Plus Prada goes Katz’s mode and more |
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Welcome to Open Tab, a weekly roundup of news, gossip, and stories that have stayed open in my tabs all week. Last week we covered the trouble at Ben & Jerry’s.
After I proposed the nickname Tabbers for readers of this newsletter last week, a couple readers wrote in describing the nickname as “ridiculous” and “sounds like the name of a cat”—both valid critiques! How do we feel about Openeers? Be warned: I have no shortage of nickname ideas, and a burning desire to please.
I spent last weekend at a lakehouse with friends where we grilled burgers and I used a Green Egg for the first time to smoke ribs for six (!) hours. I also managed to get a sunburn after kayaking in the sun for a mere 30 minutes. Openeers, I recommend both experiences—in tandem if possible.
The restaurant community (in New York, at least) is abuzz after Andy Baraghani announced he’s opening his first restaurant, called Ditto, later this year. He's partnered with Michael Silber, who, until now, has been mostly behind the scenes, though he’s had a hand in a slew of new, very hot restaurants. Stars, Smithereens, Penny, you know the type.
Also of note: Noma is reopening in Copenhagen on August 5, following the complicated run of its LA residency. Rene Redzepi will be stepping aside from day-to-day operations, which instead will be led by head of research and development Mette Brink Søberg and executive chef Pablo Soto.
Did you catch the trailer for the fifth and final season of The Bear that dropped this week? I wasn’t sure if The Bear was still the hit it once was, but it racked up around 10 million views in less than a week, so I guess I was wrong. Should I interview Ayo Edebiri about the ~3 months we worked at the same restaurant in the mid 2010s? Would you read that?
And finally, after Nancy Mace was roundly defeated in this week’s South Carolina’s gubernatorial primary, she is apparently self-soothing with baked beans. Consider looking inward instead, queen!
Also this week: The screwworms beefing with your beef, Prada goes Katz’s mode, why restaurants are considering World Cup service fees, and we’ve found you the best places to eat and drink in America’s World Cup cities.
If you have any food gossip to share, please send me a note or a DM. |
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Droughts have already thinned cow herds and beef prices are up 13% year over year. And unfortunately, I have more bad news: This week, the USDA announced three new cases of New World screwworms, a parasitic flesh-eating fly. Screwworms were thought to have been eradicated in the 1960s, but they’ve reappeared after DOGE-led cuts slashed the program meant to keep them at bay.
Could this realistically explode beef prices? It certainly has the potential to do just that. But containment efforts have already started, and, at the moment, just three calves are infected. “We prevented and eradicated this pest before,” Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, said during a briefing. “We can do it again.” |
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Dear Bon Appétit
Our cooking advice column is open for submissions—ask us a question! We’re here to help you get dinner (and lunch and breakfast) on the table.
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Dear Bon Appétit
Our cooking advice column is open for submissions—ask us a question! We’re here to help you get dinner (and lunch and breakfast) on the table.
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Diners Are More Curious Than Ever—And It Has These James Beard Nominees Excited |
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The Best Carbon Steel Pans, the Pan of Choice for Pro Chefs |
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There’s trouble at Ben & Jerry’s: Co-founder Ben Cohen is launching a protest movement after parent company Unilever stifled B&J’s social impact work, he says.
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Michelin nixes its Green Star: In 2020, the Michelin Guide introduced the rating system as a way to honor chefs’ sustainability efforts. But just six years later, the guide is retiring this designation. Sustainable chefs the world over are pretty pissed off.
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Will restaurants face a World Cup tourism bubble? Plus the attempted Hooters rebrand, the wild world of stadium food, and we revisit an LA bar helping its community.
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