Monthly Archives: August 2023

Food! Glorious Food!

In the Faroe Islands, Art, Food and Fashion Take a Cue From Nature
Tórshavn, the cosmopolitan capital of this North Atlantic archipelago, is surrounded by otherworldly scenery that fuels the creative spirit.
By JEANINE BARONE

A Meal in France Showed Me the Brilliance of Simplicity
An ordinary, unfussy meal can still contain wonders.


By LIGAYA MISHAN

Ginger Chicken With Peanut Sauce, Coconut Rice With Shrimp and Corn
These weeknight dinner solutions are reader favorites and take advantage of summer produce.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

Love Shrimp Scampi? Try This Rosé-Infused Twist.
This zippy dish is still cooked in butter and wine, but feels like it spent the summer in Provence.

An overhead image of shrimp in a bright red sauce next to a few slices of baguette.
This simple, zesty twist on shrimp in wine butter is a last breath of summer.
By Eric Kim

Do Cocktail Glasses Have a Gender? For Some Men, Clearly.
Stereotypes may be fading, but bartenders say many male customers are still uneasy with fancy glassware. And bars are trying to help.
By BECKY HUGHES

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Brief Encounters
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Directed by Kira Muratova
A pair of newly restored films from Kira Muratova about restless, disaffected women hold a special, subversive power.

The Long Farewell
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Kira Muratova
A pair of newly restored films from Kira Muratova about restless, disaffected women hold a special, subversive power.
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

Piaffe
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Fantasy | Directed by Ann Oren
In this beautiful and beguiling tale of transformation, a young woman’s altered body unlocks her true self.


Simone Bucio in “Piaffe,” which is ideologically abstract and beguilingly weird, our critic writes.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Our Father, the Devil
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Thriller | Directed by Ellie Foumbi
In this absorbing psychological thriller, a Guinean refugee living in France is rattled by the appearance of a menacing figure from her past.


Souleymane Sy Savane and Babetida Sadjo in “Our Father, the Devil,” a film directed by Ellie Foumbi.
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Scrapper
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Charlotte Regan
In Charlotte Regan’s feature-length debut, a girl wise beyond her years reconnects with her father, an immature drifter.


Lola Campbell in “Scrapper,” a film directed by Charlotte Regan.
By CLAIRE SHAFFER

Food! Glorious Food!

How Does Kristen Kish Feel at the Top of ‘Top Chef’? It’s Complicated.
Padma Lakshmi’s successor is a different kind of host: gay, Korean American and ready to share her emotions, including a lifelong struggle with anxiety.


Kristen Kish, taking a break from the current shooting of “Top Chef,” has a long history with the show, starting 10 years ago with her victory in the competition.
By KIM SEVERSON

A Centuries-Old Fiber Supplement Entices the Ozempic Generation
Psyllium husks, a staple of South Asian medicine, are catching on in America for all kinds of uses, like easing digestion, curbing appetites and gluten-free baking.
High-fiber psyllium husks, derived from a shrub, have long been used as a digestive remedy in South Asia.Credit…Scott Semler for The New York Times
By Priya Krishna

In Japan’s ‘Gateway to Asia’: Street Food, Night Life and a Thriving Arts Scene
Fukuoka, known for its outdoor food stalls, is a popular destination for Japanese tourists. Now it’s starting to draw more international travelers, too.
By ERIK AUGUSTIN PALM

FOOD MATTERS
Is Ice the Ultimate Luxury?
Americans, in particular, tend to think of frozen water as essential. But this seemingly ubiquitous commodity is no longer something we can take for granted.
By Ligaya Mishan

An Even Better Way to Eat Eggs
A popular Ghanaian street food, kosua ne meko — eggs stuffed with tomato relish — is easy to make and fun to share, Yewande Komolafe writes.

A round black platter with topped with halved relish-stuffed eggs is photographed from overhead.
A simple dish to make quickly and share broadly, kosua ne meko is easy to pack in advance and take to the beach or a potluck brunch.
By Yewande Komolafe

A GOOD APPETITE
On the Hottest Days, Make This Cooling Cucumber Dinner
Crushed until craggy and tossed with shrimp, cucumbers soak up a sesame and avocado sauce in this easy, invigorating dish from Melissa Clark.

