Our show this week has only four segments. When that happens, it means that we couldn't bear to edit them down. I draw your attention in particular to two conversations. I spoke to a journalist about the smoke and mirrors of the "no tax on tips" campaign and about the dreadful federal tip rate. I also spoke at length with Miyoko Schinner, who approached vegan dairy in a completely different way than anyone had before. She's fascinating!

I'm in Italy, in Parma, where I recently arrived after some quiet time in the Italian Alps. 

Things I've seen in Alpe Devero: Hikers with walking sticks, but not too many. They've been of all ages, even an older woman with a walker and her family. I've seen people on mountain bikes and on regular bikes. I saw a golden horse race across the meadow. I've seen amazing night skies filled with stars and mountain tops turned orange-gold by the morning sun. But mostly this unbelievably beautiful Alpine plane ringed with pine trees and larches and dotted with a few wooden guesthouses. All of this set against a backdrop of granite peaks. Yesterday, I laid down on the grass and took a nap by a stream. If you want to read about that idyll, go to my latest Good Food substack post. Lots of pics there. 

I want to shout out Birdie G's, Jeremy Fox's beloved restaurant. He announced its upcoming closure. Another gut punch to our dining scene. Every restaurant that closes puts more people out of work. Let us hope they have relatively soft landings. 

When I get back from Italy, I'll be in event land. I'm really looking forward to my conversation with chef Gilberto Cetina of Holbox, chef Fátima Juárez of Komal, chef Chuy Cervantes of Damian and Ditroit Taqueria, and baker Arturo Enciso of Gusto Bread. They will discuss Indigenous ingredients, the Columbian Exchange, French techniques, and their impact on kitchens across LA County. The event is on October 8th at La Plaza Cultura y Artes. It's free, but you need to register. Tickets here.

Also, as a special treat for you, here's another reason to check out our Substack. Gillian Ferguson, the voice of the market report and supervising producer of Good Food, has written her first market-focused newsletter. She tells the story of the Bautista family and the extraordinary dates they grow in Mecca, California. Go read it!

I loved being a guest on Anne Helen Peterson's Culture Study podcast! We talked about the ebb and flow of food trends. Why does every restaurant in the U.S. (still) have a brussel sprouts dish on its menu? How did hot chicken get franchised? Listen here!

The Week's Dining Highlights from the Good Food Team

From Evan: Host of Good Food.
The trout with perfect roast potatoes and spinach with a touch of garlic and the right amount of olive oil (a lot) served for dinner at Casa Fontana, where I'm staying in Alpe Devero.

From Gillian: Supervising Producer of Good Food and voice of the market report.
Everything and anything at Petitgrain Boulangerie in Santa Monica. This week's revelation was the Bostock, a textural marvel that goes from a soft, yielding center to a crisp, toffee-like texture along the edges.

From Laryl: Senior Director of Good Food.  
The banana cream pie with coconut crumble and banana ice cream at Petit Trois checked a couple of boxes.

From Elina: Digital Producer of Good Food. 
Indigo Cow offers soft-serve ice cream made with Hokkaido milk, which is a Big Deal, both inside and outside of Japan. I don't know much about it, but the ice cream is tasty, especially when drizzled with brown sugar and topped with mochi.

Did you know that in several states, employers are allowed to pay tipped workers less than the minimum wage, which is sometimes shockingly low? This is known as the "tip credit." Eyal Press of the New Yorker recently reported a story about attempts to raise the minimum wage for servers in several places around the United States. But powerful organizations have fiercely opposed this. 

Long before vegan cheese and butter showed up in supermarkets, Miyoko Schinner was in her kitchen experimenting with nuts, seeds, and fermentation. She went on to found Miyoko's Creamery. Now, the plant-based pioneer has a new cookbook, The Vegan Creamery. 

In 1905, journalist Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, a shocking exposé about Chicago's meatpacking plants. The story featured disgusting conditions, factories that deliberately used diseased meat, and workers who routinely lost limbs or died on the job. More than a hundred years later, journalist Chloe Sorvino published a scathing look at our modern meat industry: Raw Deal. How much has changed? Less than you might hope.

At Huckleberry, pastry chef Laurel Almerinda uses Mike Cirone's apples in an apple honey tarte tatin — perfect for Rosh Hashanah. When you're baking with apples, Laurel recommends choosing a tart variety. She gets her apples from Mike Cirone who grows them in See Canyon, near San Luis Obispo. This week, Mike had 16 apple varieties on offer including Ashmead's Kernel, Cox's Orange Pippin, Golden Russet, and Belle de Boskoop.