Hello Friday,

And hello from beautiful Bali, Indonesia, where I am once again spending a quick workweek for… work. Hardship posting.

A super quick one today, as there is not much news and I MUST run off to enjoy my last night here before it’s back to HK tomorrow for three days on Amber Code (the government tracking app will ban me from bars and restaurants till Wednesday).

Tuesday’s paid version is copied and pasted below as usual. Other than that it’s brief news. Awkward transitions. Good times.

Let’s get to it…

Awards Season – Eater launched its big national Best New Restaurants 2022 list this week. Congrats to: Audrey (Nashville); Causa / Amazonia (D.C.); The Chicken Supply (Seattle); Con Todo (Austin); Dept of Culture (NYC); Espiritu (Mesa); Gigi's Italian Kitchen & Restaurant (Atlanta); Kann (Portland, OR); Khâluna (Minneapolis); Khmai Fine Dining (Chicago); Mabel's Gone Fishing (San Diego); Machine Shop (Philadelphia); Nami Kaze (Honolulu); Pijja Palace (LA); and San Ho Won (SF).

Per editor Hillary Dixler Canavan, “What binds these restaurants together, aside from having all opened between September 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022, and having the full-throated endorsement of our local and national staffers, is how each and every one is utterly original.”

The Recipe Recap – A few interesting 2022 recipe roundups just came out. Not exactly restaurant related, but maybe useful research nonetheless:

NYT Cooking: “Most Popular Recipes of 2022”

F&W: “Most Searched Recipes of 2022, According to Google”

And maybe less helpful… F&W: “The Top 10 Food Trends of 2022, According to TikTok”

Gleen what you will. Gleen!

The O pportunity – Per Ashok Selvam in Eater Chicago: “The Obama foundation is looking for a hospitality company to manage a restaurant, cafe, and handle catering at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. In addition, the partner would plan educational programming at a teaching kitchen and onsite fruit and vegetable garden.”

And last but not least – As I said on Tuesday, the team I’m working with this week hasn’t stopped talking about how amazing OpenAI’s GPT3 Artificial Intelligence system is. So, I did the only thing I could think of and asked it the most important question in the world. I shit you not, this was the result. No manipulation on my part. Just:

The world’s most advanced Artificial Intelligence system understands the importance of unlimited bread sticks.

And that’s it for today! Except of course for the Family Meal that went out to paying subscribers on Tuesday, which is copy / pasted below as usual. It was a very brief one this morning, so we’ll move right into Tuesday in lieu of the usual transition.

And now, for a jarring transition:

Michelin CA, Chicago DA, Natural WJs, and more...
Family Meal - December 7, 2022

Hello Tuesday,

And hello again from beautiful Berawa, Bali, where I arrived to my work accommodation for a consulting gig — completely unrelated to food — to find a copy of Nathan Lander’s The Art of the Restaurateur on my bed.

Hospitality, man. Know your guests. Win their hearts. What a game.

Let’s get to it…

Michelin Season – The 2022 Michelin Guide California is out, and the big news is Addison in San Diego joining the three star ranks (the only restaurant in southern CA to make it to three). Also of note via Kate Krader and Hannah Elliot in Bloomberg: “This year’s list has three fewer two-star spots than the 2021 version—a relatively significant drop, especially when the state’s economy is growing. That includes two notable San Francisco restaurants: Campton Place lost its notable chef Srijith Gopinathan, who is focusing on more casual concepts; and DaniePatterson’s Coi wasn’t able to reopen after the Covid-19 pandemic. Also missing is the lauded modernist spot Vespertine in Los Angeles, currently taking reservations only for private events, according to its website.”

There were 17 new one-stars too, including: 715 (LA); Camphor (LA); Caruso’s (Montecito); Citrin (LA); Cyrus (Sonoma); Gwen (LA); Hatchet Hall (LA); Kato (LA); Localis (Sacramento); Manzke (LA); Nisei (SF); Osito (SF); Press (Napa); The Restaurant at Justin (Paso Robles); San Ho Wan (SF); Ssal (SF); and Sushi Kaneyoshi (LA).

Congrats, all!

The Suits – Headline in Eater Chicago: “Uber Eats and Chicago Reach $10 Million Settlement Over Deceptive Practices.” Details via Ashok Selvam and Naomi Waxman: “Last year, the city of Chicago sued both DoorDash and Gruhub, accusing the third-party delivery couriers in separate filings of illegal business operations… Somehow, Uber Eats escaped the city’s legal fury, but now the city of Chicago has revealed that it has been working with the company on an out-of-court settlement. On Monday morning, the city announced a $10 million settlement with Uber Eats, which also owns Postmates. The settlement includes $500,000 set aside for restaurants listed on the platforms without their consent. The city has established a website to determine eligibility. The deadline to file is January 29 and payments will be made by March 1.” Details and relevant potential plaintiff links included in the piece.

For the Somm – Punch asks, “Who Are the ‘Wine Jockeys’ Pouring Pét-Nat for the Club Kids?” I have several questions that need answering before I get to the “Who?” but Arielle Gordon says, “Welcome to Bêvèrãgęš, a quasi-monthly ‘wine party with music’ hosted by a group of DJs and restaurant veterans. Together with several bars across the U.S., Mexico and Berlin, they’re part of a movement to introduce wine to club kids—on their turf. ‘I think the community is tired of cheap beer and cocktails,’ says Sean Schermerhorn, the general manager of Mansions, a new ‘natural wine bar and club’ from restaurateurs Jason Scott (Spaghetti Tavern) and Eddy Buckingham (Chinese Tuxedo) that might be the only spot in New York to pair trance music with old-vine moscatel.”

If your community ever tires of cheap beer and cocktails, but not trance, we are different people and that’s OK. Everyone likes what they like. (I also like wine.)

The Media (Opportunities) – All anyone can talk about at the offices I’m running around these days is how OpenAI’s new AI writing tool is going to disrupt (destroy?) the entire world of writing and beyond, but until that happens, food writers, FYI: Bon Appetit seems to have updated its How to Pitch BA guide this week. Good luck!

And last but not least: Some Sad News – In New York, Grubstreet’s Hugh Merwin has an obituary for Alain Sailhac, “acclaimed one time chef at Le Cirque,” and “a chef’s chef to the end… who died at home in New York City on November 28 after a long illness.” Despite never rising up the celebrity chef ranks himself, “In a career that spanned half a century, he trained hundreds of cooks — Geoffrey Zakarian, Terrance Brennan, David Bouley, and Michael Lomonaco among them.”

“Felipe A. Valls Sr., a Cuban exile who invented Miami’s hallmark walk-up coffee windows, started a Cuban-cuisine restaurant chain and founded Versailles Restaurant, which for decades has drawn wide attention as a vibrant hub for politicians and throngs of protesters, died on Nov. 26 in Miami. He was 89.” Full obit from Christina Morales in the NYT.

Bush at Versailles. Remember that guy? Does watercolors now? Wow. What a world.

And that’s it for today! If you’re in Bali for some reason, please shout. Headed to Shelter shortly and you can buy me a drink! Lucky you!

Otherwise, I’ll see everyone back here Friday for next Family Meal.

And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or Bêvèrãgęš to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, please chip in here. If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself!

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