What could be more self-recommending than this?

Posted on 2023/07/03 by .

Fuchsia Dunlop, Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food.

Fuchsia Dunlop, Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food.

Due out in November.

Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.

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Agglomeration externalities from restaurants

Posted on 2023/06/17 by .

We estimate agglomeration externalities in Milan’s restaurant sector using the abolition of a unique regulation that restricted where restaurants could locate. In 2005, Milan abolished a minimum distance requirement that had kept the number of establishments artificially constant across neighborhoods. We find that after 2005, the geographical concentration of restaurants increased sharply and at an accelerating rate. Consistent with the existence of strong and self-sustaining agglomeration externalities, restaurants agglomerated in some neighborhoods and deserted others, leading to a growing divergence in local amenities across neighborhoods. Restaurants located in neighborhoods that experienced large increases in agglomeration reacted by increasing product differentiation.

That is from a new AER Insights piece by Marco Leonardi and Enrico Moretti. Here are some ungated copies. I am myself repeatedly surprised how much the mere location of a restaurant can predict its quality.

Agglomeration externalities from restaurants

Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.

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Alaska food notes

Posted on 2023/04/17 by .

There is salmon, halibut, and crab, the latter usually priced at $125 for the meal. The salmon I liked but did not love, so the halibut is the standout order in Anchorage, noting that even fish and chips may cost you $45. The vegetables were somewhat better than expected. Many quite good restaurants (at least if you order halibut) look like they are somewhat less than quite good, so the usual visual cues do not apply. Prices seem determined by ingredients, rather than restaurant location or status of the restaurant. I enjoyed my reindeer bibimbap. Chinese restaurants are not common, you will find many more Japanese and sushi places, which based on n = 2 are pretty good. Namaste Shangri-La was excellent, it is one of three (!) Nepalese places in town. The Mexican food I did not try. There are several Polynesian locales. Fresh blueberry and lingonberry jams are not to be neglected. Lower your expectations for the supermarkets, not just the fruit but also the cheese.

Alaska food notes

Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.

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Pho Tu Ech

Posted on 2023/03/23 by .

Pho Tu Ech, web site, 7263 Arlington Blvd., Suite H, Falls Church, VA, 703-206-0483, closed Tuesdays. (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | TripAdvisor | RestJi | Ylp | NoVA Mag]

Excellent pho, excellent main dishes – are they a branch of Hai Duong? I enjoy the broken rice with pork chop here, but the offerings are remarkably solid all around. Maybe it’s not the #1 pho place, and maybe it’s not the #1 “regular Vietnamese entrees” place, but if you could only have one local Vietnamese restaurant in your portfolio? Maybe this would be it.

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Singaporean hawker centre in Manhattan

Posted on 2023/03/17 by .

Urban Hawker, On 135 W.50th, 17 vendors Here is a NYT review, good photos of the key dishes. The Hainanese chicken rice was amazing, worthy of Singapore, get it poached of course. Condiments! The Malaysian lontong was quite good, the beef rendang decent. The lamb biryani I enjoyed, with a thick sauce than you would not find in Hyderabad, laden with cloves and cinnamon. Most of the people there are not Singaporean, but many have “that Singaporean look,” so it feels fairly authentic, except for the prices, which run about $20 a course. Ordering your meal and finding/keeping a table can be difficult, also making it authentic. (Choping needed!) Ordering a meal and getting a drink of water on the same trip can be difficult, making it more authentic yet. Overall, not as good as it could be but better than you might be expecting. Some of the vendors verge on Pan-Asian rather than Singaporean proper, but ultimately Singapore itself is headed in that direction. So I will go again, though I can’t imagine the chili crab is worth the price. Most of all, you need to go early rather than at peak times.

And if you are wondering what “that Singaporean look” means, I suppose it refers to looking down a bit, earnest, and seeming not entirely happy, all the while focused on getting some excellent food.

Singaporean hawker centre in Manhattan

Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.

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The decline of Michelin-starred restaurants

Posted on 2023/02/23 by .

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one bit:

And then there is the spread of the Michelin brand. There are now Michelin guides for many US cities, which has caused the brand to lose some exclusivity. Michelin has awarded stars to 24 restaurants in the Washington area, for instance. I like many of these places, but I suspect Michelin is grading on a curve.

