Image: Peter Stackpole unpublished 1951 fashion shoot.
A quick recap this week of D.C. dining news and news from around the world. We added one spot to our dining guide. We a a bit late getting it posted, so, let’s proceed!
Updates to D.C. Recommended Restaurant List
Added:
Tabla – The Supra casual spinoff in Park View does its thing well.
Comings and Goings:
Chercher opens its second location in Columbia Heights.
D.C. Dining News
Happy Trails: Soupergirl closes its last retail location in Takoma Park, but fear not they are shifting to a bigger kitchen to support store sales.
You Were Warned: Amanda Michelle Gomez previewed a possible story on Twitter. “DC employers of tipped workers have to submit documents to the DC government by March 31, proving they have a sexual harassment policy and the number of internal sexual harassment complaints.”
Delivery: The first-hand account of an UberEats delivery guy.
Awards: The Beard finalist list thinned out the D.C. competitors. Congrats to all who got nods.
Drink
Decolonizing Wine: The essay that started a conversation is now available for free.
Depicting Wine: Dave McIntyre in the Post talks with a photographer of wine terroir.
Manhattan DOC: Our research staff flagged this from a few weeks ago. The guy who planted vines in his Manhattan backyard and now makes a few cases of wine a year.
Marketing: Sidman has had enough with the “speakeasy” moniker.
Other News
Food and Culture:
In Vittles, Farah Yameen looks at the formality of the informal economy through the lens of using newsprint to package food – and just about everything else – in her small town in India.
Another Vittles post looks at how art sheds light the evolving nature of Japanese cuisine from the 19th century woodblocks of Hokusai (who acknowledges “the role of other cultures and traditions as part of Japanese modernity”), to Magna (“Over the course of Golden Kamuy, depictions of food unlock a more expansive history and viewpoint of Japanese cuisine that is usually shown in nationalist narratives, highlighting the customs and culture which have been suppressed by imperialism and assimilation.”).
The Last Chef of Kabul: “The shifting tastes at the presidential palace are just one example of how Afghanistan has changed since the Taliban returned to power after more than two decades of insurgency. From once-bustling eateries in Kabul to the frozen mountains shadowing the capital, a nation is having to learn how to survive on less.”
Labor: There is lots of union activity afoot. “According to the Writers Guild of America, East, an “overwhelming majority” of workers of BSTV Entertainment, the studio that produces The Kitchen and Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, have signed cards to form what organizers say is the first nonfiction food television union.”
Meanwhile, outgoing Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz defended his anti-union tactics. Schultz, who became a billionaire as head of the company believes he knows what is best for himself, the company and his employees. “I do not believe we are that kind of company. We make decisions based on our people. Starbucks doesn’t need a union.” After the hearing, Starbucks appeared to concede it needed a fallback position. “Starbucks Workers United announced that the company’s shareholders had voted to conduct a “third-party review” of Starbucks’s labor practices.”
Media: In the post-post-modern world only images will matter.
Passing: Yang Bing-yi lived a long life and brought dumplings to the world.
Odds & Ends:
José R. Ralat on why Chili’s is a Dallas restaurant.
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That is it for the week. Short and sweet.
As we come out of our weak winter, if you are thinking of getting out more and are going to be in D.C., then remember our site. Our D.C. dining guide has 300+ recommended restaurants sortable by cuisine or neighborhood in either LIST or MAP format.
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