Skyr, A Great Book About Restaurants, and Kiwis

Welcome to this week's dose

So, remember last week when I said I would end every newsletter with my favorite consumptions of the week? I decided to give consumption the moment it deserves and turn it into its own sub-section, now titled Weekly Dose. Same concept, same five recommendations, just now coming to you in a fresh format every Friday. Maybe you can end the work week or start the weekend with a fun purchase before you consume an eight-minute screaming-into-the-void read from me on Sundays.

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1. Painterland Sisters Skyr Yogurt. I don’t know what Skyr is, and frankly, I don’t really want to know. I got the plain and blueberry lemon flavors by accident in a grocery order at the start of the week, and was immediately skeptical. How many times are we going to reinvent yogurt? And, ultimately, doesn’t it just end up tasting the same as the original version? Nonetheless, I ate both of them anyway and will admit the Painterland Sisters are on to something. It tastes like melted frozen yogurt, but not in a gross way. I preferred the plain, because I’m a sociopath, but the blueberry wasn’t bad. AND it has sixteen grams of protein per serving (if you care about that sort of thing.)

2. Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D'. I am a voracious reader. And I mean that in every sense of the word. I read a lot of books, often in one or two sittings. I don’t discriminate against genre or style (except for sci-fi… sorry.) With the amount I read, it takes a lot for me to rave about a book. And think about a book and talk about a book once I’ve finished it. This book broke the mold. If you like food, reading stories about New York in the eighties (sex, drugs, corruption, etc.), and are fascinated by restaurants and the lives of those who work in them, purchase this immediately. I’ve never wanted to time travel so badly and work in a restaurant while reading this book. If anyone here knows Michael Cecchi and can introduce me, drop me a line. A salacious, interesting, engaging read on the mystique and sexiness, and realities of the restaurant biz in NYC. (I would read this again if anyone wants to book club about it.)

3. Kiwis. The only reason I’m even linking this is because it’s a SPECIFIC type of kiwi that reigns supreme above all others. (The ones that are red inside.) I’ve recently rediscovered this fruit, and it’s been a great addition to top my Skyr for breakfast.

4. Can Whitney Wolfe Herd Make Us Love Dating Apps Again? Now this was one of the better interviews I’ve listened to in a long time. I’ve linked the print version above, but also linking the podcast version here. Whitney Wolfe Herd, somewhat infamous co-founder of Tinder and founder of Bumble, was interviewed by the New York Times on her plans to return to Bumble as CEO (after previously and recently stepping down) and make the company a superstar once again. I didn’t know much about Whitney other than she founded Tinder at 22, then sued her Tinder co-founder for sexual harassment and discrimination, then founded Bumble. Multiple times in the interview, she stated that her life’s work is to “bring people love” which made me cringe but also yeah, if I founded a billion dollar dating app company I guess mine would be too, and that she felt personally responsible for the loneliness and isolation Gen Z feels when it comes to dating and dating apps. I found her to be interesting and smart, albeit she never really explained how she was planning on turning Bumble around and what exactly her plans were as CEO. It made me nostalgic for the Sophia Amoruso “girl boss” era. Simpler times, weren’t they?

5. The Baked Ziti Style Korean Rice Cakes at Sunn’s. This one’s for NYC locals only, sorry. Sunny Lee, of Banchan by Sunny Pop-Ups, opened up her first restaurant, Sunn’s, at the start of the year. I finally made it down (I don’t frequent the Dimes Square area very often, if I can help it) to try it out. The cuisine is Korean with a twist. The banchan are great, a fun selection of cucumbers, kimchi, mushrooms, and other small, well-curated dishes. The rest of the meal, honestly, fell a bit flat for me, but there was one star of the show - the baked ziti Korean rice cakes.

It is an awful picture because I only remembered to take a photo halfway through eating it. If you’re not familiar with Korean rice cakes (tteokbokki), they are made of (you guessed it, rice) and some other vegetables and sauces. The result is a satisfying chewy texture and a great vehicle for sauce. At Sunn’s, they make theirs with a tomato-gochujang brown butter sauce topped with stracciatella and mozzarella cheese, served in a glass Pyrex dish. Really enjoyed this and would love it as a Sunday comfort meal.