episode 19: persimmons, shallots, and lasagna Lays

we discuss multiple articles about chips, food maximalism, green bean seltzer, shallots, and more!

long time everyone! apologies for the accidental hiatus last month, excited to share a new episode with y’all to kick off December. its also my birthday today so you have to read ALL of this edition 😈 lets go!

Eater goes maximalist 🪩

if I had actual photo-editing skills this profile would be my personality piece. Eater did a 9-part feature about maximalism in food that looked stunning (but perhaps too stunning, it never loads right on my browser lol). there’s many pieces in here, including: the 19 most maximalist restaurants in the country, a Molly Baz tribute piece (however you feel about her, the pictures are sick), a highlight of dining in Las Vegas, a dive into a tableside flambeaus, the history of food art, restaurant design, “muffin top dining,” maximalist drinks, the science of why we like maximalism, and maps of maximalist restaurants in your area. I especially liked the tableside flambéur piece and the maximalist theory pieces. fun!

its a Big Veg world 🥕

I hope that this is not the first time you are hearing about Mr. Gerald Stratford but if it is, welcome to big veg world! Gerald Statford is a retired fisherman and (a very tall!) gardener from England, who humbly started posting pictures on Twitter of the vegetables he was growing during lockdown, and went viral for his rocket (arugula) and potatoes. since then, he has continued to post pictures of the large vegetables he grows, and has gained minor internet fame for his sweet disposition and impressive gardening skills. he’s got style too - look at this jacket!! its some wholesome content for your timeline - peruse his instagram for more big veg inspo - cheers!!

aura bora does it again 🫘

first it was olive oil martini seltzer and now its….green beans? the non-alcoholic seltzer company Aura Bora came out with a few fall-themed seltzer flavors, including a persimmon clove, honey pumpkin and…green bean casserole?! I can’t imagine this was produced in reaction to consumer demand for literal bean water - it has to be solely for the internet buzz. the BA folks tried it and it apparently isn’t… green bean-y enough?! I cannot imagine. if you’re gonna do something weird, do it right!

what is a shallot?? 🧅

“I then learned that shallots and other guys who make you cry when cut are called LACRIMATORS. Perhaps you’ve dated one!” is there actually the difference between a shallot and an onion? this BA piece tells you all about it. shallots grow from a bulb and belong to the same family as spring onions, white and red onions, chives, and garlic. shallots taste like a cross between a red and yellow onion and can totally be used as a substitute for a regular onion, as long as the volume is the same. find more tips in the article on how prepare them: pickled, fried, slow-cooked, and more!

chipflation 📈

inflation is making its impact in consumer purchasing decisions, and your gas station snacks are no exception. this NYT article illustrated the impact of rising prices on shoppers at Casey’s, a Midwest convenience store chain. normally, customers may not have thought twice about snagging a Lays brand chip and a Pepsi brand soda, but due to rising costs, cheaper, private-label goods are increasing in market share. so, Casey’s started making its own chips with regionally-specific flavors like sweet corn, which now makes up a quarter of all chips sold in their stores! the behavior of consumers turning to private-label brands is up across the board, taking 20.6% of grocery dollars, up 1.9 percent from pre-pandemic. you can read more here!

around the world in chip flavors 🌏

have you ever wandered down the chip aisle of an international store or a shop while abroad and wondered what the heck is a Hot Squid Lays chip?? turns out the process of choosing and producing chip flavors across the world is a highly mysterious and researched process. The Guardian released a deep dive into the world of chip flavor development and it is fascinating!!

first of course, the manufacturers must research what flavors a particular country might like. one way they do this is through software that scrapes restaurant menu data to determine popular ingredients and dishes in a particular country. once those flavors are decided, the chemists have to translate that dish into a powder, and that process is handled by the elusive “seasoning house.” it goes something like this: identify the gold standard of a dish and its key ingredients, “flavour chemists” create flavor compounds made with vegetable proteins, msgs, flavor enhancing chemicals, and “sensates” compounds that provoke heating or salivating sensation. those formulas then have to be adjusted to consider legal restrictions on things like salt or spice content in different countries. its fascinating to read about what flavors are popular in certain places, like a lasagna flavor in Thailand, and paprika in Germany. read more from the Guardian, here.

subway’s footlong cookie 🍪

you can now get a foot long cookie to match your foot long sandwich at Subway! unveiled on a limited-run for National Cookie Day on Dec 4 and soon to be on its permanent menu in January, Subway made what is literally just a long ruler-shaped chocolate chip cookie. cute!

finger food :( 👆🏽🥗

basically this is gross and sad and i’m only including it here because I wanted to call this segment finger food. a woman in Connecticut found a human finger in her salad at Chop’t. that’s all i’ll say and if youre (grossly) fascinated, read more here.

drinks and dessert! 🍨 🍸

if you know me you KNOW i’ve been saying we should all start a new trend: eat dinner at home and go out for dessert and drinks. well, infatuation has heard the good word and put out a list of spots for your drinks and dessert needs! some of these spots i’m skeptical of, but I totally endorse Gemini, Yellow, and Elle on this list. i’d argue the list should be longer and include a classic like Le Diplomate or Tonari’s dessert bar experience. what else would you add??

