Food (Section) Fight!: Week 36

Food (Section) Fight! is my weekly look at The Washington Post's Food section and The New York Times' Dining section with my verdict on which section had the better content for the week.

Washington Post

1) "Beyond true grits," feature story by Tim Carman. There's a southern influence to the lead stories in both the Post and the Times today. Carman's feature is about cookbook author John Martin Taylor, whose work helped rediscover the "low-country" cuisine of the Carolinas. The accompanying recipe for Roast Chicken with Groundnut (peanut) Dressing is making me hungry.

2) "Spinach and Bacon Chili," Dinner in Minutes recipe by Bonnie S. Benwick. I have a favorite chili recipe, but I'm always open to trying new ones, and this recipe sounds great. I'd love to try a chili with bacon in it.

3) "Sephardi, served with a side of Ladino," article by Vered Guttman. In addition to the above-the-fold southern connection, both the Post and Times ran below-the-fold Spanish-related stories. Here, Guttman examines the cuisine of a local group of Ladino-speaking Sephardic Jews, Ladino being a Castilian dialect of Spanish origin. Like the Carolinian cuisine story, it's accompanied by a set of related recipes, such as Stuffed Eggplant (Karniyarik).

New York Times

1) "Churning the Market," article by Julia Moskin. The most interesting thing I learned this morning: buttermilk at the grocery store isn't really "real" buttermilk. It's a facsimile developed from cultured skim milk and additives. True buttermilk--the leftover product from churning butter--is actually now rather rare, but Moskin profiles a small-time Maine dairy that still makes it the old way (and sells its product throughout the Northeast).

2) "Putting Spain Back in Spanish Food," article by Glenn Collins. D.C.'s, if not America's, most famous Spanish chef, Jose Andrés, has joined the International Culinary Center in Manhattan as its dean of Spanish Studies, a position from which he has already worked to develop a Spanish cooking curriculum for the school. I like the picture sidebar showing Andrés's technique for making a fried egg.

3) "Enjoying Results of Summer's Labor," City Kitchen recipe by David Tanis. As a big fan of panzanella, this recipe for Fattoush, a Lebanese bread salad, might be an interesting alternative.

Verdict

The New York Times. It wasn't a banner week for either publication, and it was pretty close. It was probably Jose Andrés who tipped it toward the Times, which is ironic if you think about it. The Times is on a roll with its third win a row. C'mon Post! Time to catch up.


Score

The New York Times: 19
The Washington Post: 16