#26: A Cozy Catastrophe
Umami Mia
Thanks to last week’s newsletter from Ann Friedman, I read this mind-blowing/head-scratching treatise on umami as a theory of value that is replacing the dominance of the experience economy.
Simply put (haha!) they’re talking about the ongoing wave of cultural gentrification brought about by the palatable homogeneity that we (broadly speaking) have come to savor over the past decade or so. Some of this comes from the start-up world, with its particular and globally-pervasive aesthetic. It’s “premiocre” as the definition of tastefulness. And it all comes down to–wait for it–David Chang.
This kind of reading is definitely not everyone’s bag, but if it’s yours, I recommend falling into the many click holes the article opens up, but particularly the excellent piece in Wired on David Chang’s theory of deliciousness, which really crystallizes the umami argument and inspires new ways of understanding the power of food:
“When you eat something amazing, you don’t just respond to the dish in front of you; you are almost always transported back to another moment in your life.”
Or, you can skip past the overwrought intellectualizing and just watch the very tight four episodes of Chang’s second season of Ugly Delicious, and maybe cry a little bit as you watch him transform from bro-chef to new father:
“It almost brings cooking back to why you cared about it to begin with: I’m here to put all of myself in this so you can get some nourishment and love from it.”
With his new book Eat a Peach coming out this May, there’s a lot of Chang content circulating out there at the moment, but I particularly enjoyed this New York Times profile (and his sharp POV on the state of the restaurant biz amidst COVID-19).
***
The Cozy Catastrophe
“Just the other day, a friend said to me, wistfully, “Man, I miss eating at restaurants.” He’d gone a whole week without ordering an appetizer.” Do you even know how good you have it? Wired on how most of us are living through a Cozy Catastrophe. (PS: this does seem like a very flip take, but trust me, it does not in the least diminish the grave reality of this crisis.)
For those of us fortunate enough to remain in good health and spirits, we’re finding solace in homey pursuits. Yes, everyone is baking bread or learning to bake bread or at least watching everyone else bake bread.
For the less culinarily-inclined, of course crafting is absolutely essential, but has there ever been a better time to make a podcast or start a newsletter?
Just don’t do a fucking puzzle.
***
Sofa, So Good
“Tracy has already contracted and survived the virus (“My snakes eat bats and then I use my snakes to practice French kissing, so it was inevitable, Liz Lemon!”) Showrunners write coronavirus episodes.
I watched all of Sex Education in two days, and you should too. Here's to the softboys.
All of the soups, ranked.