Food news antipasto

Eater staff published their favorite cookbooks coming out this autumn. You will probably see most, if not all, of these books in Jenny’s upcoming reviews, but it’s helpful to get perspective from other food writers. Of the new releases, they highlight books from Martha Stewart, Carolina Gelen, Paola Velez, and Yotam Ottolenghi saying these and other releases “will make you happy to turn on the stove again.”

Cell phones have become so ubiquitous that it is difficult to imagine life without them. As someone who remembers what it was like to have to find a phone booth to make a call away from home, I still find their convenience amazing. However, there are times when cell phones can be a nuisance, such as in a restaurant. A restaurant server recently penned a short cell phone etiquette guide as a reminder of what is appropriate and what is not when it comes to phones and dining. Even if you follow all of these rules, you probably know someone who could benefit from a forward of this article.

On a related note, social media has become a driving force in food, for better or worse (perhaps for better AND worse). When it comes to dining out, apps like Instagram have changed restaurants as diners come to expect stunning visuals that mimic the perfection they see on their small screens. The Independent’s Helen Salter queried several experts to determine just how “aesthetics came to rule the roost.” One such expert, interior designer Melanie Liaw, says that while trends like the ‘Instagram wall’ are fading away, designers are now “thinking about an interior space, knowing that it’s not just the people sitting at the table looking out, it’s the world looking at it through someone else’s lens.”

The Guardian just released an exclusive excerpt from Nigel Slater’s latest book A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy … A Memoir of Sorts. As usual, it is filled with the author’s exquisite writing. As the title suggests, this book goes beyond the recipes and stories of Slater’s previous works because he dives deep into the notebooks he has kept over the years which contain “curiosities and wonderings” reflecting the “simple joys that can arrive anywhere.”

Food giant Heinz released its first new canned product in a decade in the UK, spaghetti carbonara. You might wonder if this would be a product conducive to being in a tin, but you do not have to be brave enough to try it yourself. The Standard’s David Ellis, Mike Daw, and Josh Barrie reviewed the product, each giving their own impression of how awful it was.