episode 7: ice cream drama, olive oil drama, and salt.
ice cream recs, ice cream rants, petty olive oil drama, and more!
spring szn strawberry szn!
spring produce is here babessss!! made this nice little radish toast with anchovy butter (after yes, I saw that tiktok of the chef doing a radish sandwich). I know radishes are in season, but it got me wondering, what else is in season this spring? USDA’s produce guide for D.C. shows asparagus, beans, greens, radishes, herbs, lettuce (caesar!), peas, rhubarb, and strawberries (!!) in season for May. for a more broad and expansive seasonal produce guide, USDA lists the following Spring foods here where you can also find more specific information for your area! happy munching!
accidental poisoning: a sesame allergy conspiracy
if you needed yet another example of why corporations are wackadoo, this is the story for you! in January ‘23, a law mandating safety protocols to protect those with sesame allergies went into effect. sesame allergies impact over 1.5 million Americans, and this law mandates careful cleaning to prevent cross-contamination between sesame and non-sesame products. however, instead of complying with the protocols, companies started adding a small amount of sesame to previously non-sesame products to avoid the separation. the result - foods that people had been eating for months and years, and were thought to be safe, are now life-threatening.
the companies contend that they’ve added sesame flour to these foods because they cannot adequately clean equipment to ensure there is no sesame, so rather than risking amounts of sesame in foods that haven’t been labeled as such, they are deliberately adding and labeling the food accordingly. its actually quite dangerous because the allergen is being added in the form of flour, not seeds, which is invisible to consumers.
this strategy is not supported by the FDA and is being actively opposed by consumer interest groups. not companies are actually doing this, but compliance and communication regarding sesame content has been varied across bread suppliers in the food industry, as well as major restaurant chains. regardless - this has proven to be a frustrating and dangerous switch up, you can read more here from WaPo.
saltyyyyyy
we all went through our salt fat acid heat phase and honestly the biggest thing I remember is that salt isn’t a seasoning it enHANCES flavor! I was reminded of this by a post from Eat Voraciously, WaPo’s food publication, busting some myths about salt. I learned that salt is important in baking, different types of salt have different effects, and how it impacts boiling water temperatures. learn more here!
I also can’t think of the word salt without thinking of this throwback song. enjoy!
do your own stunts (stunt ice cream)
if you know me you know I looooove a weird ice cream flavor, and recently, major ice cream companies have been going on a rampage of weird flavor creations - from the everything but the bagel flavor by Jeni’s, to the Kraft mac & cheese and “Glass Onion” onion flavors from Van Leeuwen. while I am still down to try something wacky, Jesse Sparks writing for Eater has some parameters about this crazy flavor phenomenon. they outline that sometimes these flavors promise soooo much they stray from the point. take the Glass Onion-inspired onion-flavored ice cream, where even the actors from the movie seemed confused about the taste. her point is that too many of these flavors seem to be created just for the stunt, the shock value (like the Hidden Valley ranch ice cream) instead of actually creating something fun and interesting for eaters.
she does highlight some examples of good creative novelty flavors by places like Salt + Straw and Malai, explaining that, “the root of when and why their flavors succeed lies in the approach: the flavors actually taste like intentionally well-made ice cream flavors strong enough to stand on their own, rather than the byproduct of the latest publicity stunt.” I for one, am still down to try basically anything, but you can read more about by Jesse is sitting the next one out here.
olive oil dramaaaaa
you would have thought that real adults would know not to start drama on LinkedIn ….but you would have thought wrong! chances are you’ve seen this beautiful Graza olive oil at a bougie market near you. the schtick is that the olive oil comes in a green squeeze bottle which allows for some more control during use, compared to a glass bottle. this brand has infiltrated the cute boutique shops and kitchens of tiktok chefs.
but THEN, Brightland, another bougie olive oil company, which for years was packaged in a stopper ceramic bottle, made a pizza oil in a squeeze bottle recently. this prompted the CEO of Graza to go on a very pointed LinkedIn rant, naming specific employees, talking about copycat culture and expressing his frustrations over Brightland’s product. the war of the olive oil! all on LinkedIn! honestly very silly because Brightland existed way before Graza in the ~aesthetic~ olive oil space - and squeeze bottles aren’t exactly proprietary technology. after this post went around on socials, the CEO issued an apology. overall, truly the silliest of petty drama (which I LIVE FOR!)
rammys!!
the biggest awards season for DC’s restaurant industry is upon us! the RAMMYs are a bar and restaurant industry award program, where nominees and winners in a variety of categories are decided by an panel of food professionals. however, a number of these awards are open for voting by the public (yes you!!!), including the following categories: best bar, favorite sandwich place, best gathering place, favorite fast bites, and best brunch. love the choices of Exiles and Ivy & Coney for best bar, Rasa for favorite fast bites and Compliments Only for fav sandwich spot. you can vote here, voting ends on May 31!
