episode 41: tariffs (ugh) and pickles (yay)
guess we gotta learn about tariffs now! plus, pickle fries from Burger King, butter recommendations, and more!
people are finally learning what a tariff is! 💸
unfortunately, too many people are now (after the election!) learning what a tariff is, and who pays for it. Trump’s campaign convinced voters that he could lower prices through tariffs which 52% of voters stated was an extremely important influence on their vote. however, Trump’s increased tariff plan would do literally the opposite. a proposed 10-20% blanket tariff on imported goods means prices go up. a tariff is a tax placed on a good as it crosses a national border - and the entity that pays for that tax is the importer. the economic theory posits, when a tariff increases the price of an imported good, it subsequently influences consumers and businesses to buy American-made goods, and punishes those who don't with higher prices.
i’ve talked about how inflation impacts a lot of product availability and price increases in this newsletter before. and while economists agree that inflation has slowed - this doesn’t mean that prices go down, it just means prices stop rising - and we have to get used to that. in addition, elements like anticompetetive activity - when companies use price fixing or price gouging to maintain high revenues - also contribute to the state of high prices.
economists suggest a host of alternative policies to replace tariffs - such as increasing consumer purchasing power through minimum wage increases, ensuring resiliency to climate change in the food system, investments in agricultural innovation, and expanding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure food affordability. you can read more in this Glamour piece, here.
learn to like that local wine… 🍷
…because of….guess whaaaaaaaat….tariffs!!! behold, your local wine snob may have to change their tune when imports of foreign wine become very pricey. not only would these tariffs raise prices on imported wines, they could also make domestic wines more expensive if wine distributors raise prices to make up for lost revenue from those foreign wines. these distributors often sell both imported wines and American wines - and the whole process doesn’t make domestic wines any cheaper.
distributors and wineries also claim it will reduce the diversity of wines available in the US - we simply can’t produce a French Chardonnay here, as wines are a product of their location. by making it more expensive to import wines, big manufacturers who can take on those costs will dominate and stamp out small businesses. the wine business is confusing and bureaucratic, but bottom line, things will get worse for winos. read more here.
first it was cocaine bear… 🍕
this is from weeks ago and I can’t believe I forgot to include it for you all! a German pizzeria was busted for delivering a side order of drugs when customers asked for a special “number 40” on the menu. it was their most popular menu item, which seemed suspicious to food inspectors. when they went to investigate, the pizzeria owner was discovered to be hoarding tons of cash and drugs - and was connected to a wider drug ring in western Germany. don’t order the special, kids!
happy holidays (national pickle day!) 🥒
Burger King makes my dreams come true! on National Pickle Day (November 14) they launched a new side on the menu - pickle fries! the pickle spears are thin cut and battered, then served with ranch. I like the look of these - i’m very pro pickle chips over spears (the pickle to breading ratio is bad on those) but the julienne cut solves that problem. this reviewer thought the pickle fries were only okay on the Whopper - but great by themselves. will someone PLS drive me to a Burger King!
the Girly Pop restaurant 🕯️
I came across this TikTok that I realized perfectly encapsulates my favorite type of restaurant: the “Girly Pop” restaurant. creator Raddichio Salad talks about the purpose and qualifications for a Girly Pop restaurant: its a place for a group girl dinner or a first date restaurant. it’s usually dark and candlelit, a place where you order an orange wine or a great martini (3 olives!), has super attractive servers, an artsy cute menu design, which always features a crudo, lol. in DC, i’m thinking of places like Martha Dear, Red Hen, Bar del Monte, La’Shukran….send me more ideas! (and yes, the video is on Reels too 🙄)
Buy the Best Butter! 🧈
i’ve been a Wirecutter fan for a while now - and somehow I never knew they reviewed food - until this review of the Best Butters of 2024! their team reviewed a ton of butters both for baking and for eating, and Kerrygold, the premier Irish butter, was the top choice for eating - dubbed “the butteriest butter!” they also liked the Isigne Ste Mére French butter and Finlandia butters for eating, and Costco’s Kirkland for baking. read more here.
the cool new celebrity chef 👨🏾🍳
food writer Pete Wells did a piece for NYT on Kwame Onwuachi, a prominent celebrity chef who is charting a new path in fine dining celebrities. Onwuachi opened the Shaw Bijou in DC years ago, which failed after three months. he wrote a book about it, then went on to enjoy restaurant successes in NYC’s Tatiana, and Dogon here in DC. Wells highlights Onwuachi as a celebrity chef of the new generation, who actually became famous for his cooking first, and how he has transcended to new levels - cooking for the White House, playing in an NBA All-Star game, and being tapped to prepare the food for the 2025 Met Gala. I liked this quote, “In many ways, Mr. Onwuachi might have been custom-made for the moment. Just when food writers and editors became motivated to make amends for a long history of leaving Black chefs out of the story, along came Mr. Onwuachi, a Black chef whose work is explicitly about Blackness.” all of this and he’s only 34! read more here.
restaurant review: Astoria 🍤
I have terrible pictures from my visit to Astoria last week because it was my post-election debrief-for-hours meal on Wednesday. I hadn’t been in a while though, and it provided a much needed comfort after crying all day 🫠 the potatoes were fantastic, as was the garlic eggplant paired with the honey walnut shrimp. Astoria’s drink menu is never-ending (and for me, overwhelming!) so my suggestion is to tell the bartender what you like, and let them work their magic.
f*cked up food
what milk will look like under RFK as HHS secretary…
d.c. happenings
openings
Slipstream on 14th moved, and is now space for a bar called Giggle Water…
new Indian spot opening in Union Market called Karravaan
Fuddruckers coming back to Chinatown
contemporary Ghanaian restaurant coming to former Seven Reasons spot
Onggi Korean restaurant opening in Dupont Circle
Baku Caviar USA Boutique opening in Georgetown
La Coop coffee shop opened on Kennedy St
closings
Mi Casa in Dupont closed
Creole on 14th closed in Columbia Heights
Thaiphoon in Dupont closed
Butter Me Up closed on T St
We the Pizza closed on U St
Due South in Navy Yard closed
Alta Strada in Mount Vernon closed
home cooking 🧑🍳
I really have been cookin’ it up these past few weeks - knife in hand means no screen!!! been making a Chinese tomato and egg dish with rice, very comforting! I made the Baked by Melissa green goddess cabbage salad for a few meals, and with some farmers market lettuce, some clean-out-the-fridge salads as well. i’ve been making a homemade Bitchin’ sauce as a dip for rice crackers, which has been nice to have on hand. i’ve also made a couple of sushi bakes, with frozen shrimp, avocado, and some cream cheese that needed finishing.
okay that’s it folks! have a great weekend!