episode 50: strawberries, Saratoga water, and Starch Madness

EPISODE 50 WOOO! talking about white strawberries, Saratoga water, and Serious Eats’ Starch Madness! and much more!

WOWOWOOWOWWOW it’s my 50th episode of this newsletter!!! thank you so much to my friends, family, and very kind strangers for your readership and support over the last 2-ish years i’ve been writing this. this is a personal project that I really love, and it warms my little heart that you all like it too. 💕

okay enough!! on to the content you asked for!!!

two stomach theory 🧁

as y’all can see I am out to dinner quite often and no matter how full I am, there’s always room for dessert. it’s as if we have a separate stomach for sweet treats! turns out, our reliable craving for dessert, even when we’re full, is rooted in science. in a recent study published in the journal Science - researchers tested this theory with mice, where they were fed a big meal for 90 minutes, then were given either high-sugar food vs. normal food - and the mice consumed significantly more of the sweet food. the neurons in the mice brains released beta-endorphins that bonded to opioid receptors in the brain and triggered a feeling of reward. “When we taste something sweet, it's not just the sugar we're consuming — it's triggering a system in the brain that associates that sweet taste with pleasure, which makes us want to keep eating," said the researcher on the study. so basically, our brains love sugar regardless of whether we are full because its rewarding, not because we need to be satiated. read more here.

decline of the doggy bag 💰

this article made me sad for all of the pizza slices abandoned at restaurants after a girl dinner :( this NYT article discusses the move away from leftovers at restaurants, and highlights the baffling amount of food waste created by the average American who eats out — 53 pounds a year worth $329. restaurant owners observe a variety of behavior from diners and their attitude towards leftovers: families tend to take home food, folks on dates don’t, and some are just anti-leftovers regardless. some think that gen-z has grown up with all the food they want at their fingertips (food delivery apps) - so why take food home they could order something new the next day? personally, my biggest situational rejection of leftovers is when i’m not going home afterwards — I will likely just (accidentally) leave my food at the dive bar (oops!). but, in cities where more people drive, leftovers are more common. of course, the solution is to order less food and finish what you get, or for restaurant dish portions to stay reasonably-sized.

white strawberries 🍓

during last weekend’s trip to Eden Center’s goated grocery store, I got a carton of white strawberries for a shocking $2 to try. no, white strawberries aren’t just unripe strawberries, they’re a different variety entirely, that has white skin and red seeds (see intro collage!). there’s a few different types, including alpine strawberries, beach strawberries, and pineberries, which are a hybrid breed. white strawberry varietals are more finicky and harder to grow, to stay white in color they have to be grown inside. prices are high, seeing as the plants produce less fruit, and it’s harder to keep the fruit visually intact - cartons can be in the $7-10 range. in my opinion, they were cool to try, but taste just fine.

do kids belong at your Michelin-starred dinner?👩‍👧

an interesting and seemingly timeless topic: should kids be allowed at fine dining restaurants? every few years the debate rises again, in 2014 it was over a couple who brought an 8-month onld to Grant Achatz’s Alinea, a Michelin-starred restaurant — and of course the baby started to cry and the other diners got annoyed. its a tough challenge - banning kids is a bad look (banning anyone is a bad look - think of the bans on folks under 30 at some bars) but ruining the ambiance for other diners is the consequence. these decisions are up to the chefs and restauranteurs, or the parents themselves to decide if they want to pay hundreds of dollars for their kid’s plate and also ensure they behave respectfully. read more here.

more things from expo west 🍿

look at this ridiculous haul of stuff!!

I promised during the last episode that i’d talk about all the samples I brought home from my Expo West visit, and here you go!! this picture shows my whole haul (give or take a few things that literally wouldn’t fit in my suitcase 😞). and don’t worry I didn’t keep it all to myself — some of these things (especially the tote bags) have been shipped to better homes (my friends!). but! i’m super excited to use my giant Wasa cracker tote bag and my Royal rice one, lol.

of the snacks i’ve tried so far, here’s a few standouts: Rip Van Wafels oreo stroopwafel, Unreal almond joy bar, Simple Mills Popmmms pizza crisps, Like Air puff corn, Loisa rice seasonings, Froot Thief fruit snacks, Good Foods spicy cheese balls, and Mid Day Energy bars.

Emma’s even more organized haul! she loves Quinn snacks as you can see

starch madness!!! 🍟

every year, the food publication Serious Eats has hosted a Starch Madness bracket to mirror the NCAA March Madness for real sports - fun for people who eat and know nothing about sports! this year’s theme is fried foods, and in previous years, they’ve done pasta, potatoes, rice, and sandwiches. of course, fried pickles are winning my bracket, but some of these categories had some real tough competition! I do appreciate the inclusion of a lot of African and South American fried treats I hadn’t heard of. voting is happening over on their Instagram stories - leave me thoughts on my bracket in the comments!

Starch Madness bracket. argue with me in the comments

why is Saratoga water trending… 💧

…is exactly what I just googled! and the answer was not what I expected! the blue-bottled fancy water brand Saratoga Spring Water is trending this week because of a crazy video from an influencer named Ashton Hall. he posted a video of his morning routine from “3:50am to 9:30am” which includes mouth tape removal, push ups, meditation, and dunking his face into a bowl of ice and Saratoga water. he also takes a banana peel and rubs it all over his face (for skin health??) — and of course the whole thing is done while this man very much shirtless. it’s so preposterous that he uses bottled water for an ice/face bath, no wonder the video became both a meme and a trend. recreate this at home if you wish…but girl…

restaurant review: Tapori

highlights from Tapori: duck kulcha, cauliflower 65, cocktails, rasmalai cheesecake

last week, I was incredibly impressed by the food at Tapori, the new street food restaurant and cocktail bar from the folks who brought you Daru (another excellent H St Indian spot). we went on opening weekend and loved it all, the food is so creative and tasty! we loved the duck kulcha, the lotus root chaat, and the rasmalai cheesecake. the classics, like the cauliflower 65 and the roasted fish were really great too, as were the cocktails! we got the aachar martini, which was served with pickled vegetables on the side, and the Kerala cooler. couldn’t recommend this place more, and can’t wait to come back.

f*cked up food 🤢

a reader submission this week! of this…..authentic……dish….

d.c. happenings ✏️

openings

• Via Roma Pizzeria open in Woodley Park

• new salvadorean place in Mi Cuba space - SalviMex

• new Korean spot opening Onggi opening in Dupont Circle

• Ramen by Uzu coming to Georgetown

• El Rey opened in Navy Yard

• Bar Angie opening in Dupont Circle

• Taqueria Xochi in Navy Yard!

• Nash and Smashed - fried chicken, coming to H St

• new coffee chop, Land of a Thousand Hills, in Columbia Heights

• Lucky Danger location coming to Penn Quarter

closings

• Brookland’s Finest closing in April

• Hill Country closed in Penn Quarter

other things

• Amparo Fondita doing a happy hour - Dupont Circle

home cooking 🧑‍🍳

hummus bowl lunch, eggplant/pea sabji + homemade yogurt!

hadn’t been to an asian grocery store in months and months, and at my Eden Center trip I finally stocked up on my fav breakfast accessory: scallion pancakes! i’ve been pan-frying these and making them into sandwiches, with scrambled egg, kimchi, a little avocado, cheese, and ketchup (yes! ketchup!). I also got some Indian eggplants and made a baingan matar (eggplan and pea) curry too. my other go-to lunch these days has been a hummus bowl - which is basically hummus, veggies, protein, lots of pickled things, and cut up pita on the side for dipping. you can see ugly-ish pics of both, here.

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thank you for reading yayyyyy!