Vol. 6, No. 19 | The Cicadas Are Coming, But Must We Eat Them

Hey Everyone,

You know that dream where you turned in your assignment, just to wake up and realize that you missed class? That was me this morning. I knew I needed to get up, but was so tired that I convinced myself that I was awake. Restaurant life.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been thinking about this week:

• The cicadas are coming. Yuck. I still remember the horrible shrieking noise that went on and for weeks when I was still living in DC about 15 years ago. They made the summer miserable. However, I just caught wind that people are planning on eating them and that just doesn’t seem like the solution to me. And yes I understand that bugs are eaten all over the world.

• Eleven Madison Park is going meatless. Daniel Humm, the chef at one of the world’s best restaurants just announced that they were going to switch to an all vegan menu when they reopened. Hmm. I’m very interested to see how this goes. I do believe that we eat entirely too much meat and that it’s unsustainable. I also think that there is tons of room for vegan food done right. I’m tired of seeing imitation meat. I want to see vegetables made in really interesting ways and I”m hoping that’s their approach. I’m not sure how this is going to be received but I’m into it and would love to taste their new menu. If they succeed, this could become a trend. And that’s not a bad thing.

• Top Chef is back on! Ok, I’m super late to this because I was so into Line of Duty. I’ve been catching up the past few days and was very excited to see the episode that focused on food from the African diaspora. When they went to the Jamaican restaurant, Gregory Gourdet really summed up what I’ve been trying to explain to people about Jamaican food for years. It’s so much more diverse than people realize.

• Speaking of Line of Duty (again) when I mentioned them two weeks ago my friend sent me the following message on WhatsApp: “Can you drop a link next time in the newsletter? Gosh.” So here’s where you can watch.

• If you’re eating outside and a bug falls in your food, who’s fault is that? It sounds like a riddle, but it’s a serious question. I was eating at a restaurant the other day and the table next to me wanted their meal replaced because a bug fell in it. I thought it was absurd. You’re sitting outside by choice. Bugs live outside. I wanted to say: Ma’am, if you don’t take that bug out and keep it moving. People are eating cicadas.

Hope you’re all well!

Shannon