Eater - You deserve a drink right about now

Hey everyone,

This week, the wonderful drinks publication Punch joined our company as a sister site to Eater. They’ll remain an independent operation, but I’m so excited to get to collaborate with and learn from the team there and become more immersed in the world of cocktails and drinking culture.

I found the timing somewhat fitting, because, well, I could use a drink right about now! I don't even mean for the alcohol — though I appreciate the numbing stroke of a 6 p.m. martini. I mean I could use a treat, an escape, an appreciation of something delicious and beautiful and complex and well-made, maybe something with a story behind it, to distract me from the latest COVID anxieties, the kids going back to school, and (mostly) the debilitating, devastating news of the world.

I'm currently leaning into a riff on a mezcal negroni. But the Coppertone looks pretty good. I'll take any variation of a spritz. And maybe it's time for me to mess around with egg whites to learn how to do a Ramos Gin Fizz. I recommend getting lost in the archives.

— Openings: Saga, an opulent tasting menu restaurant on top of a skyscraper, in New York; two big new hotel restaurants in New Orleans: Alon Shaya's Miss River at the Four Seasons and Commons Club at the new Virgin Hotel; Jane Jane, a throwback cocktail bar, and No Goodbyes, a new Line hotel operatino, in D.C.; Chezchez, an aperitivo bar from the Trick Dog team, in San Francisco; and The Grant, a vibey cocktail bar, and a location of Wise Sons, the well-liked SF deli chain, in Los Angeles.

— The city of Chicago has filed separate lawsuits against Grubhub and DoorDash alleging the third-party delivery companies “engaged in deceptive practices to prey on its affiliated restaurants.”

— Famous New Haven pizza destination Sally's is expanding to Boston and Keith McNally wants to bring Minetta Tavern to D.C.

— Gordon Ramsay is going on a restaurant opening tear in the U.K.

— Nabisco workers continue to strike for fair pay.

— Chef Eunjo Park, known for launching the hit restaurant Kāwi in NYC's Hudson Yards, is departing Momofuku four months after taking over the Ssäm Bar reboot at the South Street Seaport.

— Forget the PSL. Say hello to the apple crisp macchiato.

— I am obsessed with this behind-the-scenes look at high-end Korean steakhouse Cote and the dynamic between owner and service maestro Simon Kim and his head chefs.

— Why Reem Assil rejects the title of 'chef.'

— HBO show The White Lotus covered a lot of themes but I loved its take on hospitality workers and how draining and demoralizing the work can be. Also the finale aptly depicts what it feels like to nail service while coked out of your gourd.

— Like Ryan, I was totally blown away by a recent visit to Falansai, an understated and wonderful revamp of a neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

— And we're hiring! Right now we're looking for an Audience Fellow and a Texas Fellow (FT, in-unit, year-long positions with benefits). Next up we'll be hiring reporters in San Francisco and the Twin Cities, and a Design Director.

Take care, and if you like this newsletter, please forward it to a friend. — Amanda

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