episode 25: feeding Phil, ‘tini trends, and a donut scandal

Somebody Feed Phil visits DC, martini trends, and a Dunkin’ donuts scandal!

Somebody Feed Phil in DC 📍

when I heard there was an episode of Somebody Feed Phil filmed in DC, I was reminded of the Keke Palmer meme “sorry to this man!” because I had no clue who Phil was! turns out, Phil Rosenthal hosts a travel documentary series on Netflix called Somebody Feed Phil, which is on its 7th season. think of Anthony Bourdain if he was a reaaaaally dorky dad. the former television writer and producer (and executive producer of Everybody Loves Raymond) visited 12 restaurants in an episode on Washington DC and honestly - he did not miss!

Phil brings different guests to eat with him at each restaurant, and starts with local food writer Nevin Martell in Georgetown. there, they visited Yellow, Stachowski’s Market, and Baked & Wired. then, Jake Tapper from CNN and Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic all visit Rasika together. Phil also goes to Anju with celeb chef Kwame Onwuachi, and also to Ben’s Chili Bowl, Mozzeria, and Thip Khao. it ends with perhaps the funniest trio, Phil, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, and Secretary Pete Buttegieg at Maketto. the overall theme was demonstrating how DC has shed its “steak and potatoes” reputation and now has a beautiful sampling of cuisines from all over the world, a conclusion I would totally agree with. I think for an hour-long episode he definitely hit some solid choices that locals actually go to. s/o to Phil!

a Dunkin’ Donuts scandal 🍩

and this is how I learned that gluten tests exist! a Long Island bakery is under fire after being accused of passing off Dunkin’ donuts as vegan and gluten-free. the account for a local market called Cindysnacks posted a picture of a donut with purple frosting and D-shaped sprinkles they had ordered from the Savory Fig, the vegan bakery, which suspiciously looked exactly like a non-vegan Dunkin’ donut. after informing the Savory Fig of their suspicion, Cindysnacks was met with a vague response, they claimed to have used sprinkles that looked similar to Dunkin’s. however, Cindy’s was unsatisfied, so they ordered the sprinkles Savory Fig claimed to have used - which were totally a different color and size from the picture. they then did a gluten test on the suspicious donut and indeed, it contained gluten - Savory Fig was lying!! of course, this is not only deceptive, but very dangerous for people who cannot have gluten or non-vegan food. the whole case is now under investigation by the New York Division of Food Safety Inspection.

history of instant pudding 🎂

i’ve been thinking a lot about banana pudding lately. it’s such a light and comforting dessert, and surprisingly hard to find! as discussed in this NYT article, turns out that instant pudding, a key ingredient in banana pudding, is in a lot more dishes than we would think. instant pudding was invented in 1918 as a post-WWI product, and it became more popular through home cooks who made the ingredient commonplace in cakes, cheesecakes, and more. while instant pudding itself isn’t the most sought-after dessert these days, it is still incorporated into many cake recipes to achieve a bouncy and fluffy texture and layered flavor. and now I’ll continue to ponder if I should grab some instant vanilla pudding to make the Magnolia Bakery banana pudding at home…does anyone wanna share with me?!

is oat milk good or bad for you? 🥛

we’ve been seeing a lot of media lately interrogating whether oat milk is good or bad for us. this researcher for Vox alleges that we are not really getting at the point of the issue. “This healthy/unhealthy dichotomy also obscures a much more complicated set of factors that determine what we eat. For many of us, health is high on that list. But so is taste, cost, presence of allergens, and environmental impact.” he goes on to talk about the health concerns people have with oat milk, such as its glycemic index and presence of emulsifiers, and the scientist’s opinion is that in moderation, the milk fine for most people. while of course cows milk is the most egregious, there are varying environmental impacts from various plant-based milks too. while I think the structure of this article is a little wonky, it does present a lot of important health and environmental factors on oat milk consumption for consideration.

foodie films 🎥

I loved this collage from the Eater article. I did not make it, but this is the skill I aspire to.

are you still in your cozy winter movie era? do you also want to be inspired to make a meal from what you watch? look no further than Eater’s list of 38 Essential Food Movies! they classify a “food movie” in a range, it could be an explicitly food-based movie set in a kitchen or about a chef, or a movie that uses food in “furthering the narrative.” i’m no movie buff so I haven’t heard of many (most) of these, but these seem like some great picks. the list includes films like Spirited Away and The Menu, and i’m sure it’ll be great inspiration for your next movie night!

spring foodie reads 📚

if you want to keep the media recommendation train going, Eater also did a list of upcoming food-based books. categorized by both fiction and nonfiction, there’s a lot of fun stuff on this list. i’m looking forward to the novel from food writer Ruth Reichl, and You Can’t Take the Heat, the essay collection on the intersections on women and dining culture.

D.C. council’s restaurant legislation 👩‍⚖️

the D.C. City Council debated and passed legislation this week on providing financial relief for restaurants. the hearing was unsurprisingly dominated by talks over service fees, while the bill also addressed many other issues. there was debate over whether to speed up the timeline for Initiative 82 implementation, which would have had restaurants pay a full minimum wage to employees instead of the tipped wage by next year instead of 2025. this was eventually rejected, citing inability to comply with the sped-up timeline financially by restaurants. no amendments dictating the usage and purpose of service fees made it into the bill either. you can read more here.