bevvie influencers pt. 2 🥤

as we discussed in a past episode, some nutrition influencers on TikTok were under hot water for their not-clearly-disclosed partnerships with the American Beverage Association a few months ago. these creators made a slew of videos discounting WHO studies on aspartame as “junk science.” it raised questions about medical providers as influencers and its intersection with social media marketing. well, the FTC has now announced warnings against the ABA and these influencers for failing to properly disclose ads, holding all entities accountable. the creators were urged to remove posts or add proper disclosures, and failure to comply would trigger $50k fines in the first FTC action against major food + bev groups on social media marketing.

food gifts 🎁

if you’re still on the prowl for holiday gifts for your food-loving friends (or me! get me presents too!) say “gift guide” into your phone and I guarantee your TikTok will be inundated with gift guide videos for days. or, you can turn to a host of gift guides from our trusty friends at BA. they’ve rounded up their indiviudual guides for the cheese lovers, ceramics lovers, or grocery girls in your life into a big list of all the gift guides here. happy shopping!

food writing at Bold Fork Books ✍️

aditi goes back to school! over October and November I got to take a food writing discussion group at Bold Fork Books here in DC, a bookstore and shop dedicated to cookbooks and food writing. it was taught by Carey Polis, an editorial consultant with extensive experience in food media. we had four sessions each with a different theme: restaurant criticism, recipe writing, food essays/memoirs, and food newsletters and the future of food writing (!!). i’m so glad I took this, I got to read new pieces and it showed me how different opinions can be on food, recipes, writing and more (duh, lol!) my favorite readings were excepts from Eric Kim’s book, Korean American, a Food Critic’s week by Tom Sietsema, excerpts from Ali Slagle’s book I Dream of Dinner, Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo - and the Eater maximalism piece above! if you haven’t already checked out Bold Fork, I couldn’t recommend them more!

all about persimmons 🍅

its persimmon season and I couldn’t be happier!! I loved this sweet profile of the persimmon in Eater, I learned so much more about the fruit! persimmons are technically berries that originated in China over 2000 years ago, and eventually introduced to Japan and Korea. the fruit plays an imporant part in fall harvest celebrations, and the fuyu (which you can eat firm or ripened) and hachiya (which you must eat perfectly ripe) varieties are the ones we see in American supermarkets. the fruit pairs well with warming spices, and the flavor might remind you of a pumpkin, canteloupe, or honey. you can find more information and persimmon recipies here!

restaurant review: Yellow (not pizza) 🍕

I’ve always thought Yellow was the best bakery in DC and now, maybe they have the best (not) pizza too? the Palestinian bakery recently started a dinner service with appetizers, drinks, pizzas, and their legendary soft serve. we had this clam pizza which was freaking perfect, alongside these incredible dipping sauces for the crust. its been weeks and i’m still dreaming about it. read more below!

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f*cked up food

i hate crocs but i would wear this one! ha ha!

d.c. happenings 🚨

openings

• omakase @ barracks row opened in Capitol Hill

• Your Only Friend “sandwich bar” coming to Shaw

• Brine Seafood House closing in Dupont + H St

• Sweetgreen coming to Noma

• Duccini’s opening 2nd location in Shaw

• Dog Jaus Biergarten coming to Dupont underneath Boqueria

• Greco, serving gyros opening in old &pizza in Georgetown

• Taco Bamba opening in Tenleytown

• 2fiftybbq coming to K St

• Van Leeuwen ice cream coming to Union Station

• Seven Reasons opening at CityCenter

• Sports & Social opened on U St

• Rosedale, Ashok Bajaj’s restaurant coming to Van Ness

• Dos Toros taqueria opened in Dupont Circle

• Tamashaa Indian Restro Bar opening Columbia Heights

• Gordon Ramsey’s Street Pizza opening in Penn Quarter

• Enigma opening in old Fainting Goat space on U St

• I Egg You opened in Capitol Hill

• Falafel Brothers opened in Shaw across from 9:30

• Aroma Cafe opened in Foggy Bottom

• Likkle JA serving Jamaican food opening on Georgia Ave

• Looking Glass staying open in Petworth!!!!!

closings

• Little Serow for sure not reopening in Dupont

• Bar Deco closed in Chinatown

• Addis Paris Cafe in Mt. Pleasant closed

• Little Wild Things microgreens market closed

• PAUL bakery closed in Farragut Square

• HipCityVeg closed in Navy Yard

• Flight Wine Bar closed soon in Chinatown

• Bottles Wine Garden closed in Foggy Bottom

home cooking: walking tacos 🌮 matcha latte cookies 🍪 pickle latkes 🥒 and more

made a bunch of things at home in my “low-spend” November (which I only kind of stuck to, lol).

• a few apple cocktails - this one was cool but wayyy too much work to hand-juice apples, but the thanksgiving spagliato from Join Jules with store-bought apple juice was way easier.

• warm brussels sprouts salad with chickpea crispy bits from Justine Snacks.

• WALKING TACO NIGHT! grab your 1oz Fritos bags and a bunch of meat and veg and you got yourself a great party food.

• Carolina Gelen’s pickle latkes. my kitchen smelled like hot oil for a whole 2 days after but it was worth it.

• Eric Kim’s matcha latte cookies. 2 hours of work on the cookies and the frosting was def worth it - the PB and the matcha balance each other so well.

that’s it folks, thanks for reading, Happy December!