The Feed: September 18, 2013

The Feed is my weekly round up of interesting food-related stories from newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites.

Eater: “Windows on the World, New York's Sky-High Restaurant,” by Greg Morabito.
Much was taken away from us on September 11, 2001. One of those things was Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of One World Trade Center, which, along with 79 of its employees, was lost that day. Morabito’s story, a 12th anniversary of 9/11 feature, is a wonderful tribute to the once top-of-the-world restaurant. In addition to discussing its history and design, he also interviews its final chef, Michael Lomonaco.

Washington Post: “Revive wilted produce to fight food waste,” by Carol Blymire.
Blymire’s opening anecdote is a common one for the home cook: at some point in the week you pull out your fridge’s vegetable drawer full of wonderful farmers market produce and find…that it’s not so wonderful anymore. It’s droopy and limp. Maybe okay for a soup or stir fry, but a salad? Uh-uh. She does a great job explaining how moisture loss is the culprit, offers tips to prevent it and explains how to revive vegetables with water once they’ve started going over the edge (too far gone though and they should just be discarded). Handily, she offers specific tips for reviving 12 produce items.

Serious Eats: “The Serious Eats Guide to Ramen Styles,” by J. Kenji López-Alt.
If Bon Appétit’s Beginner’s Guide to Ramen whetted your appetite, this should really satisfy your thirst for ramen knowledge. It’s amazingly comprehensive, covering different types of styles, broth bases, seasonings, noodles, meats, eggs, vegetables and more. And if that’s not enough, this is just part of a week’s worth of ramen coverage. Go noodle yourself!

New York Times: “Miso, for So Much More Than Just Soup,” by Martha Rose Shulman.
I have a tub of miso in my fridge that I bought for a few recipes in the spring (ramen, salmon, risotto and soup) and haven’t done much with since. If it’s still good (miso has a long shelf life, I think), then this Miso-Glazed Eggplant sounds like a perfect use for the Asian fermented bean paste. Shulman offers up several other miso recipes, none of the them soups.

Wall Street Journal: “Chinese Food Goes Upscale,” by Katy McLaughlin.
McLaughlin tackles an interesting question in this piece: with lots of Asian cuisines having gone “upscale” lately, why do so many Chinese restaurants seem stuck in the past? (“General Tso’s chicken and fortune cookies” as she puts it). Things may be changing though, as she chronicles several promising new openings across the country.

USA Today: “10 food fads worth traveling for,” by Christine Sarkis.
By now, everyone’s heard of the cronut. And the ramen and umami burgers are certainly making the rounds. Sarkis rounds up a collection of many of the most prominent trendy food trends and shares where you can get them.

The Amateur Gourmet: “Alphabet Of Foods That Will Kill You,” by Adam Roberts.
Food blogger Adam Roberts put out what amounts to a six-page comic book that covers deadly foods from A to Z. It’s mostly tongue-in-cheek, although arguably there are a few fatal things on the list.