Image: Here comes the sun.
Dearest Gentle Reader, this is our second installment of a monthly review of activity on our site and other dining news. We hoped moving from a weekly would be less of a burden on our staff, free up time to produce more content, and allow a winnowing media world to produce enough stories to flag. This month it seems to have worked! So shall we proceed?
Updates to D.C. Recommended Restaurant List
Revisited:
Obelisk – The hidden gem on P Street.
Masseria – The desert around them may have filled in, but it remains an oasis.
Old Faces in New Places:
Pesce – A new owner in a new spot with the same comforting touch.
Taco Bamba – They return to the District, and there is great rejoicing.
Tsehay – The quickly-beloved Ethiopian restaurant moved to Adams Morgan and continue to crush it.
D.C. Dining News
Comings & Goings:
The late-breaking, tragic news, just before we went to press, is that Marcel’s is closing. Couldn’t come to agreement with landlord.
Foxtrot and Blank Street both had the plug pulled on them. Foxtrot in particular seemed like an idea that would work but a business model that didn’t. As Eat DC points out, venture capital investment may not give the same long leash as other kinds. Related, and possibly an omen, Firehook was bought out by a Connecticut private equity firm, but at least they have an established business model. We will see if it is enough for the new investors.
In other sad news, the loss of Radici by Eastern Market.
Less sad, because of the greater good (unless you live near Navy Yard) Yellow is shutting down the Navy Yard location focusing on the projects at Union Market. Tough news for Navy Yard was also mitigated as Taqueria Xochi announced they would take over the space Taco Bamba backed out of.
Chef Andrew Markert is leaving Beuchert’s, a restaurant he helped bring to life eleven years ago. We wish him well in future endeavors and cross our fingers about the future of Beuchert’s, a place we have loved from the get go.
Right Proper to stay in Shaw. Probably for less than $515 million. In same roundup from DC Beer, DC Brau is doing an NA in cans.
The Commodore sold to two long-time employees.
We are really excited about Green Almond Pantry doing a full restaurant!
The Emerging (Local) Economy:
RAMW surveyed members and they report things are still tough out there: “In its survey, which included responses from more than 200 restaurant operators (most of which are in D.C.), 87% said they were paying more for payroll, 70% said they were paying more for ingredients, and 53% said they were paying more in rent than a year ago. Three-quarters said they expected costs to continue to climb this year.” One proposed fix to get them through, drop a tax many may not realize exists. “The RAMW is advocating for changes to lower costs, both for restaurant operators and diners. Among its pushes is addressing D.C.’s 4% meals tax. D.C.’s meals tax is in addition to the 6% sales tax added to diners’ bills.”
“Chan and his neighbors at the Wah Luck House have witnessed great change over the years, both in his building and in neighborhood — including the shuttering of many Chinese businesses. A decade ago, Chan says the last full service Chinese grocery store closed, leaving his community without affordable, familiar food. Founded in 2020, Wah Luck Adult Day Care Center started busing residents to a grocery store in the suburbs so they could purchase Chinese vegetables and other food staples. The center’s director, Rita Lee, says the need is great, but they have limited capacity.”
Little Sesame secured a $2.2 million grant from the USDA to “help build the organic market in the US by continuing to create direct markets for chickpea farmers in Montana and across the Great Plains.”
Amanda Michelle Gomez reports something smells off about Compost Cab losing the contract for the city. “The D.C. government had been contracting with Agricity to manage its food waste drop-off program — but they suddenly picked a new partner, a dump truck company called District Logistics. Brosowsky, who conceived of the program more than a decade ago starting with the Dupont Circle farmers market, is floored, he says.” District Logistics has no prior record (at least not with regard to composting). Cue Sopranos jokes.
Media:
When Laura Hayes left WCP she said, don’ worry Amanda Michelle Gomez is still on the beat. Now Amanda has left WAMU to do union work. We wish her well and thank her for a slew of good stories. Since we are essentially a scavenger operation reliant on others to write stories to link to, we may be more sensitive than others to the loss of outlets (DCist gone, WCP gutted) and writers. Continued props to Jessica Sidman, Tim Carman and others who get stories in Washingtonian and the Post from time to time that look at a larger lens. Daniel Sernovitz at Washington Business Journal covers the food world through the business lens. And one sign of hope this month is the Post Metro section (see below). Which is to say, support good local journalism.
