Why most food review content doesn’t do it for me
Also dishing: RealReal addiction confessions, food media plagiarism drama, and wind-tunnel Cobb salads
Hello! We’re nearly in September and I’m honestly so happy about it. I’m excited to get back to the city full time and dive into more cooking projects. :)
I’ve also been thinking a lot about the main part of this week’s Substack—it’s a bit of a monologue, something I’ve been circling in conversations lately. Maybe it’s obvious, maybe not, but it felt worth putting into words. And honestly, it felt more natural to write it out than to spend hours making 100 graphics and links (I promised myself the end of August would be a little more chill).
The rest of this newsletter is my usual mix: what’s cooking, what’s in my cart, and whatever else is keeping me entertained right now.
If you’re new here — hi! I grew a following on TikTok after cooking through the NYT Top 50 Recipes and now I write this newsletter because it’s my favorite part of my week. If you’re not subscribed yet, now’s a great time to fix that. :)
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CURRENTLY:
PS — If you're just here to shop the things I mention (skincare, clothes, kitchen staples), I try to keep it all tidy on my ShopMy.
Cooking: Ina’s fish in parchment is forever in my hall of fame — so simple, so reliable, truly a back-pocket recipe. I also test-drove some key lime pie sandwich cookies this week and… divine. Will prob drop a recipe when it’s no longer seasonally appropriate
In my cart: This Entire Studios gown ($300) that feels like the perfect guest-wedding uniform (I have, ummm, eight to prep for next year). Currently obsessed with all things Arakii, esp. this top ($280) — dramatic in the best way. Lastly, a cashmere cardi ($285)
swore by, and I trust herWearing: This Khy ruched top ($63) is a flattering basic that goes both dress-up and dress-down. And… I must confess that I’m an Oofos girl ($59). Hideous? Yes. Heavenly for bad feet? Also yes. Walking around your apt never felt so luxe
Trying (and will let you know!): This Crown Affair mousse ($38) for air-dry waves. Also, APL kindly welcomed me into their store and I left with these Euphoria sneakers ($320). TBD if they’re the solution for my foot pain, but the walk-around felt veerrry promising
Scrolling (Online): This GAP ad with Katseye has been living rent-free in my brain alll week, I totally thought this for the first 18 years of my life (and the comments are gold), and this just got points with me for relevance
Market Pulse: Pinterest dropped their fall trend report: alongside pixie cuts + grunge makeup, we’ve got sweet focaccias and tiny baked goods trending (love). Also—loving this Rare Beauty x Tajín collab. Very iconic
Listening: The NYT Daily’s Why Is Everyone So Obsessed with Protein? I liked this because I do feel like it’s been a hot topic, but tell me why I always leave the Daily episodes feeling either under- or over-explained? Mediocre middle ground is missing. And don’t go this week without listening to the The Adam Scott x Amy Poehler episode — pure serotonin
Discussing: I posted a TikTok about recipe plagiarism after NYT Cooking called cream cheese the “secret” to easy ice cream. Context: Jeni Britton Bauer made that method famous back in 2011.
The comments got interesting: some people argued credit only matters if it’s copy-pasted, others said you should nod to whoever made it mainstream, and a few pushed for tracing the deeper history (though, as one person noted, no one credits the original inventor of blackened fish anymore). So where should the line be? Watch here.
REVIEWS ARE EASY, TASTEMAKING IS HARD
When I tell people what I do, they often ask if I make food review content. And the answer is…sometimes. I’ll write about a restaurant or share a dish I liked on TikTok, but it’s never been something I’ve eased into naturally—nor do I think it should be. Reviews suggest objectivity, like there’s a right or wrong answer. Taste is subjective. What I like isn’t a universal truth; it’s just my perspective.
And that feels even sharper online, where thousands (probably millions) of people are constantly telling you where to eat. Scroll for a minute and you’ll be hit with ten “best ever” spots, each one presented as fact. The paradox is that opinions get packaged like headlines, but they’re only useful if you know the person behind them. Do they get comped? Are they too nice to be mean? Do they care more about the vibe than the food? Did they say what a place is actually good for, or just stamp it as “amazing”?
It wasn’t always like this. Tastemakers used to be easy to spot: the critic in the paper, the Zagat guide, the editor whose byline you came to trust. You learned their preferences because you saw them over and over. The authority came from repetition, from having a track record.
Now the gates are wide open. Anyone can publish, affiliate links are everywhere, algorithms reward hot takes over nuance, and sometimes parasocial trust replaces actual familiarity. That doesn’t make tastemaking irrelevant—it just changes the job. A real tastemaker today isn’t “the judge.” They’re the person who tells you what they value, what they overlook, and where their taste gets weird. Not universal, but consistent enough to read.
Becoming that kind of tastemaker looks less like chasing novelty and more like building a body of work. From return visits, from updating when a place goes downhill, from admitting when you were wrong. From saying for whom and under what circumstances something works. From calling out trade-offs: incredible food, cramped space; stunning room, meh dessert. From making it clear when you were paid. In other words: giving people enough context that they don’t have to play detective before dinner. And I should say—I have friends (and a few folks who I follow on Substack) who do this sooo well (cc’ing
). They’ve figured out how to be rigorous and trustworthy while still making it entertaining, which is no small feat.Which is why reviews have never felt natural for me. I don’t like pretending I have the final word, and I don’t love the performative snark that sometimes gets rewarded online. I care about small businesses but I also care about being honest. I care about food and the whole experience. (Also, I’m extremely embarrassed to take photos at dinner and, when I do, they turn out horrible anyway!) I like context more than verdicts. I’d rather say, “go for the sardines and sit outside at sunset” than declare a place capital-G Great. That doesn’t sound like a “review,” but it feels like taste.
I’m not trying to be the authority here. What I am trying to do is make my lens clear enough that you can decide how (or whether) to use it. I’m still working on saying what I notice, what I care about, and where my biases sit—but that feels like the real project.
If that ends up building trust, great. If it just helps you calibrate your own taste against mine, also great. Either way, I’ll keep trying to share what pulled me in & why.
I told you it was going to feel a bit like a monologue. :)
OTHER THINGS:
Vulnerable share: The time I’ve spent on The RealReal app this week officially outpaced my time on Instagram. Send help (or a collab offer haha)
NYC things: Can we talk about Graza’s US Open tickets?? First row?? Wild. They sent me 40 bottles of olive oil this summer and honestly I would’ve taken nosebleeds at Arthur Ashe instead (kidding kind of). Also: Il Buco is hosting a pig roast and I will do everything I can to be there
Ate this week: Attempted Crow’s Nest in Montauk at 6 PM on a Saturday — waitlist was already closed, so back to Duryea’s for the third week running (poor me!). Normally love, but this time it was a nightmare. We waited 2.5 hours (expected), spent a fortune (expected), then got sat at the very end of the dock in 20 mph winds with no blankets. My Cobb salad was literally airborne. The staff didn’t care and did nothing to make up for it. Would not recommend shivering seafood.
On a happier note: Edith’s BLT + watermelon slushie = perfect 10/10. And L’Industrie last night. Waited 15 mins at 8:30. Always in my top 3 NYC pizza
Small joy, big impact: A reader answered my questions from last week’s newsletter in her own Substack, and it was so thoughtful. Made me grin like an idiot!
And don’t forget to like, comment, repost, subscribe, and share with your friends. It all makes me smile. And I don’t do that often.
i crave l’industrie on the regular. will fly for pizza lol
I especially loved this one! More monologues, please!