Voices Across America
Opinion: Those $300 pandemic checks aren’t the only reason restaurant employees might not want to go back to work
Opinion by Micheline Maynard

TRILOBITES
Where Your Watermelon Came From
A genetic analysis of a melon found in Sudan may point to the wild fruit that gave rise to one of summertime’s sweetest treats.
By VERONIQUE GREENWOOD

OPINION
GUEST ESSAY
Americans Don’t Want to Return to Lousy Low Wage Jobs
By Daniel Alpert

Upended by the Pandemic, Haute Chefs Move Into Hotels
Hotels not necessarily known for fine dining are drawing award-winning chefs seeking opportunities for reinvention.
By SHEILA MARIKAR

The Forgotten Queer Legacy of Billy West and Zuni Café
The restaurant is a culinary landmark in San Francisco, but its history as a space for gay visibility is little known.
By John Birdsall

Still Here and Still Queer: The Gay Restaurant Endures
Many have closed in a time of growing inclusion and more fluid sexual identities. But in several places around the country, they remain anchors of safety and community.
By Erik Piepenburg

Why ‘Kim’s Convenience’ Is ‘Quietly Revolutionary’
In not explaining every detail of Korean food culture, the award-winning Canadian sitcom speaks volumes.
By Priya Krishna

A Black Whiskey Entrepreneur Will Help Bankroll Others Like Her
Fawn Weaver, the founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, has amassed a $50 million venture capital fund to seed minority-owned spirits businesses.
By Elizabeth G. Dunn

A GOOD APPETITE
Move Over, Ricotta. This Pasta Gets Its Creaminess From Cottage Cheese.
A summery riff on a childhood favorite, this one-bowl dish with currants, tomatoes and mint is sweet, savory and very quick.

This pasta is a riff on an Eastern European dish of homemade egg noodles tossed with butter or sour cream and a curdy white cheese.
By Melissa Clark

EAT
A Coconut Cake for the Ages
This gâteau d’Hélène recipe from the 1970s is just as elegant and delicious today as it was decades ago.

By DORIE GREENSPAN

FRONT BURNER
Toni Tipton-Martin to Receive Julia Child Award
The cookbook author will use the $50,000 award to mentor a new generation of food writers.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
A Cocktail Shaker Made from American Stainless Steel
This Boston cocktail shaker, made in the U.S., is the first product from a new barware company, C&D Tools.

C&D Tools, Boston Shaker, $135, cdtoolsusa.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Inverness Is Closer Than You Think
Cowgirl Creamery’s Inverness is buttery, with a subtle tang. And it’s now available nationwide.

Escape to Inverness, three cheeses plus flatbread crackers, roasted curried cashews and chocolate-covered candied honeycomb, $80 (including overnight shipping), cowgirlcreamery.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Brush Up on Your Canning Skills
A series of webinars from Penn State Extension covers the basics of food preservation.
Preservation webinars, extension.psu.edu/preservation-webinars.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Master the Art of the Toast
A new book gives readers a look at how people raise their glasses around the world.

“Cheers! Around the World in 80 Toasts” by Brandon Cook (Red Lightning Books, $29).
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Get slushed! 10 delicious frozen cocktail recipes
Celebrate the first signs of summer with these ice-cold concoctions – from watermelon margaritas to frosé

Stuart Heritage

Enjoy 8 Classic Summer Drinks, With a Twist
You can’t go wrong with a gin and tonic or a caipirinha. But many summer cocktails could stand a spark of whimsy without compromising their honest appeal.

From left, Blushing Bellini, Melon Agua Fresca, Spanish Gin and Tonic, Rosé Sangria, Freshened Paloma, Ruby Spritzer, Strawberry Lemonade, Devon Yacht Club Southside.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

TikTok, the Fastest Way on Earth to Become a Food Star
The app offers explosive growth for content creators. Gen Z cooks are taking advantage.
By TAYLOR LORENZ

THE WORLD THROUGH A LENS
The Perilous Hunt for Coconut Crabs on a Remote Polynesian Island
On Makatea, an uplifted coral atoll marred by decades of mining, searching for crabs often requires gambling with the treacherous terrain.
By ERIC GUTH and JENNIFER KINGSLEY

ESSAY
The Profound Significance of ‘High on the Hog’
A new limited series on Netflix is a nuanced celebration of African Americans and their food. It is also sorely overdue.

Stephen Satterfield, the host of “High on the Hog,” standing at the Gate of No Return in Ouidah, Benin, where enslaved people were forced onto boats for the trans-Atlantic journey. The series begins in Benin, with Mr. Satterfield exploring the roots of Black American food.
By Osayi Endolyn

The Making of ‘High on the Hog,’ Bringing Black Food History to TV
The new Netflix series tapped years of scholarship and the life experience of its creators to chart how African Americans have shaped the country’s cuisine.

