As far as I’m concerned, Beyoncé is superhuman. The pop star’s Grammys performance while pregnant with twins in 2017 was stunning, and the fact that her work as an artist has only gotten more complex and successful since she become a mother is inspiring—even with all the support staff her wealth affords.
It’s conventional wisdom that McDonald’s represents a bland Americanization of global food—no matter where you are, you can order a very okay hamburger and the same golden, delicious fries.
A Chipotle in Ohio was closed on Monday after hundreds of customers reported symptoms ranging from nausea to fever after eating there. That wasn’t the only food-borne pathogen news of the week, either. A recall on salads sold at Trader Joe’s, and Kroger followed, and McDonald’s admitted to 286 lab-confirmed cases of cyclospora from its Fresh Express salads.
Thinking about taking a “summer Friday” to go to the beach, take a hike, or just sprawl on the couch reading and drinking iced coffee? Do it on a Wednesday instead.
Earlier this summer my husband and I took our first big vacation as a family of four. We rented a house on Cape Cod with some dear friends, loaded up our minivan with beach snacks, and hit the road.
I love reading cookbooks, but as I peruse them for meal-planning inspiration I often skip entire sections, knowing I’ll never make single dish from them. When an author tells me that she doesn’t much care for dessert, I’m definitely not going to prioritize her mocha torte recipe. I’ve never met an appetizer I liked more than a beautiful cheese plate. Meh to elaborate breakfast items.
On a recent family holiday on Cape Cod, I was delighted to find these grandma-style egg-beaters, which served double duty: They were perfect for whipping up cream with Kahlua for a kitschy-delicious icebox cake. They also kept my three-year-old busy “whipping” water and asking questions about gears.
Quick, what chocolate treat is best described as a four-fingered wafer shape? If you’re not Norwegian, then a Kit Kat mostly likely came to mind first.
The cover of The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Cookbook—Recipes and Entertaining Secrets from the Most Extraordinary People in the World, is like a hidden pictures game from Highlights magazine imploring you to circle the signifiers of wealth. Lobsters flank a platter of canapés. A silver bowl mounded with caviar rests on a bed of ice. In the foreground a plate appears to be sauced with a gold leaf purée. White chocolate-dipped strawberries and a classic Charlotte Royale peek out from behind a dinner jacketed Robin Leach, holding a glass of Champagne. Crystal glasses and heavy silver abound, daring you to guess which to use first.
The US has enough surplus meat and cheese in cold storage right now for one hell of a taco party.
“In this completely ordinary place, there happens to be extraordinary food,” says Jonathan Gold in a scene from City of Gold, the 2015 documentary of which he is the subject. “It’s the miracle of entry-level capitalism, I think.”
It is not always strictly necessary to cook something to make a spectacular meal. A cheese plate is one of the most perfect dishes you could ever eat, and requires neither stove nor oven.
Some people sing in the shower. Lin-Manuel Miranda sings on the subway. The writer, lyricist, and performer has taken to posting videos of himself singing show tunes on the New York City subway—while fellow riders pay absolutely zero attention to the Tony, Pulitzer, and Grammy award-winner.
Yes, it’s a small step in the direction of cleaner, less plastic-filled oceans to vastly reduce plastic straw usage. But as eaters we have to accept that it’s not just our novelty drinks that have a profound effect on the environment. While the concept of eco-friendly eating usually involves giving something up—going vegan, eating only local food—there are more subtle changes that can be just as powerful. Here are three ways to green your diet.
It’s okay to put ice cubes in your wine. Really. We’re calling it here at Quartzy. “If, like me, you enjoy extremely chilled wine and the satisfying clink of cubes on glass as you drink, why on earth shouldn’t you indulge in that pleasure?” asks my colleague Rosie Spinks, and I agree—no one wants a lukewarm mouthful of rosé or vinho verde when it’s hot outside. For my summer drinking though, I’ll take a proper spritzer over a glass of wine with ice cubes every time.
“This is like a three-star Michelin dish, this one, I mean think about it, the preparation, the texture of the tortilla, we just take it for granted because it’s affordable,” chef Marcus Samuelsson says, biting into a taco in a combination bodega, butcher shop, bar, and taqueria in one of Chicago’s Mexican neighborhoods. “You know how messed up that is?”
John Legend. Drew Barrymore. The Vanderpumps. The Bon Jovis. They all make rosé. Even Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s pink wine, Miraval, persists, despite the dissolution of Brangelina.
I first encountered the Paloma at a Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn, served in a tall terra cotta tumbler, with a chili-salt-encrusted rim, and a side of guacamole. The tequila-and-grapefruit soda drink wasn’t invented there—it has a murky history but is often assumed to hail from Mexico (though some tie its origin to the American grapefruit soda Squirt).
As American as apple pie—it’s a phrase that suggests a gingham tablecloth, a plate full of warm pastry cooling in an open window, a grandmotherly type bustling in a tidy kitchen. It’s the invocation of an idealized past. As we barrel toward the Fourth of July this year, let’s set the apple aside for a moment and consider the grapefruit instead.
We’re in the midst of a vanilla bubble. Cyclones in Madagascar, which produces about 75% of the world’s supply, have driven the price to record highs. And as prices continue to rise it’s worth thinking about swapping your vanilla extract for imitation vanilla flavor for some dishes. Yes, seriously, and not just because imitation vanilla actually works better in many cases.
“You won’t hear too many extended sets about art history in a comedy show,” says Hannah Gadsby, the Australian comedian about two-thirds of the way through Nanette, her new comedy special on Netflix. “So, you’re welcome.” By this time though, the audience is fully aware that what they are watching is not a normal comedy show.
Mention that you swam laps or went to a bootcamp and you seem like someone who enjoys, or at least participates in, exercise. Tell someone that you’re heading to yoga, and there’s a whole Goop-adjacent, wellness-infused philosophy of open hips and good vibrations implied.
Some wine descriptions make inherent sense, like saying that a rosé has grapefruit notes or that a big California red had jammy qualities. Others are a little more abstract, like when you ask for a bright, clean white at your favorite wine store and the person helping you says that her favorite Muscadet is back in stock and that she loves its salty notes. Salty? In a wine? What does that even mean?
In his new book, Yes We (Still) Can, Dan Pfeiffer, host of the podcast Pod Save America, writes about his time working on the Obama White House communications team. As with most political memoirs the most interesting bits are the small moments that punctuate the larger narrative. In this case it’s Pfeiffer sharing with the world relationship advice he once received from Barack Obama.
