Monday Morning TL;DR: New York Is Over

Yeah. Over. There always comes a moment in any movement, any scene, where the core dissolves and begins to spread. Think rap music and punk rock. Think modern art. Think fashion. Food was Paris and Paris was food for ages–right up until the moment that Americans started caring about food and then, suddenly, New York became the center of the universe. Paris, at that point, became like the ancestral homeland, the first Jedi temple.

But everything has a moment where it dissolves. Usually you can only see it in retrospect. But I’m calling it right now. New York’s time is done. And here’s why…

An Alabama State of Mind

Food & Wine magazine–which was once so powerful a force in the food world that it had its own restaurant in SoHo–has made the decision to leave New York for Birmingham, Alabama. Now granted, there are reasons for choosing Birmingham. Time Inc. (which owns F&W) has other operations in Alabama (including the magazines Cooking Light and Southern Living) and they’re going to save a nice chunk of change by no longer having to maintain an NYC office. But the main reason given by new editor-in-chief Hunter Lewis (who is taking the place of Nilou Motamed after only a year or so on the job) in a New York Times story was this:

“This was less about cutting costs and more about maximizing the facilities we have in Birmingham… Also thinking about the consumer first — there are sophisticated food eaters and wine drinkers everywhere now, in cities big and small.”

Sophisticated food eaters and wine drinkers everywhere now. That is a line that matters, and one which will ring down through history as the start of a new chapter in American food. Food & Wine is saying that New York City is no longer the vital core of American dining. That it is no longer central.

It is about fucking time.

In Other News…

Gangs of killer whales are acting like pirates in the Bering Sea, chasing away fishermen and plundering their catch. It’s kind of awesome. And scary. Because orcas, despite their awesome name, are badass predators but do not attack humans. Until now.

I Love Cheese, But These People LOVE CHEESE

Ever wondered what it would take to become a cheesemonger? Ever wondered what it would take to become the best cheesemonger in the world? NPR’s The Salt can answer that question for you with this in-depth piece on a rag-tag group of scrappy American cheesemongers (and their coach) going to Tours, France to compete for that title.

When Is A Burger No Longer A Burger?

Sonic, of all places, may just be on the cutting edge of revolutionizing the American cheeseburger. Their new “slingers” are healthier, less fatty, less resource-intensive, and may just save the world. Because they’re not completely hamburgers.

French Lifestyle Blogger Killed by Exploding Whipped Cream Canister

You’re going to feel the way you feel about this story. I’m not sayin’ nothing. Except that maybe just buy your whipped cream in a tub from now on. Those things never killed anyone. At least not by piercing anyone’s thorax.