An overhead image of craggy zucchini, avocado chunks and shrimp on a pink platter.
Smashing the cucumbers until craggy lets them sop up the sauce in every nook and cranny.
By Melissa Clark

EAT
The Secret to the Greenest Pesto
A years-long quest to replicate a favorite restaurant dish ends with the recipe itself.


By ERIC KIM

ENTERTAINING WITH
First They Appeased Poseidon. Then They Ate Lobster.
Jay and Alison Carroll, the founders of the olive oil company Wonder Valley, gathered friends for a casual oceanside feast in Maine, in honor of their newly renamed fishing boat.
By JESSICA BATTILANA

IN THE GARDEN
Already Missing Summer? You Can Preserve It in Your Freezer.
Frozen herbs can conjure up the delights of warm weather even in the depths of winter. Here’s how to get started.
By MARGARET ROACH

Peaches Sweet and Savory, Vegan Dan Dan Noodles With Eggplant and Perfect Whiskey Sours
Recipes that make the most of summer’s waning days.
By MIA LEIMKUHLER

A School Lunch Solution: The Bento Box
Endlessly adaptable, a bento-box lunch comes to the rescue as school begins, Kenji López-Alt writes.


By J. KENJI LÓPEZ-ALT

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Birth/Rebirth
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Horror, Thriller | Directed by Laura Moss
Two women nurture a reanimated child in this grisly gynecological horror movie.


Marin Ireland in “Birth/Rebirth.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Mutt
Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Vuk Lungulov-Klotz
A newly out transgender man meets with his estranged father, his ex-boyfriend and his sister for the first time since his transition in this drama.
By TEO BUGBEE

The Monkey King
PG | Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | Directed by Anthony Stacchi
There’s enough gags in this animated fable from Anthony Stacchi that a dozen land.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Landscape With Invisible Hand
R | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Cory Finley
The latest film from Cory Finley follows two teens on an alien-controlled earth who stream their love life to an extraterrestrial audience.
By CLAIRE SHAFFER

Blue Beetle
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Angel Manuel Soto
The plot is boilerplate and the superhero is not particularly compelling. At least his family members steal the show.
By MAYA PHILLIPS

Food! Glorious Food!

Using a Credit Card? At These Restaurants It’ll Cost You.
As inflation and high credit card fees continue to affect a restaurant’s bottom line, more owners are tacking on a new charge for using a credit card.
By CHRISTINA MORALES

EAT
Every Peach Shines in This Tart
Peaches are at the height of summer perfection right now. But even the most mundane stone fruit manages to thrill when wrapped in flaky pastry.


By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

What Makes Penne Alla Vodka So Delicious? It’s All in the Sauce.
The exact origin story of vodka sauce is uncertain, but its legacy is bold, spicy and ubiquitous.

Three teal bowls filled with sauced pasta that’s been dolloped with ricotta are photographed from overhead.
The addition of vodka to the tomato-based sauce heightens its flavors.
By Eric Kim

The New Look in Cocktails? Layers and Stripes.
Drinks with colorful bands of liquors that float to the top or sink to the bottom are grabbing attention at bars all over.

The Cruella de Vil at the Brooklyn bar Ottava. Lambrusco, lighter than the other ingredients, sits at the top.
By Robert Simonso

Salty, Sweet, Bitter and More, Vermouth Is a Taste of Madrid in a Glass
The drink is a Spanish national pastime and taking time to “fer un vermut” in the capital offers a window into the country’s culture.


At La Violeta, a vermuteria in the Chamberi neighborhood of Madrid, the drink is served in the classic manner, with a wedge of orange and green olives.
By DANIELLE PERGAMENT and EMILIO PARRA DOIZTUA

THE POUR
Is Albariño the Next Great White Wine? It Depends.
For so long it’s been regarded as a simple, fruity wine to drink young and forget. But some producers in Rías Baixas are finding great potential.

