episode 53: peak pickle, chain restaurants, cheap martinis
have we reached peak pickle?? what an insinuation! also talking chain restaurants, and cheap martinis in DC!
have we reached peak pickle? 🥒
uh….how dare you even ASK that question. Eater’s Jaya Saxena wrote a piece “Is There Too Much Pickle?” this week — la Vox recently claiming pickles are a “pick me” food — the haters are questioning our love of the brine! sure, its a trend, pickles are everywhere these days. as opposed to the Vox piece, I actually think Saxena makes a good point here. a whole meal centered around the pickle flavor kind of misses the point of a pickle:
A Popeyes meal of fried pickles and pickle glazed wings washed down with a pickle lemonade serves no refreshing alternative to the onslaught of puckering pickle potency. A filthy martini and a bowl of pickle popcorn offers no relief. What makes pickles great on a sandwich or a charcuterie board is usually that the pungent brine and preserving salt make for a great contrast to any creamy, sweet or rich ingredients. Pickles are salt and acid bombs that are delicious on their own, but also enhance every other flavor.
pickles primarily provide a balance of texture and flavor in a dish, and usually aren’t the center of a dish for a reason. but I believe that trend-driven creativity fuels the innovation we need to find the next food that pickles can be the star of! I will continue my chase for all-pickle everything and enjoy every bite of it.
DC news and new spots 🍸
a few roundups for some DC dining for the summer! lists for you:
‘tini time: a list of super-cheap martinis in the city. featuring the $7 martini lounge at Cucina Morini, $3 HH martinis at Last Call, and a new one (to me!) Queen’s English $8 ‘tinis on their patio!
20 Best New Restaurants: WaPo food critic Tom Sietsema’s top picks for new restaurants in DC include some great spots (that I endorse!) like La’Shukran, San Pancho, and Tapori, and many others that are on my to-try list!
this week ICE targeted many DC restaurants in the Trump-led efforts to crackdown on immigration. raids were reported at Millie’s, Pupatella, Chef Geoeff’s, Chang Chang, and Ghostburger, to name a few. immigration officials asked staff for I-9 forms of employees verifying employment eligibility, and over 100 DC-area businesses received “inspection” notices. it has served to put employees and staff seriously on edge. you can read more here, and find out how to protect your rights, and your community via the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network.
chain restaurant corner 👩🍳
someone recently pointed out an interesting fact to me - there is an Applebees location in every state in the country, yet not in DC. why is that the case? this city is not known for chain restaurants - fast casual for sure, but not big-box chain restaurants. this is likely due to a confluence of factors, square footage availability, preferences, zoning laws, parking, etc. if you want a laugh, peruse at the responses on this Reddit thread to this very question.
in other chain restaurant news, Chili’s, which I think i’ve never been to (?), is making a comeback. chronicled in not one, but two feature pieces in WSJ, Brinker International, the parent company, has instituted many changes that contribute to Chilis’ 20% growth, compared to a 3.8% decline in foot traffic at casual-dining spots. the changes include cuts to the “bloated” menu, value meal deals, improving kitchen efficiency, and creating social media buzz. they even capitalized on the inflation-driven rising costs of fast food chains, posing themselves as a better alternative to a Big Mac.
get on the tinned fish train! 🐟
tinned fish really continues to get the love! a WaPo Climate piece outlines how tinned fish is not only trendy, but better for us than we think. the majority of Americans’ seafood diet is salmon, shrimp, and tuna — but the farming of these can be unsustainable or result in the fish containing toxins. forage fish can be the new frontier, which includes sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and herring. these fish have a long tradition in parts of Europe, but in America, seeing as they were made popular through post-war rations, have not been as popular. new entrants like Fishwife and better packaging for existing brands have boosted their popularity in the American market. read more about the author’s tinned fish dinner party for inspiration on how to use these tins here.
a spotlight on Mexican Indian fusion 🫱🏾🫲🏽
Tejal Rao for NYT did a really nice piece here on Mexican and Indian fusion food. a few restaurants around North America, including Masala y Maiz (which i’ve been to!) in Mexico City, Mirra in Chicago, and the now-shuttered El Ranchero in California, all featured the melding of these cultures. this cuisine actually formed in the 1800s, when Punjabi Sikh men came to America for work, but the Immigration Act made it difficult for Indian women to migrate, so the men married Mexican women (more on this here!) leading to new types of home cooking. it may sound like an unlikely pairing, but the flavors work so well together - think roti quesadilla (literally what I make at home all the time), jeera chicken tacos, or barbacoa biryani.
spicy sauvy b 🌶️
first came the spicy marg, now its spicy…wine? the TikTok food trendsetters are at it again, putting slices of frozen jalapeño peppers in Sauvignon Blanc. there isn’t much more to say here than this is a trend that sounds kind of crazy, but if you like a savory/sweet cocktail, this might be for you. I shall try!
the town of Tequila 🍹
did you know Jose Cuervo, the man on the bottle of the iconic tequila, was in fact a real person? and I learned it all on NPR! (save public journalism!!!) he was a real person born in the Tequila Valley in the 19th century who truly founded the Tequila industry. funnily enough, the drink was intended to be called vino mezcal, but the name that stuck was of its origin, Tequila, Jalisco. mezcal is the parent category here, which includes any spirit made from agave plant. as production industrialized, and distillation changed the flavor of the drink made from blue agave, which resulted in a distinct product that differentiates what we know as tequila and mezcal. the NPR story interviews author Ted Genoways, whose book uncovers the forgotten history of the man behind the tequila industry, his involvement in Mexican politics, and technology in the region.
restaurant review: pickle chicken @ Popeyes!!!! 🍗
yes, my restaurant review this week is the pickle menu at Popeyes. and yea it slapped! we got the pickle lemonade, fried pickles, and the pickled brined fried chicken sandwich. the fried pickles had a solid breading, and were quite crispy. there was a clear flavor of the pickle brine in the crispy chicken sandwich, but my surprising favorite was the pickle lemonade, which truly tasted like pickle juice and lemonade! refreshing, I swear! I will be making this at home in the future…
f*cked up food 🤢
I see no problem here tbh…
d.c. happenings 📝
openings
Tarik Distillery coming to Columbia Heights
Negril Jamaican eatery moving into old NuVegan space
Fish Shop Bar & Restaurant opened on the Wharf
Carb Bar opening from Buffalo & Bergen team in Cleveland Park
Tari Trattoria coming to Union Market
Feru Ethiopian opened on H St
new Jinya Ramen Bar location in Georgetown and Wharf
Lobby Bar opening on Capitol Hill
new bar Suzie Q opening in Navy Yard
Pitango Gelato + Coffee coming to Logan Circle
Amorino Gelato coming to Georgetown
ISLA restaurant coming to downtown
Keren restaurant hoping to reopen in July
Wonder food hall/ghost kitchen?
closings
Roasted Boon closed in Shaw
Imperial closing in AdMo
Yasmine closed in Union Market
Haikan closed in Shaw :/
Fig & Olive closed in City Center
home cooking 👩🏾🍳
nothing too exciting over here in the home cooking corner! i’ve been continuing to make my own yogurt, and have been putting that into a variety of things, including a very easy chicken salad with rotisserie chicken, lots of pickled things, celery, etc. I did try my hand at a Caesar dressing which turned out pretty good, and i’ve been eating a ton of raspberries which have been so good at Whole Foods.
ok thats it thanks for reading bye!