“High on the Hog” begins each episode with a montage that includes the Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters, performing at the ruins of St. Helena Island’s Chapel of Ease, in South Carolina.
By Kim Severson

OWNING THE FUTURE
How Food Trucks Endured and Succeeded During the Pandemic
Embracing technology, scaling down costs and general flexibility have helped them through a difficult time.
By KERRY HANNON

Know Your Onions (and Shallots and Leeks and Ramps)
Ever wonder about the difference between a spring onion and a scallion? A ramp and a scape? Melissa Clark has a crash course for you.

By MELISSA CLARK

A GOOD APPETITE
Succulent Sausage, and a Standout Couscous Salad
Crisp, brawny merguez runs through this summery, vegetable-packed grain dish.

Grilled merguez and onions with mint-lemon couscous.
By Melissa Clark

EAT
The 100-Pound Fruit That Vegans Love
The jackfruit is perfect for a meatless meal, especially like this spicy and tangy sabzi from West Bengal.

By TEJAL RAO

For Better Bakes, Perfect This Versatile Dough
At home in sweet and savory buns alike, enriched dough is a baking utility player. Let Claire Saffitz lead you to flawless results every time.

An enriched dough can be used in loaves, hamburger buns and morning buns.
By Claire Saffitz

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! https://www.youtube.com/embed/h6XvMKdD2tY

Our Dream Summer Dishes
All of the cold-creamy-crunchy-salty-delicious things our Food reporters and editors can’t wait to eat and drink.
By THE NEW YORK TIMES FOOD DESK

18 Condiments Our Food Staff Would Lick Off a Spoon
The sauces, spices and pastes that bolster our everyday meals can be windows to the soul.
By ERIC KIM

Pandemic Relief That’s Here to Stay: The To-Go Cocktail
Many states relaxed restrictions on the sale of mixed drinks in order to help struggling businesses. Some of those changes are now being made permanent.
By HEATHER MURPHY

THE POUR
When a Summer Day Calls for a Beer
As outdoor life returns, the warm weather calls for brisk, energetic styles that specialize in cold, straightforward refreshment.
By Eric Asimov

Jim Clendenen, Santa Barbara Winemaking Pioneer, Dies at 68
With exuberant charisma and relentless traveling, he promoted his label, Au Bon Climat, and the region as a wine hub.

Jim Clendenen in 2009 at his winery, Au Bon Climat. He had a striking leonine mane of hair well after long hair had gone out of fashion and a goatee long before goatees came back in style. His wines were similarly distinctive but never trendy.
By ERIC ASIMOV

Business
As his restaurants’ customers return, a Miami chef is missing a critical ingredient: Workers
Buoyed by a huge spring break and tourist influx, South Florida restaurants are having a boom, with no hourly workers to service them.

Chef Michael Beltran, second from left, jokes with his staff before the dinner service starts picking up at Ariete in Miami on April 30. (Scott McIntyre for The Washington Post)
By Laura Reiley

Humans Have Been Sharing Food With Animals for Centuries. Why Is That?
Researchers want to learn more about the connections between humans and the feeding of birds, beasts and other fauna.
By James Gorman

The Lure of H Mart, Where the Shelves Can Seem as Wide as Asia
The huge grocery chain and other megastores like it have revolutionized the way many Asian-Americans shop and eat.
By LIGAYA MISHAN

Diet Companies See Gains as Americans Try to Drop Pandemic Pounds
In recent weeks and months, as people have ventured out more often, business has jumped for companies that sell plans to help lose weight.
By JULIE CRESWELL

Michelin Announces Stars for New York Restaurants
The French producer of guides announced the awards, with a few additions and no subtractions.
By Florence Fabricant

Njahi (Kenyan Black Beans) in Coconut Sauce
Kenyan black beans are cooked until tender, then simmered in an aromatic coconut curry sauce.

Chef Michael Beltran, second from left, jokes with his staff before the dinner service starts picking up at Ariete in Miami on April 30.
By Laura Reiley

FRONT BURNER
American Fruits and Nuts in Vivid Detail
A new book looks at the U.S.D.A.’s historical watercolor record of the nation’s pomological bounty.

Mangoes from “An Illustrated Catalog of American Fruits & Nuts.”
“An Illustrated Catalog of American Fruits & Nuts: The US Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection,” Atelier Éditions, $50.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
A Lighter Cast Iron Frying Pan
Vermicular’s new skillets are thinner than your average cast-iron pan, and can handle just about anything on the stove top.

Vermicular Frying Pans, $155 for the deeper 9.4 inch pan; $160 for 10.2 inch; $40 for glass cover; vermicular.us.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Ibérico Ham With Texas Twang
Raised in Hill Country, the pork from Texas Iberico relies on southwest flavors, like hickory smoke and chile.

Texas Iberico, texasiberico.com, tienda.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Our 11 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
We’ve published many takes on the classic treat over the years, but these are the ones our readers return to again and again.

Alison Roman’s shortbread chocolate chip cookies are a perennial favorite.
By Margaux Laskey

An English Manor for a Bowl of Stew?

Pad Thai

Summer Cake