Social media are another part of the market evolution. Instagramming your meal is a popular pastime, and it suits some restaurants better than others. A lot of people, understandably, are reluctant to pull out their camera phones in a haute Parisian establishment, whereas they will gladly do so in a creative and more casual spot for Indian nouvelle cuisine in London or Singapore. El Bulli (now closed) and Noma have been amazingly good at attracting publicity and inducing pilgrimages, but apart from the very top of the market, Michelin-starred restaurants are operating at a publicity disadvantage.

Another factor working against Michelin is growing time pressure — especially among its well-to-do customer base. Many Michelin-starred dining experiences are slow, and the fixed-price menus often are designed to take up the entire evening, especially if paired with wine. But people are increasingly busy, and the smart phone’s pull of texts and posts and tweets is only getting stronger. And maybe, because of the pandemic, we all want to stretch our legs more often. Speaking for myself, I am much less interested in the three-hour meal than I used to be.

The decline of alcohol consumption in many parts of the world may also be bad for the Michelin experience. Marijuana use, by contrast, is up, and that of course encourages snacking at home.

Here are some related remarks by Air Genius Gary Leff: “In Many Cities, The Michelin Guide Is Now Paid For By The Local Tourism Authority.”

The decline of Michelin-starred restaurants


Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.

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Jiwa Singapura

Posted on 2023/02/16 by .

Jiwa Singapura, web site, located inside Tysons Galleria at the mezzanine level by CMX Cinema (above Arhaus Furniture), 1702U The Galleria at Tysons, Floor 3M, McLean, VA 22102, 571-425-4101 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | Washingtonian | NoVA Mag]

The new restaurant at Tysons II, top floor near the movie theatre, currently there is no meaningful address or phone number. Open dinner five days a week, soon lunch as well.

I take Singaporean food very seriously, and I have been to Singapore numerous times, including a one-week trip where all I did was take the Singaporean “red book” around to hawker centres for the best dishes. So my standards are high, but essentially this place delivered. The highlights were the shrimp with salted duck egg sauce and the mackerel fish cake. But everything else was somewhere between very good and excellent, including the carrot cake, the nasi lemak (you do need to mix it together properly), and a surprisingly soulful seafood laksa.

The prices are entirely reasonable, and currently this has to stand as one of northern Virginia’s best restaurants. My primary complaint is simply that the music was too loud.

Here is a bit of their backstory, here is their home page, still evolving as you might say.

Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.

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The economics of why Noma is closing

Posted on 2023/01/12 by .

Here is the take of yours truly:

    Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and a devoted restaurant-goer, says that people are misinterpreting Redzepi’s intentions with the closure. Cowen doesn’t think the chef is arguing that he can’t make money with Noma and its grand artistic ambitions. It’s just that he can make more money doing other, perhaps less stressful, things.

    “He’s so well-known now, he can just do private events, cook for billionaires, special weddings and work two months a year or whatever and make more than he’s making in the restaurant,” Cowen says. “He’s the one who’s going to earn from here on out. Why slave every night till like 2 a.m. in a restaurant when you can set your own schedule and price discriminate, charging the super wealthy?”

Here is the longer WaPo article by Emily Heil and Tim Carman, presenting other views as well.

The economics of why Noma is closingOriginally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.

See also “Celebrity chef David Chang blasts Costco’s ‘disgusting’ rotisserie chicken“

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Malaysian Kopitiam

Posted on 2022/12/25 by .

Malaysian Kopitiam, web site, 5085 Westfields Blvd, Centreville, VA, 571-376-5693  (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | TripAdvisor | Zabihah | NoVA Mag]

Everything here is pretty good, maybe nothing is great? It is best to go with a group and get the main Malay dishes. If you had to just get one solo, maybe the Nasi Lemak would be your pick? Make sure you mix it together properly. I like their lamb curry and beef rendang, but standing solo they do not quite a meal make. If I lived nearby I would go often, as it stands I will visit periodically. Atmosphere is very mom and pop. 

From the same folks who brought us the place now closed in DC.

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Los Angeles dining

Posted on 2022/12/09 by .

Northern Thai Food Club, 5301 Sunset Blvd. Kao Soi, melon salad, and don’t forget the sour bamboo shoots. The place has only a few tables.

Old Sasoon Bakery, Pasadena, 1132 North Allen Avenue, mostly Armenian and some Georgian dishes, won’t work on a no-carb diet.

For food, LA is still the best in this country.

Los Angeles dining

Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.

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