Greetings from Deep Dish, a weekly review of culinary and entertainment updates. Previously, we delved into the recently revised food pyramid.
I’m not sure about you, but I’ve devoted considerable thought in recent years to the spoon-sized quantity of microplastics that might be residing in my brain. What would I consume with that spoon? I’d wonder. Is it a soup spoon or a tiny one? I’d envision the spoon in fragments, drifting near my parietal lobe. I’d attribute my forgetfulness about a distant friend at a gathering to the spoon, as I felt my attention span dwindle while scrolling through TikToks. “It’s the spoon!” I’d shout, shaking my fist at the heavens.
You can imagine my excitement when I discovered that microplastics may not, in reality, present the danger that many sensational headlines have claimed. Could my spoon have never existed? Also this week: We’re welcoming alcohol back, businesses are exploiting delivery app workers (capitalism is the root of all evil, as a reminder), and there’s considerable talk about a particular suggestive hockey show’s tuna melt.
Society has largely accepted that our bodies—and, more alarmingly, our brains—contain microplastics. Since then, Americans pledged to boycott microplastics, swiftly discarding plastic spatulas. However, the very research that triggered such widespread alarm has recently been scrutinized, as reported by The Guardian, with researchers identifying flaws in methodology and questioning the accuracy of the spoon-sized microplastics claim. Undoubtedly, it’s a positive outcome if our bodies harbor fewer microplastics than previously believed. Still, our uncritical acceptance of the study’s conclusions (and subsequent media interpretations) raises more significant concerns about the journey of information from research to public consumption. —Li Goldstein, associate newsletter editor
Since 2020, media outlets (including this platform, and notably, this very author!) have highlighted the surge in nonalcoholic beverages. You’ve probably come across the headlines, and more importantly, you’ve likely witnessed the NA boom on your grocery store shelves. However, things now seem different. Can you sense it in the atmosphere? Alcohol is making a comeback.
GQ’s Dean Stattman announced his resolution for 2026 was to resume drinking, and according to Google trends, interest in “Dry January” is at its lowest in four years as of this moment. The San Francisco Chronicle stated that NA wine is “still awful,” and although it doesn’t align with actual research, Dr. Oz, who inexplicably is our current director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, asserted that there’s no evidence supporting the advantages of reducing alcohol intake. You know what? A drink actually sounds appealing. —Sam Stone, staff writer
It came to light this week that Uber Eats and DoorDash “engineered design tricks,” as a statement from the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protections described, to complicate the process for customers wanting to tip their delivery drivers. The outcome? A decrease of $550 million in tips for those drivers.
These services previously permitted customers to tip at checkout, but the alteration meant patrons could only tip post-ordering. The NYCDCWP labeled these new tipping methods “easy-to-overlook and more complicated to navigate.” The department reports the current average tip is $0.76 per delivery. Starting January 26th, a new regulation will mandate that delivery apps offer “user-friendly tipping options,” projected to enhance earnings by nearly $400 million annually. —S.S.
To get it off my chest at the start of this blurb: I haven’t viewed Heated Rivalry, even though I usually pride myself on being in touch with the current TV trends. I assure you I’ll get to it! Clearly, I’m in the minority—not only in our broader societal and cultural context—but among my colleagues as well. When asked to consider a food perspective for the show, they came up with numerous suggestions, culminating in this compilation of recipes authored by senior editor of SEO and cooking Joe Sevier. I’ve been informed that tuna melts, ginger ale, and burgers hold significant relevance to the show, in a manner that those in the know would understand. I despise being left in the dark. —L.G.
