Interest in food (and beverages) exploded in the late 20th century because the artisanal, farm-to-table, locavore, slow-food ethos of the food world is an antidote
Category: Contemporary Food Culture
Pleasure and the Tissue of Little Things
Big ideas about food usually arrive dressed as grand causes such as sustainability, health, or authenticity. These are good causes. But the everyday power of
Why Food and Music Mobilize Communities
Some arts, such as painting, ask you to come to them; other arts come for you. Food and music are force vectors that pull bodies
Fast Food as a Theory of Society
Fast food isn’t just a style of cuisine; it’s a social theory with a drive-thru. The paper bag is a syllabus. Its core axioms—uniformity, calculability,
The Michelin Guide Will Review Wine?
Last week brought the curious announcement that the Michelin Guide plans to start reviewing wine. It’s not clear how this will work given that the
When the Useless is Bewitching: The Japanese Tea Ceremony
I’ve been going on about what I call the” production paradigm” for the last few weeks. We are often sucked into the view that everything
