New Obsession
Thanks to Sophie Gilbert for introducing me to the existence of the fried wonder that is the cronut. Now, a handy primer on everything you need to know about the croissant/doughnut hybrid. [BuzzFeed] —Tanya Pai
Hot Dog Tales
Eating a street-vendor hot dog is known to cause heart burn. A happier ending awaits customers at this lady’s cart. [CNN] —Jessica Voelker
Gold flake is the new mustard. Here’s a look at the nation’s most expensive hot dogs. [Daily Mail] —Marisa Kashino
Is Cardboard a Carb?
Real Housewife Lisa Vanderpump’s Beverly Hills restaurant, Villa Blanca, has had health violations and reportedly served one patron a salad full of cardboard. Is Gigi running the place or what? [Radar Online] —MK
Little Gratuity, Lots of Gratuitous Language
Don’t forget to tip your delivery driver. A lot, apparently. Otherwise, you can expect a long butt-dialed racist rant in return. [GMA] —Chris Campbell
Lush Life
If you blush at the prospect of ordering a Long Island Ice Tea at a “grown-up” bar, think about doing it at one of New York City’s best restaurants. The Awl goes there. [The Awl] —Anna Spiegel
Matthew Latkiewicz categorizes bars by their most important element—the actual bar. Also: valuable tips for distinguishing a real dive bar from a hipster-centric ironic dive. [Grub Street] —TP
Elle asks designers including Rebecca Minkoff and Alexis Bittar for their favorite summer drink recipes. Surprisingly, they all sound pretty delicious. [Elle] —TP
In the words of Erin Boudreau, whose tweet led me to this story about women drinking more whiskey: “Watch out, next we’re going to want to wear pants and vote.” [Bloomberg] —JV
Meaty Matters
Michael Pollan and Ruth Reichl give us the lowdown on the state of the American food revolution—check out the conversation in the June Smithsonian Magazine. [Smithsonian] —AS
If Dannon bought that small organic yogurt brand you like so much, does that matter? It would seem so. [Forbes] —JV
Make love, not war, and for the love of Mark Bittman, make peace with meat. [New York Times] —Sophie Gilbert
Do Michael Pollan’s restaurant rules make sense? My mom’s been “always ordering the special” for years. [The Guardian] —SG
Bad News Beverages
We all learned a long time ago that crack is wack. But apparently so is coke (the soda kind). [WTOP] —MK
Drinking too much coffee is now officially a mental disorder. [Daily Mail] —SG
Tempest in a . . .
When does a kettle cause an uproar? When it looks like Hitler. [Telegraph] —CC
Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 and was a senior editor until 2022.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