On the flip side, the Washingtonian is an amazing microcosm of pathology of the culture of local glossies. Washingtonian hosted a Women in Journalism party. “NOT invited: The women journalists who work at Washingtonian.”
The Infatuation is starting to look like a piece of performance art walking the fine line between hot takes and hot mess. This past week they posted that Le Diplomate is terrible. This follows plugging The Monocle for special occasions, and rating carry-out spot New Dynasty higher than Chang Chang. The original Infatuation was bought out by Chase to be a marketing vehicle for credit cards.
Industry:
In the Post Metro section, a look at how immigrants from Venezuela have carved out a place in the economy and helped transform it. “Delivering food for companies like DoorDash and Uber has become a lifeline for many of D.C.’s Venezuelans, some of whom were among the more than 13,000 migrants Republican governors have bused to the city since 2022. As they pursue the months-long process of claiming asylum and applying for work permits, many immigrants have leaned on food delivery to stay afloat financially.” Axios also noted the moped trend.
Also in the Post local section, a picture of Sospeso’s closing sale, with this brutal line: “Day after day, the couple felt that they were just working for their landlord.” And this statistic from the data cited above: “According to data from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, 75 percent of restaurants are less profitable than they were before the pandemic.”
Local Odds & Ends:
Writer rates government cafs (mostly Capitol Hill).
Claims that Mari Vanna chef was a spy suspect. Fun story, but big grain of salt.
Drink
A local women-owned tequila company. “Named after the year women secured the right to vote in Mexico, 1953 is trailblazing a path in the premium añejo tequila category but also unabashedly focusing on females as the consumers and creators of the product.”
The toll of bartending on the body. “Injuries to the shoulders and elbows from the repetitive stress of shaking and stirring cocktails are most common among bartenders in high-volume restaurants and bars. Even the act of lifting and pouring heavy bottles can cause collateral damage over time.”
The rules of drinking in an Irish bar: Don’t let the pints go fully empty before you order, especially when drinking stout. When there’s about one-third left in the glass, it’s time to act. If it’s not your round and you’re drinking faster than the person whose round it is, it’s polite to linger and slow down. You can subtly (or not!) let the round buyer know you’re ready by taking an exaggerated sip with an mmm or ahhh as you place your glass down, pretending you’re savouring it or signalling its deliciousness, but really you’re saying, “Hey, buddy, it’s your round.”
Wine:
Tough year for the industry. “Wine consumption fell 2.6% to an estimated 221 million hl last year, slipping for a second year to the lowest level since 1996, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said in its annual report on the state of the industry. That’s equivalent to around 800 million fewer bottles being uncorked around the world.”
Other News
The Emerging Economy:
Jobs numbers continue to come in strong. Employers added 303,000 jobs in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, from 3.9 percent in February. Expectations of a recession among experts, once widespread, are now increasingly rare, though GDP came in less than robust for the first quarter at 1.6%. In contrast, inflation is being stubborn, reducing the odds of interest rate cuts.
The Post does a piece explaining how the economy is not working like it’s supposed to.
Meanwhile, the restaurant industry had its annual lobbying event and focused on fees. Its agenda is to reduce ones they don’t like (credit cards), preserve ones they do (tipping), and let them add more they want (surcharges).
Vittles on water policy in Pakistan.
Industry:
The rise of fast casual and the fall of Boston Market. Emily Heil in the Post on the bankruptcy and closings. “After being founded in 1985 as Boston Chicken, it eventually expanded to more than 1,200 locations well beyond its namesake city. Now, only a few dozen remain; a report this month by the trade publication Restaurant Business put the number at 27, with more closures expected at every moment.”
Jose Ralat on the power of tacos to unite.
When virtue signalling dupes investors, who may be the people most likely to not understand the difference between true and postured positions. “They said Mr. Kenney has been able to persist, despite repeated failures to meet his financial obligations, in part because of his prominent role since the mid-2000s in promoting vegan cooking. Many investors and employees said they were willing to overlook financial warning signs and excuse his past failures because of their devotion to animal rights and mindful nutrition.”
