episode 52: caesar salads and a sandwich tour!

lots of fun stuff today: notes on a fantastic caesar salad and a caesar salad…dip!? also I went on the NYC sandwich tour!

the real origins of Oreos 🍪

did you know that Oreos aren’t the original black-and-white sandwich cookie? I definitely did not! the original cookie is called a Hydrox (weird name!), of which Oreos are a blatant copy. it all starts with Jacob Loose, a biscuit maker from Kansas City who founded a company that later merged to create the National Biscuit Company, now known as Nabisco. this merger occurred while Loose was in poor health, which ticked him off - so he created a new company out of spite. to differentiate this new company, he released the Hydrox, vanilla crème sandwiched between two chocolate cookies. for four years, the Hydrox dominated the market until Nabisco made its own vanilla and chocolate sandwich cookie, the Oreo. since then, the Oreo dominated sales, and their lead was solidified when Oreo lowered its prices in the 1950s. the name “Hydrox” wasn’t helping their case, considering there were actual cleaning products on the market with the same name. read more about the saga, and the revival of the Hydrox over here at NPR.

restaurant quality v. restaurant vibes 📸

Priya Krishna (my fav!) wrote a piece for NYT this month on a question many have been asking recently: is this restaurant actually good? or is it all decor and vibes? some restauranteurs are feeling that the branding and design of a restaurant is paramount these days, “For diners, ‘I feel like the food element is kind of an afterthought.’” the value of a restaurant still lies in the quality of the food, but a memorable aesthetic is equally, if not more, important. branding has also become a large chunk of a restaurant’s budget - reflected in the restaurant’s aesthetic and also transferable to custom apparel and merch. I don’t think this is a bad thing, ambiance is an important component of a dining experience — its only bad when no attention is paid to the food in tandem.

I went on the sandwich tour! 🥪

stop 1: Cubano, stop 2: burger, stop 3: wrap

you may have read in my last episode that my friend Tim is a tour guide for A Man and His Sandwich - a sandwich tour company in NYC. i’m happy to report that I got to take the tour this past weekend, and it was so fun! over the course of 2.5 hours, we got to try three different sandwiches, and at each stop, progress a debate on what constitutes a sandwich. is it just fillings between two pieces of bread - evidenced in our first stop at Factory Tamal, where we had a Cubano sandwich. but what about a burger - does that count as a sandwich? it is technically fillings between two pieces of bread, as we experienced at 7th St Burger, but here many folks split off, stating that a burger is simply not a sandwich based on vibes. well, about a wrap? its encased in one piece of carb, but is the vibe too different? we debated this as we enjoyed a Pho wrap from Sunny & Annies. it was cool to see people’s opinions on sandwich rules change as we debated at each stop, and I loved meeting new people passionate about food too. I couldn’t recommend this experience more, and a huge shoutout to Tim!

hot dog news corner 🌭

I thought this NY Post article was a joke but I was wrong - restaurants are swapping out seafood towers for...hot dog towers! of course, part of this is because seafood has gotten more expensive, but also themes of nostalgia have been trending — and whats more nostalgic than a hot dog? restaurants in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have been featuring these on their menu, and even Ghostburger here in D.C. has one too. who wants to try!! 👀

in other hot dog news — but this time in the fashion realm — have you ever wanted to own a hot dog purse? well, now you can! the fashion brand Staud makes the Tommy Bag, a beaded purse that has gotten very popular for its cute seasonal designs. this year, their summer collection includes a hot dog design! the bag is already sold out but keep your eye out for restocking soon.

food safety v food waste: A Quiz! 🗑️

we've talked a lot of about food safety on this newsletter, especially since I seem to get myself in hot water here and there with food past its prime (I like to live on the edge!) its tough to decide whether to risk it, or to throw out food when you're unsure if its safe to eat especially as grocery prices remain high. so, do you always have to throw away food that looks a little off? not necessarily. Washington Post made a little quiz to test your knowledge of food safety. I did pretty well (though my misses were about meat safety! go figure!) take the quiz and be armed with knowledge to waste less food in the future!