6 Albariño Producers to Seek Out Now These six albariño producers, in alphabetical order, are among the best and most interesting in Rías Baixas. Bodegas Albamar Pure, intriguing albariños and many other wines, too. (Selections de la Viña, Brooklyn, N.Y.) Do Ferreiro Each of its albariños is superb, especially Cepas Vellas, or old vines. Give it a minimum five years of aging. (De Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, N.C.) Nanclares y Prieto Excellent albariños, bottom to top. (José Pastor Selections/Llaurador Wines, Fairfax, Calif.) Pazo de Señorans Benchmark producer making top-notch albariños. Selección de Anada is especially fine. (European Cellars, Charlotte, N.C.)


Rías Baixas where albariño is king, lies on the Atlantic coast in northwestern Spain.
By Eric Asimov

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Aurora’s Sunrise
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Animation | Directed by Inna Sahakyan
This standout documentary combines archival footage and animated re-enactments to share one survivor’s memories.


A scene from the documentary that includes animation, “Aurora’s Sunrise.”
By TEO BUGBEE

Medusa Deluxe
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Mystery | Directed by Thomas Hardiman
A gruesome attack on a stylist upends a hairdressing contest in this invigoratingly bold debut.


Clare Perkins, left, with Lilit Lesser in “Medusa Deluxe.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

King Coal
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon
A coal miner’s daughter turned filmmaker profiles a region’s relationship with fossil fuel and presents a eulogy for a way of life.


By following two girls in “King Coal,” the director Elaine McMillion Sheldon considers the future of the Appalachian region.
By ROBERT DANIELS

— Of Possible Interest —

The Last Voyage of the Demeter
R | Horror | Directed by André Øvredal
This horror movie, based on a chapter from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” is set on a cargo ship unwittingly transporting an evil demon.
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

Red, White & Royal Blue
R | Comedy, Romance | Directed by Matthew López
This film, about an American president’s son who falls for a British prince, starts with a giddy premise and has the derring-do to succeed.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Jules
PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Marc Turtletaub
Ben Kingsley plays an elderly man struggling with a fading memory when an extraterrestrial crashes into his life.
By CLAIRE SHAFFER

The Pod Generation
PG-13 | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi | Directed by Sophie Barthes
This satire on our techno-capitalist future is best enjoyed the way it’s made — without taking itself too seriously.
By BRANDON YU

Food! Glorious Food!

36 HOURS
36 Hours in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Vietnam’s biggest city is transforming with new highrises, bars and boutiques, but still offers old-world charm and chaotic fun. (DePayWalled Link)
By PATRICK SCOTT

THE NEW NEW WORLD
What Cuisine Means to Taiwan’s Identity and Its Clash With China
Chefs and restaurant owners are using a multiplicity of ingredients and tastes to reflect Taiwan’s roots, shaping a distinct culinary culture.
By LI YUAN

阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版

How Cooking Videos Took Over the World
They are an unavoidable part of being online. But are they making us better cooks?
By PRIYA KRISHNA and UMI SYAM

Can the Dream of the Four-Day Workweek Start With Restaurants?
An emerging group of restaurateurs across the U.S. are choosing work-life balance over their bottom line.
By REGAN STEPHENS

Restaurant workers are dealing with extreme heat in the kitchen, an already stuffy place to work. At El Chullo Peruvian Restaurant and Bar in Phoenix, chefs are prepping food at 6 a.m. rather than 9 a.m. for some relief from the heat.
130 Degrees and Rising: How Kitchen Workers Are Dealing With Record Heat
By Christina Morales

Can Frozen Peas, Long Taken for Granted, Find New Appeal in the U.K.?
Britain’s vegetable producers are hoping this is a moment for the humble frozen pea, a cost-effective staple at a time of rising food prices.
By Stephen Castle

Good Eggplant Parmesan Takes Time. But It Doesn’t Have to Take Forever.
This streamlined version of the Italian American classic skips the frying for a recipe you’ll make over and over again.


