Welcome to Open Tab, a weekly roundup of news, gossip, and stories that have stayed open in my tabs all week. Last week we covered the pasta sauce company that wants to record your conversations.
This week I was pleased to read a lovely Grub Street piece by Ella Quittner about Jacques Pépin, now 90, who makes the world’s greatest chicken. I particularly liked when Pépin told Quittner, author of the incredible cookbook Obsessed with the Best, that everyone’s “definition of the best of anything is ‘to a certain extent a narcissistic reflection of your taste.’” Gagged me a bit, to be honest.
Oysterman Graham Platner will likely be the Democratic challenger to Susan Collins in Maine’s upcoming US Senate race after governor Janet Mills dropped out this week. When I profiled Platner late last year, I found it fascinating to see how food—and his work as an oysterman—play a huge part in his politics.
Also this week: Noma’s reservation books are certainly not empty, there’s pizza drama on the feed, we review Goop Kitchen'’s NYC offering, and we’re curious: Would you take product recs from an AI podcast?
Would you dine at Noma post-scandal?
Perhaps you remember the Noma scandal that rocked the food world and ended with René Redzepi’s stepping away from the LA residency? After the outcry, sponsors dropped, reservations were canceled, and the general sentiment was “screw those guys! I’ll never eat deer penis there ever again!”
And yet here we are. The reservation books at Noma aren’t empty. Tom Sietsema, former food critic at The Washington Post, ate at the Noma pop-up last month and declared the food “perfect-adjacent.” Now Los Angeles Times editor Daniel Hernandez, too, has reported on his meal at Noma LA, even as the paper’s critics declined to dine there. Certainly, they’re not alone. Elon Musk has eaten there, as have some notable other rich people.
As another LA scandal restaurant, Sqirl, enters its redemption era post Moldy Jam–gate, perhaps we must ask ourselves: Can a restaurant ever actually be canceled? Should they be?
Trouble in pizza paradise
New York City is home to some of the best pizza in the world, but this week the pizza power players were fighting. It started with a post from New York Eats Here, a local digital outlet that bills itself as “Food Culture Not Porn,” which claims “Infatuation didn’t find the best pizza in America. It found the one that paid to be found.” Recursive wording aside, it’s a bold accusation: that The Infatuation’s reviews are bought and paid for by restaurants.
It wasn’t long before heavy-hitting pizza spots began weighing in. “I’m on multiple lists on The Infatuation and never paid anyone a fucking dime for anything press related, ever,” wrote the Chrissy’s account. “Chris when ppl can’t do any better they just talk shit lol …,” replied the L’industrie account. The Infatuation, a restaurant recommendation website, itself weighed in with a friendly yet firm reminder that it doesn’t accept free meals. The issue, as a longer post explains, seems to be that The Infatuation is owned by bank JPMorgan Chase, and, as such, must be used to create value for cardholders, which inherently means that it’ll only feature restaurants attractive to cardholders, which, in turn, means only big-name spots make it. “The bodega slice shop in East Tremont that’s been open since 1991 is not on the list,” the piece reads.
What we’re really talking about here is what these “best of” lists accomplish, which is not always to name the best (what even is the best?), but to name the newest, the hottest, the most innovative, the most exciting, the unmissable. Maybe that bodega slice shop is great to you, but maybe Pépin is right and it’s simply a narcissistic reflection of your taste—sorry, he just really got me with that line.
An AI podcast about your next kitchen necessity
Business Insider correspondent Katie Notopoulos noticed something odd on Amazon: AI-generated podcasts describing the benefits of the diaper rash cream she was about to order. As it turns out, this is an (odd, absurd, potentially pretty unhelpful) tool Amazon is rolling out on its shopping app. Tap the “Hear the highlights” button and you’re treated to a repetitive and kind of boring podcast-style conversation wherein two “hosts” discuss the product. The catch is, as senior shopping editor Noah Kaufman pointed out, that an AI hasn’t actually tested the products, so it can’t truly speak to the experience of using it.
“I’m curious. What makes this machine special compared to other coffee makers?” the AI host asks about a Nespresso Vertuo listing. The other AI speaker launches into a spiel about the specifications and features. It’s like your favorite podcast, except instead of short ad breaks, it’s only ads. Just what we all wanted!
We’re gooped (for Goop Kitchen)
Gwynth Paltrow’s Goop Kitchen has landed in New York, and, though its initial rollout was rocky due to high demand, it seems to have found its footing. Bon Appétit staffer Kate Kassin sampled the menu and has had nothing but good things to say about nearly everything she tried—namely the brownie, which she “f*#%ing loved.”
Read on for more details on Kate’s review of Goop Kitchen’s offerings.