Trader Joe’s sketchy business practice? Are you surprised? “After six months of conversations with five founders of small to midsize food brands, it appears to be an open secret in the consumer packaged goods industry that Trader Joe’s outsources inspiration for new products by targeting emerging brands under the guise of recruiting them to manufacture private-label items. Private labeling is the ubiquitous (and often clandestine) practice of consumer food brands creating exclusive products for third-party retailers. The terms of these contracts vary, but the enlisted food brand typically receives compensation in the form of a production fee or profit-sharing arrangement. According to these sources, Trader Joe’s commonly solicits product samples and even asks for potential recipe adjustments—a revealing and time-consuming exercise for bootstrapped founders—before inexplicably abandoning the negotiations and releasing its own private-label versions of similar products at lower prices.”
Hannah Goldfield in the New Yorker talks about the rise of member-based restaurants, including a visit to Rao’s. Underneath it is about regulating costs. She quotes an owner, “it’s easier to focus on the six hundred people who can pay your bills than on serving the masses.” whoadded, “the number of no-shows goes to zero.” He also noted, “You can involve your diners in the conspiracy of it all, at a premium. ‘This fresco olive oil? It’s just for you, because you are such a good customer. That’s fifty dollars, please!” The she adds this kicker parenthetical: (A few weeks later, the Times ran a story alleging that Deshmukh has made a habit of fleecing investors and misrepresenting himself in business dealings; he told me, without getting into specifics, that many of the accusations are untrue.)
Meanwhile Michael Mina’s member-only spot at City Ridge is no longer restricted access. This probably says something about the nature of D.C. where power equals power, as opposed to New York where the money class spend to show they are important because they are not quite sure it translates. D.C. is more small-d democratic in a good way. Also, Mina should have just given us his best instead of another steakhouse and a gimmicky concept in a new development. We may not have NYC or London money, but our palates are just as sophisticated.
Though there is this news: “Ned’s Club, Birthed in 2017 by a pair of Soho House bigwigs as “a space for the discerning” in London, expanded to NYC and Qatar’s capital of Doha in 2022. The fourth edition in D.C. will be its first club-only location that caters exclusively to members.” So another test to the theory.
The Times on plastics and food products. The good and the bad.
Chinese low-cost canteens are a hit with those well below the senior discount threshold. “More recently, community canteens have emerged as part of a broader social welfare initiative to improve food services for a swiftly aging population. There are 6,000 local groups running community canteens around the country, according to the official Xinhua news service. In Shanghai, where nearly one-fifth of the population is 65 or older, there are more than 305 community canteens. Many of them get tax breaks and low or free rent. But the canteens have become an important fixture for Shanghai’s younger working population, too. The portions are often so generous that they can be stretched out over several meals, and diners can often be seen packing away dishes they haven’t finished.”
Food & Conflict:
The repercussions of an Israeli strike in Gaza on World Central Kitchen workers reverberated. Including within WCK. They have resumed work.
Food Sources:
F.T.C. finds larger grocery chains strong-armed smaller ones during supply chain crunch and engaged in price-gouging to emerge stronger. “The report found that some large firms “accelerated and distorted” the effects of supply chain snarls, including by pressuring suppliers to favor them over competitors. Food and beverage retailers also posted strong profits during the height of the pandemic and continue to do so today, casting doubt on assertions that higher grocery prices are simply moving in lock step with retailers’ own rising costs, the authors argued.”
“But now the race is on for what people who grow and sell fruits and vegetables are calling a moon shot: breaking plastic’s stranglehold on produce.”
Trying to growing water-intensive industries in a desert. “Giant farms have turned Arizona’s remote deserts about 100 miles west of Phoenix as green as fairways — the product of extracting an ocean of groundwater to grow alfalfa for dairy cows. Water experts say the pumping is sinking poor rural towns. The ground in parts of La Paz County has dropped more than five feet during three decades of farming. Pipes and home foundations are cracking. Wells are running dry.”
