Food news antipasto

I am not sure how long this was in the works – usually magazines plan ahead several months – but the timing of Food and Wine’s special travel issue seems especially poignant today. Billed as a “celebration of Canadian cuisine,” the issue features Canada native and BravoTV host Gail Simmons as guest editor. Simmons says the goal is “to fuel your cravings for fresh air and fresher seafood, fill your pockets with maple candies, and infuse your dreams with a little northern wanderlust.” Of note, this year’s season of Top Chef is taking place in Canada (three episodes have aired already).

Any time I see a link that leads to a “best of” list that features one of my favorite foods, I am compelled to click on it. This time it was from SBS Food, and it offered a ranking of the best lemon desserts of all time. The list wasn’t presented in any particular order and I thought one dessert in particular was unfairly omitted: lemon posset. EYB Members probably agree, considering that Ina Garten’s English lemon posset is the top lemon dessert in the EYB Library when ranked by “buzz.” See the other top-ranked lemon desserts.

While the avocado toast trend seems like a relatively recent phenomenon, its history goes back for hundreds of years. One interesting aspect of avocado’s popularity is that the fruit nearly went extinct. Avocados were a staple food of the megafauna that roamed North and Central America such as the woolly mammoth and giant ground sloth. They ate the large seeds of the avocado which helped distribute the plant across its growing region. When these megafauna died out about 13,000 years ago, the avocado’s future was in peril. Fortunately for us, humans stepped in and cultivated avocados, replacing the megafauna as seed distribution vessels.

Meera Sodha has been writing a weekly column in The Guardian that focuses on vegan dishes for the past eight years. Yesterday she announced that she is switching gears and will be now writing vegetarian recipes every other week, adding dairy and egg into her recipe repertoire. She says that she is “thrilled to have new ingredients in the kitchen.” I am definitely looking forward to vegetarian recipes written by a master recipe developer.

For reasons unknown to us mere mortals, Tesla recently announced it was opening a restaurant in Los Angeles. It will be helmed by Eric Greenspan, who recently was occupied with delivery-only restaurants. The diner will feature burgers, milkshakes, and “1950s retro charm, dazzling neon lights” plus two drive-in movie screens and 75 level-four electric car charging stations. Oh, now I see why they are opening it.

Food festivals can be a wonderful way to experience new dishes and flavors, but they do have some drawbacks. Often the lines are long, there are few comfortable places to sit, and they can be costly. Good Food’s Terry Durack has another idea: make your own food festival.