Welcome to Deep Dish, your weekly compilation of food and entertainment highlights. Last week, we explored the surprisingly thriving Chipotle furniture resale industry.
Many aspects of life were superior during our youth, wouldn’t you agree? AI-generated content hadn’t dominated every social media site, securing reservations at top-tier restaurants was easier, and Katy Perry hadn’t ventured into space. I get it—I sound like an ancient grouch, bemused by the world, but reality is hitting hard—Katy Perry really has gone to space. Moreover, the slow and steady drop in quality of our surroundings is unmistakable —a phenomenon referred to as enshittification by tech expert Cory Doctorow—with Reese’s products being its latest casualty.
This week, we delve into the boneless wings debate, the emerging diva that is (spoiler alert) actually an 800-year-old cheese type, and the Italian pastry shop that food director Chris Morocco can’t get off his mind.
Did Reese’s Certainly Alter Its Recipe?
If you’ve tried a Reese’s cup in the past few years, you might have detected a shift. Perhaps it tastes different from what you recall—no, not just different. Worse. You’re not the only one. Some years ago, Reddit users began sharing their experiences of an off-putting taste they didn’t remember. “They went from being my absolute favorite to inedible,” wrote one user five years back. Many have long held a suspicion that Reese’s had altered its recipe, resulting in a disappointing version of their once-beloved treat.
This Saturday, Brad Reese, grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, took to LinkedIn to pen a harsh open letter to Hershey’s Co. regarding the adverse changes made to the candy’s original recipe. “Today, REESE’S identity is being altered, not by storytellers, but by formulation choices that swap Milk Chocolate with compound coatings and Peanut Butter with peanut-butter-style crèmes across various REESE’S products,” Reese stated.
The Hershey Company issued a response to Reese’s statement. “As we’ve expanded and diversified the Reese’s product range, we adjust recipes to create new shapes, sizes and innovations that Reese’s enthusiasts have come to cherish and seek out, all while preserving the core of what makes Reese’s distinctive: the ideal blend of chocolate and peanut butter,” it expressed.
Reese’s allegations resonated with numerous Reese’s admirers who felt convinced they had noticed a change. Reese shares many of their thoughts. “It was unpalatable,” he revealed to The Associated Press in an interview. “You must understand. I used to enjoy a Reese’s product daily. This is incredibly disheartening for me.” —Sam Stone, staff writer
“Boneless Wings” Are Legally Considered Wings
Three years later, the dispute has finally been resolved in court: Boneless chicken wings are indeed classified as wings. In 2023, Aimen Halim from Chicago filed a lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings, asserting that its boneless wings do not fit the category of chicken wings. To be fair, they’re practically chicken nuggets fashioned from breast meat, rather than actual wings.
The judge, in a fit of punning, dismissed Halim’s case, stating “his complaint has no meat on its bones.” Subsequently, the judge humorously noted how Halim argued that the “boneless wings didn’t ‘meat’ expectations.” Alright, fine, the boneless wings are technically wings, but surely it can’t be permissible to make such dreadful puns? —S.S.
Grana Padano Is Approaching Stardom
A few months back, I discussed how Parmigiano Reggiano partnered with UTA. Cheese? With a talent agency? What a joke! Fast forward four months, and another cheese is receiving celebrity treatment, while I remain without representation. The humor, understandably, was on me.
