The Feed: July 9, 2014

The gluten-free backlash has begun. Score one for bread!

Washington Post: “Backlash Has Begun Against Gluten-Free Dieters,” By Ellen McCarthy.
I’m skeptical of fad diets in general, but especially the gluten-free one. McCarthy looks at the growing backlash against it. Certainly, it's a legitimate choice for celiac suffers, but for others, it may represent the loss of beneficial whole grains. Also of interest is the finding that many gluten-free dieters don’t even know what gluten is (for the record, it’s a protein found in grains like wheat, rye and barley).

Washington Post: “Dan Barber On ‘The Third Plate’: ‘Farm-to-Table . . . Has a Fallacy Attached to It’,” by Whitney Pipkin.
Dan Barber, chef of Blue Hill, the James Beard-award winning New York restaurant (that we visited last year) and one of the most visible voices in the farm-to-table movement has written a book about said movement and its future. What many people equate as restaurants serving expensive fresh vegetables is, apparently, much more, at least to Barber, who sees sustainability as a key ingredient sometimes missing from the recipe.

Washington Post: “Canning Class: Apricots in Syrup,” by Cathy Barrow.
All summer, Barrow, of Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen, has been sharing her tips for canning the amazing summer bounty. This week, she turns her attention to canning apricots, the sixth in this series (and almost the halfway point).

Slate: “What America’s Supersized Fast Food Culture Looks Like,” by Jordan G. Teicher.
Teicher writes about and shares photos from D.C. photographer Susana Raab’s series, “Consumed,” about fast-food culture in the United States.

Bloomberg Businessweek: “The Slow, Watery Death of Light Beer in America,” by Devin Leonard.
When it comes to food and drink, we can only consume so much, so it’s no surprise then that the dramatic rise in popularity of craft beer is accompanied by a downward spiral in sales for “light” beers—products like Bud Light, Miller Light and Coors Light.

Wall Street Journal: “A Warming Trend in Restaurant Service,” by Jay Cheshes.
Cheshes writes about the evolution of restaurant service, which for some has moved away from the stuffy service of the past to embrace a friendlier, warmer vibe, while maintaining professionalism (for the most part).

New York Times: “Your Eyes Are Happier Than Your Stomach,” by Pete Wells

Food photography has become so ubiquitous in restaurants that Wells writes about a disturbing trend where taste is being sacrificed in favor of composition.

Brightest Young Things: “Summer 2014 Intern Ice Cream Taste Test,” by Ashlyn Frassinelli.
With D.C.’s temperatures back in the ‘90s with high humidity this week, it’s a good time to enjoy a frozen treat. BYT’s interns taste-test a delectable collection of ice cream, gelato and frozen yogurt options around the city.

Get in My Mouf: “10 Reasons Not to Live in the ‘Burbs if You Enjoy Good Food,” by Evan Shaw.
Sorry suburbanites, but when it comes to good food, us city-dwellers got it made.

My Poor Liver: “So It Begins…,” by Eddie Creech and Neil Thompson
My friend Eddie has teamed up with fellow Portlander and wine professional Neil Thompson to launch My Poor Liver, a podcast with a focus on drink and food (definitely drink first) with a good dose of Portland culture. In this debut episode, they chat about the restaurant Tilt (sounds amazing), old tom gin (especially Ransom, an Oregon-made product that David Wondrich helped develop), the negroni, and restaurant and bar service gripes. Sounds like they have a great slate of guests planned for upcoming episodes.