New York Times Food Section

[Tujague]

And the NY Times restaurant critic's job goes to ... Pete Wells, already the Dining section editor. I'm a little surprised that they hired from within, given that many were speculating on Brett Anderson from the Times-Picayune, but I hope the new Dining editor, Susan Edgerley, can enliven the section in ways that seemed to be failing Wells in recent years.

[DonRocks]

Prediction: A New York City restaurant will win a regional James Beard Award this year.

As for Washington, DC, well, that depends on what voters think of restaurants in Philadelphia (and the rest of Pennsylvania), Baltimore (and the rest of Maryland), Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey. By definition, another New York City chef becomes eligible for the National Chef Of The Year each and every year. Talk about self-perpetuating! Nice scam if you can be on the inside.

If Haidar Karoum was in New York, he would have already won a James Beard Award - let's not even talk about Tony Conte, Tom Power, Tarver King, Bryan Voltaggio, Julien Jouhannaud, Nick Stefanelli, Robert Wiedemaier, Sudhir Seth, Cathal Armstrong or Johnny Monis. Get in line, country boys!

[dcs]

NY Times article by Mark Bittman puts forth the opinion that, like our fuel consumption, we (North American) society consumes more than our fair share of meat and that continued consumption only means ill for the entire world. He states "If price spikes don't change eating habits, perhaps the combination of deforestation, pollution, climate change, starvation, heart disease and animal cruelty will gradually encourage the simple daily act of eating more plants and fewer animals." The same argument is often made to justify increased fuel taxes. The comparison is interesting.

The one thing I don't think he expands on enough is the role of the fast food industry in this. The fact that one can purchase a half-pound burger for a couple of bucks within seconds at the drive-thru window must play a greater role than the home cook who decides to put meat on the dinner table more often than previous generations did.

Another interesting installment from Bittman: The Human Cost of Animal Suffering. He does not directly indict the fast food industry, but his discussion of the industrialized nature of animal processing leads inexorably to a conclusion that the fast food industry bears some culpability for creating the demand that has led to this sad state of affairs, but I do not think they are alone in causing this problem.

[DonRocks]

Another interesting installment from Bittman: The Human Cost of Animal Suffering. He does not directly indict the fast food industry, but his discussion of the industrialized nature of animal processing leads inexorably to a conclusion that the fast food industry bears some culpability for creating the demand that has led to this sad state of affairs, but I do not think they are alone in causing this problem.

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[ol_ironstomach]

Viz the usual NYT condescension regarding the DC dining scene, the lede from Aaron Wiener's spiteful satire for the Washington City Paper is priceless:

"As it does nearly every year, the New York Times discovered D.C. dining yesterday."

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2014/10/21/in-a-changing-washington-lots-of-stuff/

[dcs]

The Dining Section Is Now Food

[ol_ironstomach]

What's the word for "skewer" in Spanish?  For a good chuckle, read Pete Wells' review of Javelina.