Two-Timing The Tribune & TOC

There’s so much food media today that we almost wanted to throw in the towel and pretend it wasn’t happening. Well, no, we did want to throw in the towel, but we’re not going to give you the satisfaction. On with it!

First of all, could someone please redesign the web presence of the Tribune and TOC, please? With sugar on top? The food articles today (and from yesterday), are scattered all over the damn place and if we can’t keep up, what does that say. (Don’t answer, it’s a trap!). For example, both Monica Eng’s coffee roundup and the entirety of the TOC’s special section on pizza is hidden from the casual reader who bookmarks the so-called food sections of these publications.

With respect to the Pizza Issue, the best of Chicago is a must-read: they’ve divided the pizzasphere into three giant wedges (like watermelon!): Neapolitan (Coalfire), deep dish (The Art of Pizza), and bar pizza a.k.a. Chicago neighborhood pizza a.k.a. pizza that’s cut into squares (Pat’s Pizza). There’s also a piece on New York pizza for you homesick East Coasters, a roundup of unique toppings, and a battle between beer and wine for pizza’s heart, among several other articles.

But then there’s also the regularly scheduled food section! So you can read about “fun wines” that don’t suck, where to find store-made jerky, and what life is like at VFW bars (we’re sure some people must get Veterans’ Day off, right?)

As for the Tribune, we’ve mentioned MEng’s coffee thing for the third time today now, but here’s a link to the blog post that accompanies it, where you, Stew reader, can opine on your favorite chain store coffee. (So far, five people have taken Monica up on her offer.) Janet Franz looks into the dying art of dressing up for dinner, and in another article, at the trend toward savory desserts. Note that restaurant serving savory desserts probably have a fashionably dressed clientele!

Both the Tribune and the TOC review suburban restaurants, so we’ll leave them to the sharks.

But yesterday’s Tribune “Food” section has some noteworthy entries on the theme of the past: cocktail noshes from the 60’s, Bill Daley’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek paean to jug wine, foodstuffs native to North America, and dates (like, “on this date in 1776”…etc).

Phew! We are so glad we retained our towel.

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Two-Timing The Tribune & TOC