You should approach reading the September 3rd and 10th issue of the New Yorker as you would grocery shopping — don’t do it when you’re hungry. This one is all about food, and travelers generally enjoy eating. One of the greatest joys of traveling is eating local food like a local, whether at a street stall in Asia or off a prix fixe French menu.
This week’s issue of the New Yorker features Calvin Trillin’s exploration of street food in Singapore (street stalls have been corralled into large, clean, and open-air halls — I was salivating just reading the article and imagining all the delicious smells combined under one roof), a look at Claudia Roden’s Egyptian food in London, and John McPhee’s tour of culinary oddities around the world (grizzly bears, lions, and Rocky Mountain oysters, oh my!).
My favorite is the smattering of narratives called “Family Dinner,” in which writers including David Sedaris and recall flavor-infused memories. In one, critical movie reviewer Anthony Lane opens up about learning to eat artichokes — a story that makes Lane seem surprisingly human (as long as you’re not a film director, I suppose).
And just to make this issue even more relevant for Gadling readers, on the financial page in an article titled, “The Unfriendly Skies,” James Surowiecki analyzes the airline industry’s recent lack of customer service. Unfortunately, Surowiecki concludes, there’s not much incentive for airlines to change. Just like Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza wrote, customers will keep buying the tickets that save them money.
Too bad there’s no debate over airline food.