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‘Times’ Asks If NYC Is Fat City No Longer

The Times article on portly foodists is out today, and we can’t help but wonder if this is some kind of seismic shift in the city’s gastronomic mood. After several years of what Alan Greenspan might have called “irrational exuberance” over the joys of pork belly, short ribs, bacon, and other such unwholesome treats, the city’s “fat pack,” as Kim Severson dubs them, seems to have put the brakes on the spree, opting instead to focus on their health. (With the exception, that is, of ourselves and eGullet’s Steven Shaw — we both express self-destructively pro-meat views on the subject, and gladly so.)

Most ominous for the lardy libertines, the naysayers include not just the dean of American food writers, Jeffrey Steingarten, but some of the most influential restaurateurs, such as Joe Bastianich and Drew Nieporent, both of whom have slimmed down drastically in recent months. Even Mario Batali vows to lose 40 pounds! God. Maybe the party really is over.

The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party’s Over [NYT]

Earlier: New York ‘Times’ to Wonder How Bloggers Stay Alive

‘Times’ Asks If NYC Is Fat City No Longer