Snack Cart: Nduja, Best New York Restaurants of 2016, and Chicken Wings
Snack Cart is a weekly newsletter of my favorite food writing from around the country.
Thrillist, which sneakily does some of the best food writing on the Internet, has a long story about the shortage of cooks in America. What this ultimately means is prices for eating out are going up and more of that money is going to the folks in the back of the house. That’s good, but a $18 cheeseburger still hurts.
Atlas Obscura wrote about the incompatible food triad. It’s a philosophical questions which asks: Can you think of three foods where any two of those foods taste good together, but all three combined taste disgusting? Holiday party conversation, unlocked.
In a world of uncertainty and chaos, you can find peace by making things. Maybe it’s a food newsletter, or maybe it’s a shitload of noodles. Seriously, I spent 15 minutes watching this video of guy making noodles and it was the most relaxed I’ve felt in weeks.
Bloomberg asks, “What is Nduja?” and answers, “sausage.”
Your Facebook feed has probably been taken over with that disgusting video of the cheeseburger that has a dinner roll stuffed with cheese for a bun. I give Dr. Ian Malcolm the last word on this.
Boston
Ted Weesner is back for the Globe, and knocks a review of the revived Harvest in Harvard Square out of the park. He spends a good chunk of it reminiscing about his days as a waiter there and the bygone days of Harvard Square. It’s lovely.
MC Slim JB is also in Harvard Square to review Beso en la Boca for this month’s Improper Bostonian. It’s a fine review of a fine Mediterranean place. Both of these together do make me wonder: is Harvard Square becoming the best food neighborhood in town?
I sort of hate the idea that the Globe has a weekly “Cheap Eats” column. If a place is worth considering, it’s worth considering, regardless of what the food costs. I wonder if Sheryl Julian feels the same way, because she definitely stretches the definition by reviewing the new Area 4 in the South End. It doesn’t look like you’re getting out of there for less than $30 per person. The review is great, though, and I can’t wait to go.
EVENTIDE OYSTER IS COMING TO BOSTON. We’ll see how it stacks up against the number of other tremendous oyster places in town.
When you have your own newsletter, you can include a cute story about your beloved childhood restaurant. For now, read about mine. Mario’s has been open for 45 years and the local Lexington paper wrote a story about how the small, family-owned place maintains consistency and community. I just found out one of my friends still eats there like three times per week.
New York
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the time for “best of” lists. The New York Times gets in on the act early. Pete Wells’ ten best restaurants is a lovely and surprisingly democratic amble. He waxes poetic about French temples, new nordic, and a downtown lunch counter. His ten best dishes is a bit more scattered.
There is a restaurant called Dumpling Galaxy and I am only finding out about it now. I have failed you and myself.
Jillian Jorgensen at AM New York used Frank Sinatra’s birthday as an excuse to profile restaurants he enjoyed that are still around. A must-read for anyone obsessed with old New York.
Yes, Vanity Fair published that take down of the Trump restaurant. I give myself permission to both enjoy the piece and recognize he’s a danger to our country at the same time. I also think this kind of review is completely fair. I put it in line with the famous New York Times review of Guy’s American Bar and Grill. Roger Ebert said something to the effect that a critic should review what a movie is trying to be. A children’s movie should be a good children’s movie. These restaurants aren’t even good versions of what they try to be. Trump’s restaurant could be a bland power lunch spot. It can’t even manage that and cynically doesn’t try.
An interesting coda to this comes from Helen Rosner at Eater, who goes back through Trump’s tweets to document the restaurant-based feud between him and Vanity Fair.
Will Ligaya Mishan ever escape Queens? I hope not, as her tour through the borough is producing some of the best restaurant criticism anyone is publishing. Her reviews have been focusing on small ethnic restaurants and are as much about the immigrant owners who run them as the food. This one, about Pata Cafe, is another fantastic entry.
Chicago
Jeff Ruby at Chicago Magazine went in search of the best wings in Chicago, and in the process wrote one of the best things I read this week. His story criss-crosses the city while also teaching about wings and including more than a few great turns of phrase.
Michael Gerbert at Fooditor, a new-to-me Chicago online food magazine, profiles the team behind Temporis, which he calls the first big new restaurant of 2017. It’s a small, tasting-menu focused place in West Town run by two young chefs. The twist is the full hydroponics rig in the basement for growing fresh out-of-season vegetables.
Joseph Hernandez reviews Carbon Arc, a new Lincoln Square restaurant inside the revamped Davis Theater. He touches on comfort food, cocktails, and menu items named after film terms — literally my three favorite things. It’s interesting to see how the team is trying to offer solutions for folks who want to sit down for a full meal before a movie and for those who want to grab stuff to take inside.
Chicago Tribune also drops a list of places to get chocolate for breakfast. Which, sure.
Los Angeles
Besha Rodell slams Patina, a downtown restaurant that just isn’t worth the price. Her article starts with one of the best anecdotes I’ve ever read in a bad review. It’s more than a simple takedown, however. She uses it to muse on the worth of fine dining in general, and the status of a restaurant that is both famous and completely unremarkable in the Los Angeles dining scene.
LA Weekly also published a list of the good and bad in Los Angeles restaurants in 2016. The good was the expansion of Filipino food, doughnuts, ethics in the kitchen, and Mexican food getting its due. The bad is too much poke and avocado toast.
Out of Context Jeff Ruby Quote of the Week
…it’s difficult to imagine witnessing anything more traumatic in a restaurant than an American male eating chicken wings.
