Ethics scandals are politico porn. They’re also fertile ground for undeserved scapegoating. But there’s one category in which, across the board, there’s not nearly enough public stoning going on: the world of information intermediaries. On the government side, that means regulatory agencies; in the private sector, it’s the critics, the expert witnesses in capitalism’s de Full Article…
Viewing 11 to 20 of 23 items
GQ’s Alan Richman trashes Italian pizza, but makes a glaring mistake
It’s one thing for a food writer to opine about which pizza style is his or her favorite—everybody seems to do it, whether in New York, New Haven, or Naples. But it’s a breathtaking mistake for a seasoned food writer like Alan Richman, in his widely read new GQ evaluation of the top 25 pizzerias in Full Article…
Why inexpensive American wine is so bad
The New Yorker’s recent profile of Fred Franzia has sparked a debate amongst the wine pundits on the question of why it’s so hard to find good American wines under $10, under $12, or even $20. I had an interesting conversation on this topic with Tyler Colman the other day. There’s a debate on the topic on Tyler’s Full Article…
The Gillette razor theory of consumer behavior
In Adam Gopnik’s excellent piece about Gillette razors and innovation in the New Yorker, he discusses the fact that each new generation of razors—Gillette’s latest, the Fusion, now has five blades and a “triple-A battery inside, which makes it vibrate delicately to no particular purpose, like an old electric football game” (probably the best simile I’ve read Full Article…
Do you think the Spanish and Italians are drinking wine? They’re really drinking beer
The wine cultures of Spain and Italy are idealized. But much of the time, in real-life situations, their populations—whether it’s old men guzzling at midday or twentysomethings at night—actually favor beer. Wine is still the thing to accompany a family dinner or elaborate restaurant meal in southern Europe, which is why their per-capita wine consumption Full Article…
Do the molecular gastronomists have no clothes?
On culinary televangelism and the Parkerization of cuisine In the introduction to his book La Cocina al Desnudo (roughly “The Kitchen Laid Bare”), the chef Santi Santamaría writes: “one of the greatest challenges faced by today’s chefs is to avoid becoming the court jesters of the snobs and the posh.” One of the highlights of Full Article…
Dog food vs. pâté on Colbert Report
Apparently Stephen Colbert was amused by our paper investigating whether people could taste the difference between pâté and dog food. His conclusion was pretty funny.
Gold frills for the Russians, mighty warriors for the Japanese: on wine versioning
Spain’s Felix Solís Avantis is probably the biggest wine producer you’ve never heard of, pumping out more than 200 million liters per year. The company’s industrial facility in Valdepeñas (in La Mancha, near Ciudad Real) is more or less the Death Star of wine factories. The warehouse alone is the size of an airplane hangar, Full Article…
The Boston Wine Party: Letter from FENAVIN, or why archaic US wine policy robs consumers
Should we stage a Boston Wine Party, and throw our wine into the Atlantic? Perhaps the most striking aspect of the bewilderingly diverse wines on display at this week’s FENAVIN, Spain’s national wine fair, is the price range: 2€–5€ is most common, trailed slightly by <2€ (a significant category, with strong representation from La Mancha, the wine Full Article…
Have we all been pouring bottled beer wrong? How to pour beer…
Randy Mosher, one of America’s leading experts on the topic, thinks so. Randy’s new book, Tasting Beer: An Insider’s Guide to the World’s Best Drink, was recently published by Storey, which shares a publishing umbrella (Workman) with my own Fearless Critic Media. It’s an excellent book, totally accessible yet technical enough to take readers into some Full Article…