagoland and a lot of local chefs are giving it its due.
As pop-ups and food stalls become the cutting edge of cooking innovation, more outlets should track those openings. Block Club Chicago tracks the opening of Babygold Barbecue at the From Here On food hall near Union Station.
John Kessler at Chicago Magazine drops a BANGER of a review of Anelya, a new Ukrainian restaurant in Irving Park. The war in Ukraine inspired chef Johnny Clark to look into his own Ukrainian heritage. He opened Anelya, staffed almost exclusively with emigres, to highlight the cuisine. Kessler loves the food and calls it as much a statement as a restaurant. He awards it three out of four stars.
Boston
Rachel Leah Blumethal, who I felt was one of the best local Eater editors anywhere, decamped to Boston Magazine. She’s already been having an impact, with faster-paced food news and features like this excellent 2024 spring restaurant opening preview. I’m most excited to return to Jacob Wirth for piano nights again. It doesn’t take a lot to really bulk up a food section (do you hear that, Globe?).
Kara Baskin writes about how some of Boston’s best food is in… Burlington? She makes a convincing case but the concept is so Globe-y I laughed out loud.
Credit where credit is due, this is a fantastic Globe story by Alexa Gagosz about the financial struggles of the 100-year-old hot weiner stand the Original New York System. Changing tastes, a changing neighborhood, and aging owners are conspiring to bring this local institution to the brink of collapse.
Los Angeles
If you read one thing this issue, make it Bill Addison’s review of Baroo, the second restaurant of that name from chef Kwang Uh. The original incarnation, which only lasted from 2015-2018, was one of the most important restaurants in Los Angeles, if not the country, during that period. Uh directed his fine dining training into a tiny place that served kombucha and grain bowls that completely redefined how you might think about food (it’s hard to explain, read the review). Uh is back with a bigger, more refined space. Addison says it’s not the “I can’t believe he’s doing this” feeling of the original, but it’s still a grand, fantastic dining experience that will hopefully be more sustainable.
The Los Angeles Times also went through a round of layoffs, with some truly bizarre subplots, but many of my favorite folks are still there. Jenn Harris is still doing a great deep-dive food column with the breadth of a native Angeleno. Do you want to read about the best scallion pancakes in the city? Of COURSE you do.
L.A. Taco still crushes the headline game: Tacos Before Vatos: 13 Tacos In L.A. That Will Make You Forget About Him
Jonathan Whitener, chef of Here’s Looking at You and a beloved member of the Los Angeles food community, died last week at the age of 36. Really sad.
“Soup dumplings are one of those particular foods, like bagels, that you don’t just wake up one day and decide to put on the menu. Sure, they’re a simple concept, in theory, but then again, so is operating a table saw. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it can turn into a real disaster.”
California has banned “junk fees” – any extra fee that a business tacks on that isn’t listed in the official price. This is probably a good thing, but Stephanie Briejo reports how restaurant owners, who had been relying on “service fees” to pay for employee health care and benefits while keeping menu prices low, will now have to jack up the list price.
Out of Context J. Gold of the week
“You may be able to talk the guy behind the counter into a small Styrofoam container of thick yogurt laced with quantities of fresh garlic sufficient to make your eyes water, like a great Greek tsatsiki overbuilt to military specifications, or possibly a little dish of Canary's torshi, made with herbs and lots of that vinegared garlic you see curing all around you.” - Link