the priya krishna/melissa clark thread

[mongo]

call me naive but i'm also surprised that position reports to the deputy food editor.

[Wilfrid]

I agree with that too. Are they looking for someone young and cheap?

(I.e. not me.)

[Wilfrid]

Look closer, 10+ years of experience as a restaurant critic, 4+ years of professional or educational culinary experience?

This is random HR stuff. Bruni? Grimes? Wells? Even Sifton? Anyone?

No. Whoever gets the job will not have done that stuff. And will get paid more. I assume there's a requirement to advertise it.

[mongo]

tejal rao might be at the intersection of those two circles.

[Orik]

12 hours ago, Wilfrid said:

No. Whoever gets the job will not have done that stuff. And will get paid more. I assume there's a requirement to advertise it.

Maybe they're bringing in Francois Simon and they need this for the O-1

[GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry]

37 minutes ago, mongo said:

tejal rao might be at the intersection of those two circles.

She would be a great choice.

[Orik]

I thought she lost her sense of smell. 

[mongo]

would still be a tenfold upgrade on a priya krishna in full possession of her faculties.

[Diancecht]

an all-day cafe in prospect heights

sounds like if zuni cafè reinvented itself and relocated to brooklyn

——

At Oxalis, with its preset menus, you didn’t have to think about what to order because the decisions had been made for you. At Cafe Mado, you can order anything you want. But it turns out that what you want is very likely to be whatever the kitchen has dreamed up. You just don’t know it yet.

[small h]

She writes like Amanda Hesser. And I do not mean that as a compliment.

[backyardchef]

Now everybody reacts to the NYT restaurant reviews the way I always have. 😂

[Orik]

On 1/2/2025 at 6:16 PM, Diancecht said:

 turns out that what you want is very likely to be whatever the kitchen has dreamed up. You just don’t know it yet.

From "Free will and the directionality of time" by M. Clark

[small h]

Oh, look, an hourly report on all the hipsters eating at a hipster diner.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/dining/24-hour-diner.html

Why not the Hollywood? Why not the Malibu? Why not the Orion? NOT ENOUGH HIPSTERS, THAT'S WHY!!!

Edited January 14, 2025 by small h

[backyardchef]

32 minutes ago, small h said:

Why not the Malibu? 

That was my spot for many mental health getaways when I was working at RUB and after I realized that living on 4 Chelsea Papaya dogs a day was not a sustainable plan. 

[small h]

I lived at the Carteret (next to the Chelsea Hotel) in the 90s, and every morning I went out to buy a NYT and an egg & cheese from the Malibu. It was a good reason to get out of bed (and the apartment).

[Diancecht]

i hope you like $14 mac-n-cheese

[GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry]

When did NYT start copying NYMag with the GIF lead images? Have to say I really enjoy them.

[Diancecht]

Another edgy dish, which reads as unremarkable on the menu, is the branzino. The boneless whole fish is roasted in the wood flames until the skin sizzles and crisps, then arrives at the table with its face intact — a treat for those who prize the tender cheeks. Feel free to request it headless, but either way, accompanied by a heap of nearly melted, saffron-scented onions and pine nuts, it is an unqualified triumph.

——

the comments section in the article mention the lack of prices several times, and now we know why

[Wilfrid]

How very, very...edgy.

[Diancecht]

i kind of wonder if priya will become the next critic via osmosis. 

click

========

Yet several cooks The New York Times interviewed on the job said they saw the work as a chance to make a difference in the lives of the detainees, providing them a rare reminder of their humanity: a meal.

“We become more trustworthy because of the food,” said Mr. Reina, a cheerful man with an understated swagger who has cooked at Rikers for 29 years. “Because they want to eat better.”

His job involves much more than cooking — he considers himself a therapist, instructor and mentor for the detainees who help in the kitchen. He never asks them what they did to end up at Rikers.

“Anybody could be on the other side of that fence,” he said. “I don’t judge.”

[Diancecht]

a look at hospital food

[Diancecht]

all noodles, all the time

On my second visit, Mr. Sun showed me a bucket in which he had just combined 20 spices — including peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise and bay leaf — with salt and sugar. The blend is bloomed in a little broth, and just before the soup is served, it’s spooned over the top to lend a burst of sinus-clearing warmth. This broth, which cooks for three hours, was the one I most wanted to sip from a cup.

The thin noodles (the only size offered, and pulled to order) were as tensile as guitar strings, the result of Mr. Sun’s testing more than 10 kinds of wheat flour until he found one that produced sturdy, unyielding noodles. Both the flaps of beef shank and peppery radish turned rich and supple after a short swim in the broth, the cluster of cilantro and scallions providing some verve.

[Wilfrid]

4 hours ago, Diancecht said:

a look at hospital food

Takes me back to when distinguished Mouthfuls alumna Cabrales was keen to learn about prison food.

[mongo]

as i recall, she did gain first-hand experience of homeless shelter "cuisine" (as she put it).

[Wilfrid]

Vaguely remember that, yes.