In a brutal year for journalists—don’t even make me link to the layoffs at Buzzfeed and HuffPo and Vice, etc.,—the tiny bright seems to be shining onto food writing.
This week the L.A. Times, under a new owner who wants to grow the paper, announced it will again print a stand-alone food section. With a slew of big-name hires, including two new critics, Bill Addison (Eater) and Patricia Escárcega (The Arizona Republic, The Phoenix New Times), the L.A. Times is positioned to tell the story of what the food world cognoscenti thinks is the current culinary capital of the U.S. Even the New York Times is acknowledging the West Coast’s prowess by naming a California-based critic, Tajel Rao. And it makes sense to put money toward restaurant and food coverage, especially in light of new digital subscriber gains—including those who sign up for the newspaper’s Cooking app.
Up north, Soleil Ho prepares to take over the critic seat at the San Francisco Chronicle, and will bring a wide-ranging view of what restaurants and food mean in today’s fraught climate. From an interview with Grub Street:
Grub Street: For the sake of argument, though, let’s say you discover San Francisco’s most incredible tacos, but learn they’re cooked by a racist chef with a border wall GoFundMe. What do you do?
Soleil Ho: There may be no ethical consumption under capitalism, but we can do our best to lay all the cards out on the table to help others make the most informed decisions they can.
Maybe 2019’s legacy will finally prove food writing is much more than trend-tracking unicorn toast.
News, events, etc.
Wade Truong, and girlfriend Rachel Owen, of Fredericksburg’s Kybecca gets the Kim Severson treatment with a profile on modern-day hunters. [New York Times]
Joining forces with Stomping Ground, Bagel Uprising returns to Del Ray and will take over the Happy Tart space in March. [Facebook]
“Much of the research suggesting that breakfast is absolutely crucial for your health is … funded by cereal makers.” Also, there’s “no evidence to support the notion that breakfast consumption promotes weight loss or that skipping breakfast leads to weight gain.” [The Cut; Vox]
Western Virginia is cool. [Vogue]
Bill Butcher of Port City Brewing testified in front of the House Small Business Committee about the hardships faced by the brewing community because of the government shutdown. [Brewers Association]
Greek restaurant Archontiko will open in McLean next month. [Tysons Reporter]
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