Grub Street

The authors of a new book about the pitfalls of the local food movement drop the "five most-dangerous myths of the locavore philosophy" today at the Daily Beast. Pierre Desrochers and Hiroko Shimizu say community-supported agriculture programs cost more and don't always deliver fine food, food miles are bunk, and hey, we built this city on rock and roll that old school, global food trade. Unmentioned in the article is that large and remote companies tend to be poorer environmental stewards and are likelier to inflict larger amounts of unhappiness by paying their workers less, or not at all. Of course, Desrochers and Shimizu's book actually argues that our best chance at a non-cyborg and scorched future means Americans should eat globally and locally. Considering that, along with Dan Barber's issues with "self-righteous vegetarians," makes this summer seem a lot like high season for contrarians and food politics. [Daily Beast, Earlier]

Jeffrey Chodorow and Michael Psilakis might disagree, but by the looks of today's news, it's like our critics are unicorns bedazzled in happy pills (or something?) compared to the rest. “London is the most vicious city in the world, no doubt about it,” David Chang tells Bloomberg, referring to U.K. critics, explaining his reluctance to ever open up across the pond. And then, down under, two critics completely and utterly demolished a restaurant, resulting in its permanent death within six months. Their words were so harsh (and technically inaccurate) that the owners sued the newspaper ... and won. So, are our critics more fair? Or do they just need to grow a pair? [Bloomberg, Eater]

Blanca may be getting all the Roberta's buzz these days, but GQ gets the crew to cook up a three-course weed-based menu with cocktail pairing, and it actually sounds pretty good — assuming you're into the ... side effects. Recipes even indicate which strain of herb to use in each of the courses and cocktails — like the Sour Diesel that goes into a bluefish in pot-yogurt sauce. And no way would these guys skip a pizza: It's topped with "marijuananara" sauce, naturally. [GQ]

Aviva Drescher gave her ex-husband a mouthful after she caught him buying piles of expensive sandwiches at the high-end Hamptons eatery, Golden Pear, when he's $350,000 behind in child support. This is most disconcerting because Aviva had appeared to be the sanest housewife of the season (that theory is down the drain along with her ex's overpriced tuna), but more so because her super-loaded husband, who's already slept with all her friends, isn't lunching anywhere better. [NYP]

A convicted murderer on death row in Connecticut planned to trade pepperoni pizza and raw oysters with hot sauce in exchange for fabricated information about murders that never happened, according to an interview published in the Hartford Courant. In 2007, with an accomplice, Steven J. Hayes raped and strangled Jennifer Hawke-Petit and killed her daughters Hayley and Michaela during a home invasion in Cheshire. In prison last year, Hayes claimed he had murdered seventeen other women during an earlier killing spree, then offered to trade soda and food for details. No murders had actually taken place, however, and Hayes is allergic to oysters. "I planned to eat them and have them find me dead in my cell the next morning," he told the paper. The plan backfired. [Courant]

The city’s Israeli ex-pats and other fans of Taïm’s killer falafel have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the Taim “flagship” store on Mulberry Street. After a couple of months' delay, chef and owner Einat Admony tells us that the eighteen-seat shop will open in two weeks. You’ll find all of Admony’s classics from the Waverly location, like her rotating list of falafel flavors and sabich, plus some tasty new options. Expect seasonal salads that will change weekly, including a kale salad with roasted almonds, crispy shallots, and pears; and an arugula salad made with black beluga lentils, chickpeas, and feta. You’ll also be able to take a bit of Taim home with you in the form of jars of housemade harissa and preserved lemon.