This take on eggplant Parmesan roasts the fruit, concentrating its flavor with little fuss.
By ERIC KIM

Five Weeknight Tomato Dishes
Burst in a coconut-ginger sauce for fish, stir-fried with basil and eggs in fried rice and grated into garlicky pasta.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS
Caviar Gets Even More Refined
Plus: fashion inspired by fruit, Scandinavian-style glass lamps and more from T’s cultural compendium.

The Sad Bastard Cookbook
A completely free cookbook for the zero spoons crowd.
By Rachel A. Rosen and Zilla Novikov
Illustrated by Marten Norr

11 Easy Vegetarian Summer Dinners
Bountiful meals for the most bountiful time of year.
By Tanya Sichynsky

A GOOD APPETITE
Inspired by French tarte Tatin, this cobbler puts caramelized peaches front and center.
Peach Cobbler as You’ve Never Seen It


nspired by French tarte Tatin, this cobbler puts caramelized peaches front and center.
By Melissa Clark

Two Robbers in Philadelphia started with hard seltzers before expanding into the hard juice category.
Welcome to the Age of Hard Juice
By Joshua M. Bernstein

Call it a chelada or a michelada, but the mix of beer, lime and salt is always delicious.
When It Comes to Micheladas, Start With Beer, Lime and Salt


Call it a chelada or a michelada, but the mix of beer, lime and salt is always delicious.
By Rebekah Peppler

Uptown Art Fair

It’s that time of the year when the Uptown ‘Art’ Fair sprawls like a cancer across the heart of my part of Our Fair Cities. Suburbanites with SUVs drive the wrong way down one-way streets vainly looking for parking, and push perambulators down crowded aisles of ticky-tack.

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Lady Killer
The Strange Mister Victor
NYT Critic’s Pick
Two newly restored films by the director Jean Grémillon, whom cinephiles discuss like a special secret, get a second life in theaters.


Jean Gabin and Mireille Balin in “Lady Killer.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Klondike
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama, War | Directed by Maryna Er Gorbach
In a film set in 2014, a couple in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine try to maintain normality as war rocks their home.


By BEN KENIGSBERG

Our Body
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Claire Simon
The French director Claire Simon’s profoundly humane documentary focuses on patients in the gynecology ward of a Paris hospital.


A scene from “Our Body.”
By LISA KENNEDY

Dreamin’ Wild
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Biography, Drama, Music | Directed by Bill Pohlad
A new film dramatizes the true story of two brothers thrust into the spotlight 30 years after the album they recorded as teenagers is discovered.


Casey Affleck and Zooey Deschanel star in “Dreamin’ Wild.”
By CLAIRE SHAFFER

War Pony
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Gina Gammell, Riley Keough
Riley Keough and Gina Gammell’s stellar debut, starring many first-time actors, takes a deadpan look at a Lakota-Sioux reservation in South Dakota.


JWasose Garcia, left, and Jojo Bapteise Whiting in “War Pony.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

New England Pic Pr0n

Pic Pr0n from recent travels in New England: Beer! Food! Tree Houses! Planes! Balloons! Helicopters! Aimee Mann! Lobster Rolls! Vanished Valley! Whales! Tombstones! The actual Allens in the family tree! (Hint: It ain’t Ethan Allen.) Frary House! Allen House! And many other things of little interest to the rest o’ you!

2023.07.23 — Connecticut Air & Space Center, BBQ
2024.07.24 — Vanished Valley Brewing Co. Beer Dinner
2023.07.25 — Deerfield Old Burying Ground, Samuel Allen and others, Tree House Deerfield, Aimee Mann Concert
2023.07.26 — Tree House Charlton
2023.07.27 — Cape Ann Whale Watch, Whales, Woodman’s, Tree House Tewksbury, Rainbow
2023.07.28 — Tree House Farm, Anne Gray, Tanglewood
2023.07.29 — COVID Test & Food Prep

With a thousand thanks to Geri Sullivan for hosting and transportation.