The CulinaryWoman Newsletter, Thanksgiving Edition, 11/22/20

The dollars behind the dishes

Hello, readers! This week’s edition is, as they say in the magazine business, a double. (Come to think of it, there are some restaurant meanings for that phrase, too.)

I’m skipping next Sunday’s newsletter to give myself a little holiday break. CulinaryWoman will be back on Sunday, Dec. 6. Meanwhile, COVID is changing everything for restaurant people this Thanksgiving, and we all know more change is coming.

Insights From Ina On The Challenges Restaurants Face Now

I’m so lucky to know Ina Pinkney. I named her a CulinaryWoman of the Week earlier this year, and she’s been my go-to source for so many things in the restaurant business.

I was talking to Ina last week for my book about Zingerman’s, since Ina is one of the prominent people in the food world who has taught a class or hosted a dinner at Zingerman’s.

Once we were through talking for the book, our conversation turned to Ina’s observations of what she’s seeing in the restaurant world, both in Chicago and from friends across the country. Her assessment is pretty bleak.

“Our brains are wired for resolution,” she says of her fellow restaurant owners. “We solve problems all day long. This is unresolvable.”

A World Without Dining Rooms

In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was angered when Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced last month that he was suspending indoor dining.

She told PBS NewsHour that she had asked Pritzker to reverse the ban. Restaurants and bars were “really hanging by a thread,” she told PBS NewsHour, and she was “not sure that we’re reaching the right people with the restrictions that are going to be imposed by the state.”

Since Pritzker announced the order, cases in Illinois have skyrocketed to five-digit levels. Some industry officials see that as proof that restaurants aren’t the problem.

Chicago has a $10 million hospitality grant program that’s meant to help restaurant and bar employees, and there’s also an effort underway to encourage Chicagoans to get takeout during the upcoming winter months.

However, Ina says that it may not be enough to make a difference.

“More and more people have said they are closing for the winter,” she says. “Everyone I know is suffering. Really suffering.”

And, Chicago isn’t alone. Michigan has had two waves of indoor dining closures, a first during the spring months, and it’s now in the midst of a three-week pause in the face of spiking COVID cases that are overloading the state’s hospitals, especially in Western Michigan.

Seasonal closings are common in parts of Massachusetts that depend on tourism, but less so in Boston. However, some owners are cutting deals with landlords to close this coming winter until there is clarity about COVID.

Restaurants have spent thousands of dollars to install sanitary protections and institute cleanliness protocols, money that almost none of them are able to recoup through the normal course of business.

While PPP loans covered some of the expenses, a lot of that money is long gone, and the chance of a second stimulus package is diminishing daily.

Meanwhile, the shutdowns create a big problem when restaurants eventually decide to come back. They can’t simply decide on Monday that they will reopen on Tuesday, Ina says.

They have to notify staff, suppliers, get utilities paid up, let customers know their new hours and the menus they’ll be serving when they return.

Who’s Hurt The Most?

Almost nothing is the same anywhere, nor can diners expect Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dolly Parton to solve the problem with a COVID vaccine.

“Will we go back to the restaurants we once were? I don’t think so,” Ina says.

As a former restaurant owner, she’s deeply concerned about the pandemic’s impact on staff.

“Who’s hurt the most? Probably the lowest paid employees - dishwashers and the bussers,” she says.

“Chefs are working twice as hard, twice as long to turn out whatever to-go food that they have. A lot of servers are out of work. You don’t need a server if it’s grab and go. You don’t need a server if it’s curbside.”

Ina, whose health has gradually improved since her accident nearly two years ago, is doing her best to support the city’s restaurants. She is planning to order carry out from Ever, the new restaurant from Curtis Duffy, winner of three Michelin stars for his previous restaurant, Grace.

It is an eight to 10 course menu at $285 per person, requiring a $100 deposit. That brings up a key question: can fine dining survive in a takeaway world? She isn’t sure.

“These beautiful places, with three, or four or seven elements, some of the food can’t travel,” Ina says.

Restaurants Tough It Out

Yet, if nothing else, the restaurant world has proved it is indefatigable, even if survival is a challenge.

As I wrote for Forbes last week, one of the ways that restaurants are tackling the new atmosphere is through pop-ups.

There are so many now in Chicago that food publications are creating best-of lists. Many of them are from chefs sharing space in their friends’ restaurants.

Some are an opportunity for spots to try out new menus in a way that their customers might not have let them do in another time, for fear of seeing favorite dishes go away.

Other chefs are hiring themselves out for private dinners, and even more are putting on cooking classes. I’ve written about the ones offered by Joanne Chang in Boston; soon, Alon Shaya, the New Orleans chef who also has a restaurant in Denver, will be joining dozens or other chefs online with a three-class series.

While it’s tempting to be completely morose about the restaurant industry, there also is hope.

Ari Weinzweig, the co-founder of Zingerman’s, has been writing a lot lately about beliefs.

And one of his beliefs really resonates with me. “If we want to create long-term positive outcomes, we must lead from a positive place.”

So, hang in there, restaurant friends. Diners, show them your support - there are ways you can do so even if cash is tight.

In the words of my mother, “This, too, shall pass.”

Or you can also remember that line from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: “Everything will be all right in the end. So, if it is not all right, it is not the end.”

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

A Fascinating Series On Chinese Cuisines

When I watched the first series of Flavorful Origins on Netflix, I couldn’t quite figure it out.

Was it Chinese tourism propaganda? The clunky narration sounded like it was generated by a bot, and the dishes and flavors were completely unfamiliar despite my exploration of Chinese cuisines.

Series Two was much more sophisticated and relatable. I got hooked on the vignettes about different cooking methods, like fermentation. And now, Series Three is something I can recommend to a food loving audience.

Each series has focused on a Chinese province, and the dishes eaten there, or ingredients produced there. In Series Three, the filmmakers visit the sprawling Gansu province in Northwest China.

You will see everything from hand-pulled noodles to mutton, lily plants to buckwheat. Each episode is short, and it’s easy to binge watch an entire series over a couple of evenings.

I find this new version of Flavorful Origins to be mesmerizing and informative. It’s a way to travel and feast when we can’t. So, see what you think.

Coming Up: My Favorite Cookbooks

When the newsletter returns in December, I’m going to offer you my guide to building a cookbook library. Are there some you would recommend? Feel free to post suggestions in Comments or email me. We’d love to hear about the gems that have shaped your cooking and baking.

We Appreciate Your Support!

Thanks to our generous Founding Members, the CW Newsletter is funded through the end of 2020. Thank you very much!

We’d love for our group of Founding Members to grow. The details are here. I’m more than happy to thank you in the newsletter.

A CW subscription makes a nice holiday gift, and I’d be happy to drop a personal note to the recipient. Just email me at culinarywoman@gmail.com.

Another podcast episode is in the works - and did you know you also can support the CulinaryWoman Podcast? Opportunities start at just 99 cents a month.

See the options at our production home, Anchor (click on the “Support” button). I’d be happy to thank you on a future episode. 

Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman

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You can get in touch with me at CulinaryWoman@gmail.com. Thanks for reading. Wear a mask, and see you in early December.