Food

Sarah Palin Eats Pizza and Mark Zuckerberg Eats Only What He Kills: Eating & Reading

Every week, we'll let you know what the Washingtonian food staff is reading in the blogosphere and off the bookshelves.

Todd Kliman, food and wine editor:

• The Wine Curmudgeon (a.k.a. Jeff Siegel) has an interesting piece in the current Palate Press about the regional wine movement—in large part about how perceptions, received ideas, and silly cant get in the way of the truth: Regional Wine: Do You Know Why it's Great? Or Not?

• Barry Estabrook with a smart and skeptical look at the recent announcement by NOAA that bluefin tuna doesn't warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act: Feds Refuse to Give Bluefin Tuna Endangered Status.

• Neat piece in the Salt Lake Tribune about the culture wars in the city: As the non-Mormon population surges, some restaurateurs are griping that the state law requiring bartenders be hidden from view is hurting business: Restaurants Say Utah Liquor Laws Hurting Bottom Lines.

Sophie Gilbert, assistant editor and Sophie at the Stove blogger:

• I'm sniggering inwardly at the audacity of Subway, whose marketing experts have taken it upon themselves to help the avocado "go mainstream." I wasn't previously aware that the avocado was a niche fruit, lurking in the recesses of such obscure foods as, oh I don't know, guacamole? But there you go. Thank you, Subway: Subway: 'We'll Help Avocado Go Mainstream.' "

• That said, if anything can give the humble avocado a boost, it's this: How to Keep Avocados From Turning Brown.

• I liked the Jesse Eisenberg version of Mark Zuckerberg way better than the Mark Zuckerberg version, but this is actually pretty impressive. The Facebook founder has resolved to only eat meat he kills himself: Mark Zuckerberg's New Challenge.

• While Sarah Palin and Donald Trump were eating New York pizza, House Republicans were deciding that healthy lunches for kids are just too gosh darn expensive. Because 50 years of Lipitor and diabetes is so much cheaper: GOP Says Obama's Healthy Lunch Effort Too Costly.

Emily Leaman, staff writer and Well+Being blogger:

• Two questions: What in the world is sorghum? And where do all those soy beans end up? If the White House Garden Grew Subsidized Crops.

Kate Nerenberg, assistant food and wine editor:

• Via the Los Angeles Times, I found this blog devoted to the "aural experience of Italian ampelography, vinography, and toponymy." (Are they using those words just because the Scripps National Spelling Bee runs from May 31 through June 2?) Really, though, once you move past that unhelpful description, the videos themselves are quite helpful: Italian Grape Name and Appellation Pronunciation Project.

• This one is bending the "reading" half of this blog post's title, but it's interesting nonetheless. Los Angeles chef Jon Shook, who has won lots of praise at his restaurant Animal and has recently opened a seafood spot, takes a filmmaker along for a day of fishing and creating a catch-of-the-day dish: Fish.

The Atlantic's Andrew Cohen switches gears from his normal beat—legal matters—to write about what he did over the long weekend: baked and baked and baked: Baked Good: One Man's 24-Hour, All-Cookie Marathon.

• After picking about 12 pounds of strawberries on Memorial Day, I'm not quite sure what to do with all the fruit before it goes bad. After searching lots and lots of recipe sites, the awards for "best non-strawberry/rhubarb-pie dessert" and "most unique use of strawberries" goes to these little guys: Strawberry-Ricotta Graham Tartlets.

Ann Limpert, food and wine editor:

• Grub Street put together a bucket list of food-centric trips and named Maryland’s Tilghman Island and Peter Chang’s China Grill in Charlottesville as must-visits. No love for DC proper though: 50 State Dinners (Plus One): Food Treks Worth Taking This Summer.

• Heading to the new Jack Rose? You might want to check out Esquire’s Scotch pronunciation primer: Scotch: A Pronunciation Guide.

• If, like me, you’ve got a surplus of strawberries on your hands, check out Endless Simmer’s recipe guide, with ideas for whoopie pies, soda, napoleons, and popsicles: 100 Ways to Use Strawberries.

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Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.