protein-pilled 💪

it works like a cycle, every few years or so the conversation around the American diet and what we should prioritize (or more often, what we should cut) shifts. its gone from cutting carbs and sugar, to the current trend of protein-maxxing. the general panic is that none of us are getting enough protein in our diet, which has led to the proliferation of protein in food/nutrition influencing, featuring breakfasts with 40g of protein a serving, increased meat consumption, and cottage cheese in literally everything. this WSJ article, "Americans Are Obsessed With Protein and It’s Driving Nutrition Experts Nuts," highlights this phenomenon, and describes that food makers in 2024 had introduced 97 new products with protein in the brand name, and high-protein items are the fastest growing grocery items. the thing is - most people arent hurting for protein, "... stuffing protein into waffles and soup has more to do with marketing than anything else. The nutrient Americans do need more of is fiber, she said. But that’s a harder sell. ‘Would you rather have muscle strength and vitality, or prunes and Metamucil?’”

the storied history of MSG fears 😱

on a recent episode of podcast This American Life, the producers featured a segment on the history of MSG, and the origin how the seasoning got vilified in the US. MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a seasoning used in some Chinese cooking that the American public turned against (xenophobia alert!) after allegations that it causes headaches and “food hangovers.” the origins of this fear mongering can be traced back to a letter from a doctor published in the New England Journal of Medicine in the 60s. the letter was written by Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok, who reported on “Chinese Restaurant Symptom,” which prompted dozens of other doctors to write in and corroborate his story. however, things gets complicated when Dr. Howard Steel, a former board member at Colgate University claimed that he wrote the letter to the Journal….as a joke. but then, when the journalists reporting on this talked to Dr. Kwok’s family, they said that the letter was definitely real. drama! read more + listen here.

restaurant review: Oxomoco 🌮

drinks, caesar salad, chilaquiles, guacamole

during a fun 36-hour trip to NYC this past weekend, we had brunch at Oxomoco in Greenpoint and wow, what a fantastic Mexican brunch! a one-Michelin star restaurant, the interiors are beautiful and the food definitely matches. we had some really great beverages, including a black sesame dirty horchata (!) and great mezcal cocktails. for food, we had the guacamole, a tuna tostada, chilaquiles, a beauuuutiful caesar salad, beet tacos, and a carajillo (my fav!) to end. these were some of the best chilaquiles i’ve had in a long time, I couldn’t recommend this spot more for you Brooklyn girlies looking for a fancy brunch.

f*cked up food 🤢

untz untz!!!

dc happenings ✏️

openings

• Uchi, Austin-based sushi spot opening on 17th

• Protest Pizza coming to P St (interesting…political patties-esque)

• Wonder Food Hall signage on 14th st

• GAIA Supperclub opened downtown

• Kathmandu Tapas & Cocktails coming to U St

• Cork Wine Bar opening in Cleveland Park

• The Flying Mexican coming to Capitol Hill - old Tortugas space

• Maman Joon opened on Barracks Row

• Taku Sushi opening in old DC Harvest space

• Danny Meyer’s Daily Provisions coming to old Foxtrot space in Dupont

• La Donna, a new tavern, coming to Mount Pleasant

• Petworth Wendy’s reopens

closings

• Tail Up Goat announces closing and the end of the year (very sad!)

• &pizza on Barracks Row closed

other things

• sweet corn ice cream collab from Anju + Dolcezza

home cooking 🧑‍🍳

hot off the presses!!!! i’ve been obsessed with Trader Joe’s new caesar salad dip!!! as you know I love a caesar salad and this dip is basically a ton of parm and greens, put that on top of a cracker and its a lovely snack!! will definitely buy this again.

I made paneer for the first time which was fun and exciting, and I put that into a saag paneer. my lovely mother wrote me instructions on paneer-making but you can use this guide from BA too! mine turned out a little loose, and next time i’ll add more salt, but i’m glad I tried it!

lastly, I got some tofu and made this easy weeknight crispy tofu dish, also from BA. I ate it with rice and lots of kimchi, but I would recommend making extra sauce so the dish is less dry overall.

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yay thats it!! thanks for reading, friends!