‘tini trends 🍸

we’ve talked about martini trends before on this newsletter, and many have balked at the extent to which martinis have been evolved from its humble base of gin and vermouth. an article in the drinks publication, Punch, has a great history of ‘tini trends, how it veered into the appletini-sweet family in the 90s, how bartenders worked to steer it back to the classic, and how we’re going back into the fruity martini direction yet again. basically, people are using the word martini for “a stirred and spirit-forward cocktail, using liqueurs and a dash of bitters” not necessarily a gin/vodka + vermouth cocktail. the article goes on to talk about the balance between allowing creativity amongst mixologists, and the adherence to classics and tradition, which you can read more of here.

a new speakeasy?? sike… 🚪

what happens when an ~exclusive trend~ goes too far? this fiasco at Cotton and Reed in DC. it started with a reddit user who posted a picture of a storage door at the distillery asking, “have you been to this speakeasy?” which a customer identified as “the best speakeasy in DC.” people actually started showing up to this door at Cotton and Reed to try and get in to the “bar”, some even claiming they’ve already been (the delusion!). however, its not an actual speakeasy, its literally just a door to a storage closet filled with chairs and sidewalk salt. the distillery posted an Instagram video and physical signage to say no - it is not and will not be a speakeasy! just goes to show how many people are so easily enticed by a trend.

sick of the same old? new DC dining ideas 💡

as we emerge from winter, people are looking to be out and about again, and you may need some new ideas for bars and restaurants. here are some lovely listicle roundups for all of your needs:

• cherry blossom specials: between these two Eater and Washingtonian lists, you’ll have plenty of ideas, from cocktails at Residents to the off-menu at Nobu, there are many cherry blossom special menus and items for you to try.

• happy hours: this is a useful list of happy hours, ranging from new restaurants and some old favorites that have revived/started new happy hour deals - my favvv Tonari is on this list, and $8 margs at the new MXDC look great too!

• spring restaurant openings: a bunch of new restaurants are opening in the DMV this season, including a new spot from chef Kwame Onwuachi, a Wagamamas in VA, new spots at the Wharf, and much more. see a list here!

• spring pop-ups: if the exclusivity of limited-time pop-up collaborations is more your vibe, this list is for you. the Monstera Burrito spot looks great, if I could ever get myself over to Georgetown before 2pm.

• st. patrick’s day: need to drink some green beer, or perhaps a breakfast Guinness? here are some ideas for Irish Pubs around the city.

fast food collab watch 🍟

a round up of the silly and weird fast food collaborations upcoming.

• Taco Bell and Salt & Straw are doing a fancy choco taco. the makers of the choco taco announced production would halt in 2022, so the low-brow TBell and high-brow S&S are teaming up for a refresh. yum!

• The chizza from KFC, or a “chicken pizza.” yes, that is a crispy chicken topped with marinara, cheese, and pepperoni. like a chicken parm with pepperoni, or a pizza with chicken instead of crust. fun!

• Something we never knew we needed, a Cheez-It flavored Heinz Ranch, unveiled for National Ranch Day (March 10)?! it kind of looks like burger sauce. cool!

restaurant review: Dessert Time @ Le Diplomate 🍮

finally I did the thing I keep talking about - a dessert and drinks no dinner outing! we cooked dinner at home and then ballllled out on three desserts at Le Diplomate last week, which was so fun. usually, its easy to get too full on appetizers and entrees before dessert, or you only have room at the end for a few bites. but this time, it was great to try multiple fancy sweets, have a ‘lil drink, and then head home right to bed, lol.

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f*cked up food 🤮

everything is better with butter!!

dc happenings

openings:

• HUGE: new bagel spot in old Bethesda Bagels spot in Dupont

• ALSO HUGE: Taco Bell Cantina coming to 14th and U St, and Capitol Hill

• MXDC opened in Logan Circle

• Eatopia Eatery coming to London Curry House space (which closed?) on U St

• The Greco coming to Union Market

• V St Lounge coming to old P14 space on 14th

• Pho Viet opened on U St

• Z Burger coming to old Ledo spot in Columbia Heights

• new Sweetgreen in Union Market area opening

• Ice Cream Jubilee opening in old Sweetgreen space in Georgetown

• 54 Noodle Bar opening on 14 St

closed:

• Sharbat Bakery closing in AdMo :(

• Morgana in AdMo closed (it existed?!)

• Green Almond Pantry closing… to expand!

• District Chophouse closed in Penn Quarter

• DC Health shut down Navy Yard Chipotle

home cooking 🧑‍🍳

i’ve been making a few random things at home in the past few weeks. I really loved this pea pasta recipe, it was filling yet refreshing, and a great way to highlight the humble green pea. I made this enchilada sauce for some shrimp enchiladas, which I had to dilute w/a little chicken stock because it was a little too spicy for me (weak!) and I also did this roasted red pepper kale salad with some halloumi as well.

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thank you, have a great weekend!