Every week we’re rounding up some of our favorite articles with trends and tidbits from the world of restaurants. Tell us: what made your reading list this week?

Announcing the 2020 America’s Classics Winners – James Beard Foundation
Ahead of the big show this spring, the James Beard Foundation announced six recipients of their America’s Classics Awards. The restaurants honored include a chicken-dinner behemoth and an ice cream shop, and span from Seattle to Little Rock. Read their stories here.

‘Rage Baking’ Authors Under Fire For Not Crediting African American Baker Behind a Similar Project – The Washington Post
A new cookbook titled Rage Baking sparked debate after an African American artist named Tangerine Jones accused the authors of co-opting the “ragebaking” idea, which first appeared on her website. Here, Tim Carman contextualizes the controversy in the long history of women of color being denied credit for their work.

Heavily Hyped Restaurants Are Closing at an Alarming Rate – Grub Street
Even big names, fancy pedigrees, and successful track records couldn’t save some recent New York restaurants from closing in their first couple of years of operation. What does that say about the value of hype in translating to real, sustainable business?

Every week we’re rounding up some of our favorite articles with trends and tidbits from the world of restaurants. Tell us: what made your reading list this week?

A Wine Bar for the People – Eater
Countless Parisian nights unfold at the city’s famous natural wine bars, which haven’t achieved the same hold in U.S. cities. That’s because commercial American rents are too high to allow lingering – which is exactly what makes the French drinking culture so special. As Meghan McCarron argues here, the best hope for a relaxed bar culture stateside might be in smaller cities like Milwaukee or Kansas City, rather than NYC.

We Asked the People Behind Some of DC’s Restaurants and Hotels to Share the Weirdest Valentine’s Day Requests They’ve Received – Washingtonian
A “real” cupid to shoot a romantic partner. Hearts made out of Goldfish crackers. An engagement ring hidden in a raw oyster. Read on for some truly original guest requests on Valentine’s Day – and how restaurants went above and beyond to pull them off.

How Much Should Restaurants Pay Employees? – Toast
To play in today’s competitive hiring market, restaurants have to offer a great culture, career growth opportunities, and of course, attractive compensation. Toast dives into the details of structuring employee pay, from hourly vs. salaried to the minimum-wage laws that affect the bottom line.

“No One Suspected Me”: Women Food Critics Dish on Dining Out for a Living – Salon
Women don’t always enjoy the same level of service that men do – even if those women are professional critics. Writer Cara Strickland shares tales of gendered dining inequality, including one restaurant that offered a male critic an entirely different wine list than a female one, and another who cautioned a female critic about ordering a pork chop that was (he assured her) too large.

The Blockbuster Era Changed Movies Forever. Now It Will Transform Restaurants. – Robb Report
The golden age of television and movie streaming has a dining equivalent, Jeremy Repanich writes: delivery and fast casual. He predicts that restaurants in the future will have to be “big, bold and pegged to recognizable names,” just as today’s films need superheroes and villains to get a green light on production. Read his take and discuss.

Every week we’re rounding up some of our favorite articles with trends and tidbits from the world of restaurants. Tell us: what made your reading list this week?

Latest Front in Food Delivery: Kitchens in Empty Malls – The Wall Street Journal
The latest development in the food delivery space aims to leverage obsolete mall space and parking lots, which property developers are using as ghost kitchens to fill orders. It could be a cost-effective solution for meeting ever-growing delivery demand in the e-commerce age.

When Restaurant Wine Lists Intimidate Even the Dining Pros, Something Needs to Change – The Washington Post
After New Yorker food writer Helen Rosner slammed a restaurant on Twitter for its unintelligible wine list, industry pros debated the right way to present bottles and strike up conversations about wine with guests. With esoteric lists, consider some of these ideas: bolding key words, adding bin numbers, or otherwise giving diners more to go on.

Michelin Gives New ‘Green Clover’ Symbol to Sustainable Restaurants – Food & Wine
Last week, Michelin released its guide for France, which featured a new symbol to its repertoire: a green, five-leaf clover that designates restaurants “embracing more sustainable gastronomy.” More than 50 restaurants earned the distinction (a small percentage). So far, it’s unclear exactly what the criteria are or whether the symbol will be coming to the U.S.

Why Restaurant Workers Are Protesting New York’s Minimum Wage Plan – Grub Street
Advocates are protesting Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signing of a recent law, which excluded restaurant workers from the $15 minimum wage. Learn why some advocates worry about wage theft, harassment, and discrimination, and why industry activists are divided on the issue.

Chicago Black Restaurant Week Kicks off Sunday – Chicago Sun-Times
The fifth annual Chicago Black Restaurant Week is here, shining a light on black-owned businesses in the Windy City. Black Restaurant weeks are also taking place in San Antonio and New York, coinciding with February’s Black History Month. See who’s participating, and how they’re using the opportunity to grow their businesses, in these stories.

Every week we’re rounding up some of our favorite articles with trends and tidbits from the world of restaurants. Tell us: what made your reading list this week?

Can Zero-Waste Restaurants Succeed in New York? – Healthyish
Reducing waste is a huge priority for restaurants wanting to up their sustainability game, but the barriers are enough to puzzle even the most environmentally conscious (think small-space composting, delivery services, and even guests with gum wrappers). This piece explores how two NYC restaurants are tackling the challenge.

The Case for Food Criticism in Charlotte – Charlotte Magazine
In the age of social media feeds, selfies, stylized photography, and influencers, where does in-depth criticism fit in? In Charlotte, North Carolina, which has seen a dining boom in recent years, Keia Mastrianni writes that restaurant reviews built on pay-to-play will stall evolution. Read her argument for informed, ethical restaurant criticism without the clicks and likes.

The Complicated Legacy of the Spotted Pig – Eater
Manhattan institution the Spotted Pig officially closed this week after more than 15 years in business, leaving 78 employees without jobs and an industry taking stock. The restaurant that shot April Bloomfield to fame, widely hailed as America’s first true gastropub, closed due to #MeToo allegations against its owner, Ken Friedman. Hillary Dixler Canavan considers what comes next for Spotted Pig’s staff, and what the restaurant might stand for in the future.

Every week we’re rounding up some of our favorite articles with trends and tidbits from the world of restaurants. Tell us: what made your reading list this week?

3 States Moving to Make More SNAP Recipients Eligible for Hot Meals – Civil Eats
A California bill signed into law last fall will expand the Restaurant Meals Program in the federal Food Stamp Act, allowing more people in need to buy prepared foods with EBT cards. Now, Illinois and Maryland are trying to implement similar programs – read on for an overview of the opportunities and obstacles.