Hello Friday,

And hello for the first time this week! Another long weekend meant another Tuesday mostly free from big news. Back to schedule next Tuesday, paying subscribers, but for now…

Let’s get to it…

The Tip – Headline in the NYT: “Battle Over Wage Rules for Tipped Workers Is Heating Up.” Talmon Joseph Smith’s article on the tip credit doesn’t say much new for most of you, but here’s what voters are reading: “The last robust compliance investigation of full-service restaurants by the Labor Department is somewhat dated, having ended in 2012, but it found that 83.8 percent of the examined firms were in violation of labor law, with a large share of the infractions related to tips.”

Next steps nationwide: “In the District of Columbia, a measure on the November ballot would ban the subminimum wage by 2027. A ballot proposal in Portland, Maine, would ban subminimum base pay and bring the regular minimum wage to $18 an hour over three years. Employers in Michigan are bracing for increased expenses in February, when the state tipped minimum of $3.75 an hour is set to be discontinued and the regular state minimum wage will rise to $12 from $9.87.”

P.S. - Hate to say it, but Smith’s Twitter thread on the issue may be more informative than the article…

The Status – Also in the NYT: “Biden Proposal Could Lead to Employee Status for Gig Workers.” Gist: “The Labor Department on Tuesday unveiled a proposal that would make it more likely for millions of janitors, home-care and construction workers and gig drivers to be classified as employees rather than independent contractors. Companies are required to provide certain benefits and protections to employees but not to contractors, such as paying a minimum wage, overtime, a portion of a worker’s Social Security taxes and contributions to unemployment insurance.”

This rule would only apply to federal level regulations (i.e. federal minimum wage), and will probably take a while to make any meaningful changes if any. Story from Noam Scheiber.

The Grilling – In San Francisco, “Horn Barbecue’s owner, Matt Horn, is a rising star among Bay Area chefs, with a growing national profile, too. He’s been the subject of numerous admiring feature stories, which often focus on his attention to detail and commitment to using quality meats, smoked low and slow over California oak.” SF Gate’s Alex Shultz says lines are out the door most weekends, and yet… “Financial difficulties have plagued Horn since late last year; some distributors have stopped selling Horn meat until he pays what he owes, reportedly resulting in last-minute runs to Costco to fill the smokers. Staff paychecks, too, have bounced, according to eight current and former workers, some of whom have had to follow up repeatedly to get paid.”

One supplier is suing Horn for unpaid bills, workers are calling out “unsafe” conditions (mostly related to neighborhood safety it seems), and it’s a general PR mess (at best) for what until now had been a media darling restaurant operation in the process of expanding its Kowbird brand to Vegas and presumably beyond…

The Suits – Also in SF, four “STK Steakhouse employees filed a class-action lawsuit on Friday accusing the restaurant of wage theft, illegal tip distribution and a ‘toxic workplace culture of openly telling employees that they are replaceable.’” Details via Elena Kadvany in the Chronicle.

The Cancelled – After Eater ran its expose on Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a few of you wrote in to say it a lot of the accusations felt like a reach. Welp, Bloomberg’s Kate Krader is out with a Blue Hill profile on Dan Barber and the restaurant that mostly pushes those accusations way below the fold, so… Tempest. Teapot?

And in Houston, Eater’s Amy McCarthy tweets, “Don't say shit to me about cancel culture when a man who admitted to beating up his girlfriend in front of her child can still earn the #1 spot on [the Houston Chronicle’s] best restaurants list.” Will the vetters at the Beard Foundation and / or other lists be more McCarthy, or more Chron?

Some Sad News – Missed this from October 1st: In LA, “Madame Wu, famed Westside restaurateur who served the stars, dies at 106.” Obituary via Steve Marble in the LAT. “In its heyday, Madame Wu’s Garden was a welcoming beacon on Wilshire Boulevard, bubbling with activity and packed with the Hollywood elite…On a given night, Frank Sinatra and his young bride, Mia Farrow, would be enjoying a plate of Wu’s beef, stir-fried shards of flank steak with onions and oyster sauce. Mae West showed up on Sundays and faithfully ordered the cold melon soup, while Gregory Peck and Paul Newman fancied the shrimp toast and crab puffs. Princess Grace of Monaco gushed about the Peking roast duck…. A bundle of energy who slowed down only slightly in retirement, Wu died Sept. 29 at 106.” The NYT’s Tejal Rao had a longread profile of Wu last week as well.

For the Media: Some Sad News Too – In a post on LA food (and cannabis) writer Sean Cooley’s Instagram, Nick Johnson writes, “With the heaviest heart, I’m sorry to report that we lost Sean on Saturday afternoon. His memorial will be on 10/29 in Altadena, CA. Please visit the link in Sean’s bio to view the invitation,” Many will know Cooley from his work at Thrillist. Writer Esther Tseng tweeted about the loss as well. He was 38.

And last but not least… The Bot – This Twitter account posts “real personalized license plate applications that the California DMV received from 2015-2016.” Here’s a good one:

And that’s it for today! No podcast this week as I’m in Bali for work and the wifi where I’m staying is not quite up to the task.

I’ll see paying subscribers here Tuesday, and everyone else Friday for next Family Meal.

And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or the cold melon soup 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!

Family Meal

Tips on top, Horn grilled, STK sued, Cancel…