Wonder's bread
Also tipping is on the ballot in Boston and everything you need to know about Los Angeles #foodtok
The New York Times profiles Marc Lore, the man behind diapers.com and jet.com who is (say it with me) trying to reinvent the food delivery industry. Lore’s startup, Wonder, has taken an immense amount of investment and is expanding rapidly. It has some interesting operational ideas, but, in the words of the reader who sent it to me, the article “quietly paints a picture that Lore is completely in rich billionaire world and doesn’t know any normal people.” If you read the article and still can’t quite wrap your head about what Wonder is (I would not blame you), New York Magazine’s Matthew Schneier dug into the concept and reviewed a dinner from the online-only establishment. It sounds… fine? I don’t know how related this is, but delivery giant Doordash posted a profit for the first time since going public.
This week’s *sponsor: iwillvote.com
This week’s Snack Cart brought to you by… voting! Election day is coming up so make a plan to vote then call a friend and have them do the same. Early voting may even be going on right now in your state! (I’m a day-of voter. Good chance to hit a bake sale).
If you aren’t sure about where to vote, when to vote, or if want to check the status of your ballot, visit https://iwillvote.com/. It’s got all the information you need. If you already voted, give that sucker a share on the social media platform of your choice.
*They did not pay me anything, I’m just plugging a great resource managed by a friend and loyal Snack Cart reader.
The form is really supposed to be about people’s day-to-day life, but GOD, I love a Grub Street diet where the subject is “inexplicably” eating like a king for the week. Anyway, here’s Tim Heidecker’s diary of the week he spent directing a commercial in Spain.
Probably the single thing that’s better if you get it from a farmer’s market vs. mass supermarket is an apple. Saveur visits the annual Pomological Exhibition in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, where obscure heritage breeds are studied and exhibited.
The article the most people sent me in the past week: Bon Appetit writes about VP Kamala Harris’s relationship with food. It’s helped make her more relatable, raised money, and been the source of campaign stops.
On the other side of those stops, Jaya Saxena at Eater writes about what it’s like for restaurant owners when big name politicians stop by. Mostly good, though it can be tough for business if a community feels like they are picking sides.
Saxena also writes about why there seems to be listeria everywhere. Basically, it seems like an increased reliance on processed foods at every stage of the supply chain (which sit around longer) and deregulation / reduced enforcement.
Aimee Levitt, also in Eater, writes about The Woman Suffrage Cookbook. This is a great essay very much worth your time. Levitt explains the history of the cookbook (a fundraiser for the early suffragette movement) and shares some of the recipes, giving tiny bios of the deeply impressive women who contributed. The whole thing is shot through with how these women (and women today) often have to be accomplished home makers before society lets them be anything else.
Chicago
Louisa Chu profiles Crust Fund Pizza, a pop-up pizzeria run out of a Ravenswood garage. Really, this is a profile of John Carruthers, the force behind the org. On top of his day job as the head of marketing at a local brewery, he does a monthly tavern-style pizza pop-up where all proceeds go to charity. He’s also writing his second cookbook (God, I’m tired just reading all of that). The article also talks about what makes a great tavern pie, which goes well with Eater’s recently-updated map.
Zareen Syed in the Tribune writes a beautiful story about the complicated feelings members of the Palestinian Chicago community feel around this time of year. It’s olive harvesting season, which for hundreds (thousands?) of years was a time of homecoming and one of the most important economic activities of the year. Syed profiles 80-year-old Nadia Hussien as a window into Palestians across the diaspora who are wrestling with fears about going back amidst the Israel-Hamas war, increasing Israeli restrictions on access to their olive groves, and guilt over their safety and prosperity.
I’m not sure how I’ve missed it but Chicago has had its own local restaurant awards, the Jean Banchet awards, since 2018. This year’s nominees have been announced and there is a new category for pizza. More cities should do this.
I could not click on the headline “Secret Speakeasy In The Middle Of O’Hare” fast enough, and this article from Molly DeVore at Block Club Chicago did not disappoint. She tells the story of the Gaslight Club, a private speakeasy club that once had locations around the world (and inspired the Playboy Club) but now has a single location at the O’Hare Hilton. Great bit of history with wonderful photos.
Boston
The biggest Boston food question right now is how to vote on next week’s ballot question getting rid of the tipped minimum wage. Similar fights in cities and states across the country have been extremely contentious. If you are unfamiliar with the issue, read at least the first few graphs of Katelyn Umholtz story at Boston.com (but try to finish it, the rest of it is good too). A lot of people inside the restaurant industry (including folks I know and like) are against it. However, I found the Boston Globe editorial in favor pretty compelling. There are good arguments on both sides and I could understand voting either way. Independent restaurants are struggling right now, and even the initial stepped-up minimum wage will be a huge hit and close some places we all love. This is a big and specific change, which is generally stupid to do via ballot question. On the other hand, the tipped minimum wage is an anachronism and the system is rife with abuse. The legislature is captured by restaurant industry interests and I think there is little chance this gets addressed outside of this dragging stakeholders to the table. Opposition is largely funded by large franchisees and restaurant chains. If I was still voting in MA, I *think* I would vote against it. But if there isn't real movement to address the issue, put it back on the ballot and I’d vote for it.