food storage staples
open my fridge and the entire door is filled with condiments. but! do all of them actually have to be stored in the fridge? many condiments will stay fine in your cabinet, but as a solo-living girly, I would much rather keep them in the fridge and have them last longer. ketchup, PB, hot sauce are staying in the fridge, and keep your molasses, mustard out - I’m keeping my ghee in the fridge though, because my mom said so :)
the hill I WILL die on!!!
big ice cream talk today (tis the season!!!) what is the best ice cream spot in DC, you ask? well, there is a right and wrong answer no, absolutely NO way the answer is freaking Jeni’s Ice Cream. if you have ever met me IRL I’m sure the second thing to come out of my mouth after my name is my rant about Jeni’s. well, I saw this tiktoker claim that Jeni’s was “hands down” the best ice cream in the city and well, it makes me want to THROW HANDS!
here is my theory of the case: 1. it’s not homemade, they literally ship their ice cream from Ohio. I’m not saying that’s bad, just don’t call it homemade! 2. they are $$$ - the quality is good, but I’m less inclined to spend $$$ on something that isn’t local and homemade. 3. they have very suspiciously and strategically placed every D.C. Jeni’s location within one mile of a locally-owned ice cream shop. think about it! 14th st? next to Ice Cream Jubilee. Navy Yard? next to Ice Cream Jubilee. Eastern Market? Moorenko’s and Captain Cookie. it’s very suspicious behavior, and I don’t support it!
if you want ice cream and soft serve recs (that I approve of!!!!!), please see my guides on insta! there are better and greener pastures, I promise! :)
how the cookie crumbls
for what seems like years now, I have been getting crumbl cookie reviews aalllll over my tiktok feed - people driving out to the suburbs to grab a candy-pink box and sample the new flavors of the week. some say these doughy fluffy frosting-laden cookies are incredible, but some say these are terribly disappointing.
this is the crux of our girl Priya’s new article on the cookies entitled, “Are Crumbl Cookies the Best or the Worst? It Doesn’t Matter.” which shows the debate over whether these cookies are even good is incredible for the chain’s business. the article outlines how important social media has been to their rise - a company that was started by two tech guys who looked up cookie recipes online instead of hiring a pastry chef - and how they put all their efforts into ensuring the brand generated buzz on tiktok. am I still intrigued to try? yes, indeed. but is it gonna be good?? debatable…
your next (food) podcast
while I am admittedly a listen-to-music-all-the-time kind of girl, I have been known to listen to a pop culture podcast. however, there’s a whole world of food podcasts that i’ve barely explored. BA just did a roundup of the best food podcasts recommended by their food editors, and there’s a lot of great recs on this list. the only one i’ve listened to is Maintenance Phase, which is about the impact of diet culture (and is SO good). after reading this, I’m excited to check out Spilled Milk, the One Recipe, and the Food Chain!
restaurant highlight: so’s your mom
this is clearly ON ME for having lived here for so long and having not gone to So’s Your Mom until…….this past weekend. many of you probably don’t need me to tell you its a gem but DANG its a gem! egg salad sammy for $6? incredible! a family-owned (cash only!!!) deli, they serve all the standard sandwiches and bagels for a really great price. unbeatable neighborhood spot for all the Adams Morgan girlies, and a great destination for a hungover weekend brunch/lunch walk.
f*cked up food
okay so elon musk sucks and stopped letting us do twitter previews in substack so janky screenshots it is for this section!
#1 ummmm I like pickles and I think I wouldn’t even try this….
#2 and one for all the Type A girlies :)
d.c. happenings
Blank Street closed (already?!) in shaw
bakers against racism fundraiser
new Bread Furst in the phillips museum cafe!!!
Maxwell Park in Navy Yard gone - Trouble Bird cocktail bar in its place
new ethiopian spot Tsehay in Los Cuates spot
ching ching CHA the tea shop reopens!
melange closing :/
TBsp opening in new location
amsterdam falafel closing :( good piece about the owners here
Lucky Buns opening on the wharf
home cooking: chopped salad
went back into a big restaurant phase but I’m gonna shoutout to one of my fav lunches lately - the milkkarten Big Chopped Salad. basically this is whatever greens I have, some chickpeas or cured meat, cheese, and a bunch of pickled briny things with dressing. like if I have the opportunity to have pickles in salad? I will obviously do it?
and FIN! thanks all! have a lovely end of April :)
I like all the less known stories on food ingredients!
Ugh you are so right about Jeni's!! It bugs me so much whenever I see them on local roundups especially when DC has so many incredible ice cream options!