Health & Nutrition:
The Post and The Examination do a joint piece on how the food industry uses body positive/anti-diet messaging to encourage people to eat poorly. We have noted how the alcoholic beverage industry is struggling to avoid becoming a target like big tobacco. This story shows that the processed food industry is giving booze a run for its money. “Online dietitians — many of them backed by food makers — also are building lucrative followings by co-opting anti-diet messages. Anti-diet hashtags, such as #NoBadFoods, #FoodFreedom and #DitchTheDiet, have proliferated on social media. The Post and The Examination analyzed more than 6,000 social media posts by 68 registered dietitians with at least 10,000 followers. The analysis showed that roughly 40 percent of these influencers, with a combined reach of more than 9 million followers, repeatedly used anti-diet language. Most of the influencers who used anti-diet language also were paid to promote products from food, beverage and supplement companies, the analysis found.”
On the flip side, a possible benefit to a high-fat, low carb diet: “The study was small and relatively short, so more research is needed to determine if dietary changes can have a meaningful, long-term impact on patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. But the findings are part of a growing body of research suggesting a powerful link between brain health and diet. The ketogenic diet has also been studied in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. Researchers theorize that the diet may improve psychiatric symptoms by correcting metabolic issues.”
Loneliness and bad eating habits: “Loneliness can be a risk factor for many mental and physical health challenges, including unhealthy eating habits and obesity. Now a new study suggests that alterations in the lonely brain may be why some women are more susceptible to poor food choices.”
Food and Culture:
An illustrated essay on going back to Korea as an adult and finding a way to connect through food.
Media:
One small thing we noticed. The Times has replaced the “Food” link at the top of the page with a “Cooking” link to a separate cooking section. Not sure when this happened, but we issue our warning of before: Recipe sections can be outsourced or spun off, and the food sections can go the way of the Times sports section. In related news, Becky Krystal has been named the new recipes editor at the Post.
Going in the opposite direction is the New Yorker, that in the last month or so has run pieces by Rosner on Padma! Hannah Goldfield on Joan Nathan! And Lauren Collins on a French restaurant in Narbonne doing classics buffet style. Also a piece on how bots are taking over reservations apps. To be fair, the food issue was part of that mix, but still.
Carlos Frias notes Michelin is just as sharp with its Florida efforts as it is with D.C. “Congrats to Michelin on naming a SECOND CLOSED RESTAURANT to its Miami guide.”
Food & Law:
David Chang’s Momofuku is trying to protect its market share on packaged chili crisp by claiming trademark rights over it. “In March, when Momofuku’s lawyers sent cease-and-desist letters to stop manufacturers from using the name of celebrity chef David Chang’s popular “chili crunch” condiment, they were doing what trademark lawyers always do: trying to protect a company’s investment from competitors.” The vagaries of intellectual property law and food have been touched on by us before, notably in the U.S. case deciding Gruyere cheese has no meaning beyond generic name for cheese. It is also a quirk of the law that recipes are not subject to copyright. So someone can steal Chang’s recipe, but not the cute name.
The company that makes Hydrox is accusing the company that makes Oreos of twisting arms to bury its products on supermarket shelves. “During one meeting with a buyer for Walmart in 2017, Kassoff claimed she told him that while she would bring the product back, she warned him that Mondelēz would hide Hydrox in stores to try and get them discontinued. She added that he needed to watch for a sharp drop in sales at some locations, a sign that Mondelēz was hiding Hydrox at that specific store. This was the first time Kassoff heard of this practice occurring.”
Odds & Ends:
Former F1 aerodynamicist switch to baking, then did something inspired by her former profession for the home grand prix.
The Ozempic boom’s repercussions in the small town that makes it. “Kalundborg knows the benefits and risks of pinning the town’s fortunes to one company. A shipyard briefly dominated the town’s economy early last century, but was decimated during the Great Depression. In the 1960s, Kalundborg thrived as the manufacturing site for Carmen Curlers, which pioneered electric hot hair curlers, causing a sensation in the United States. Then the company was sold to the American firm Clairol, fashions changed, thousands were laid off and the plant eventually closed in 1990.”
Washington Post takes time to refute the idea that soy milk gives men big breasts. But implicitly confirms that social media will make you dumb.
The Post also dissects vegetarian meals served by airlines.
A truck carrying 100,000 Chinook salmon smolts flipped, but it was near a river and many of them will live to spawn because they landed in the water. Driver had only minor injuries.
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Thanks for reading this far. We hope the shift to monthly does not make it too onerous. Stay cool, eat well, tip big.