Chow-dare, Chow-dare? Come back here, I’m not through demeaning you!
Sheryl Julian writes about her ideal way to hard boil eggs, which is actually a method I’ve never seen before. I will read ten thousand overly deep dives into basic cooking techniques.
Beth Teitell tries to unravel one of foods’ greatest mysteries: are bay leaves BS?
The Globe also profiles SALTY, a Mediterranean restaurant in Jamestown, RI focusing on hyper-local Rhode Island ingredients. I would commit physical violence for the bluefish toast.
Rachel Leah Blumenthal profiles Thaiger Den, a new upscale Thai restaurant in Malden Center. The descriptions about how much technique goes into a lot of these dishes are pretty impressive. This sounds like a great reason to get a group of friends together for a trip up the Orange Line.
New York
Mahira Rivers reviews the desserts at Kellogg’s Diner, the most millennial-coded restaurant of the moment. She finds them exactly like the reboot of the classic Williamsburg haunt - comforting and a bit more interesting than they need to be. She also calls out that the restaurant’s future might be in jeopardy, as it’s just become embroiled in a massive lawsuit.
Great review by New York Magazine’s Matthew Schneier of Bridges, a new Manhattan hot spot. The lead and transition should be taught in schools. The food at Bridges sounds interesting, but everything else in this review makes me feel hopelessly washed.
Helen Rosner at the New Yorker really likes the new omakase restaurant Sendo in her latest review. In a city bulging with expense account sushi places, she poetically praises how Sendo brings in some of that experience into a price tag of under $100 (with a drink!).
Ryan Sutton reviews Carnitas Ramireza, the new East Village outpost from the team behind what is probably New York’s best taco shop. Sutton reflects on the true meaning of luxury and how the restaurant is unabashedly and un-winkingly serving cuts of meat that Americans usually avoid - while trying to provide a better language for understanding them.
If that sounds a bit much, you might prefer Clinton Hill’s Smot. Brooklyn Magazine’s Scott Lynch’s reviews the place, which has chill vibes and a Nordic-inspired comfort food menu.
Just a week after diving into the bagel wars, the New York Times food team jumps back into the ring with The 25 Best Places to Get Pizza Right Now. A fantastic list that highlights a good mix of styles, geographic diversity, and age. It also doesn’t feature my favorite place, which in this case is a blessing to keep the crowds down.
This is a fantastic scene report from inside the Bronx’s oldest bar - Yankee Tavern - during game four of the World Series. Just wonderful characters and I loved how writer Mike Diago introduced them all by their regular drinks.
Tammie Teclemariam checks out five viral dishes that range from fine to absolutely worth the wait. I had not heard of any of these – did I mention I’m washed?
Mahira Rivers for Eater profiles a 100-year-old Woodhaven candy shop run by a singular force of nature. Margie Schmidt makes everything by hand, often working 20 hour days. There are some wonderful pictures and very funny quotes from Schmidt. Maybe I’ll head out there for Christmas candy.
Los Angeles
Eater LA drops a *fantastic* package on TikTok and food in Los Angeles. It’s really about the history of Los Angeles and social media in general. My favorite piece was about the history of food bloggers and how that’s evolved. I learned the most reading about the different breeds of LA food TikTokkers.
A great story from KCRW about how a single snack bag altered the ecosystem of the United State’s largest cavern.
Bill Addison at the Los Angeles Times writes about the glories of crab season. Addison knew that fall was the best time for crabs in his home state of Maryland, but a meal at Hayato showed him that October is crab season around the world.
In the fracas after the Dodgers win, a father/son street vending team was injured by LAPD rubber bullets.
Emily Wilson, in her Los Angeles food Substack The Angel, writes about the reopening of the iconic Silverlake Lounge. She traces its history from Latino drag bar to indie rock icon to busted local watering hole. Two music industry vets have taken it over and are hoping to make it an essential spot for electronic music. Any article that mentions Thirsty Crow is all right by me.
Out of context J. Gold of the week
If you were going to construct a typical L.A. burrito stand, it might look a lot like Chabelita, a tight complex, all stucco and wrought iron, dominated by industrial-grade steel picnic tables and the bleatings of the NeoGeo machine. The customers range from truckers to cops, hood rats to priests, and a huge smattering of little kids, many of whom end up taking turns wearing the security guard's hat. - link