Per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, about the word “legerdemain,” which means “sleight of hand:”
In Middle French, folks who were clever enough to fool others with fast-fingered illusions were described as leger de main, literally "light of hand." English speakers condensed that phrase into a noun when they borrowed it in the 15th century and began using it as an alternative to the older sleight of hand. (That term for dexterity or skill in using one's hands makes use of sleight, an old word from Middle English that derives from an Old Norse word meaning "sly.") In modern times, a feat of legerdemain can even be accomplished without using your hands, as in, for example, "an impressive bit of financial legerdemain."
A non-spoiler reference to season 3 of FX/Hulu series “The Bear.” The show overall centers on a chef who moves back home to Chicago to take over his brother’s Italian beef restaurant after his death.
I’m happy to report that I am easing back into actually watching things somewhat close to when they actually come out.
In honor of this TV show’s latest season — that I am enjoying (and almost done watching) — I’ll share my favorite recent reads about it.
Before we get to that, here are some of my favorite food reads of the week:
July 4, 2024, was the 100th anniversary of the invention of the Caesar Salad, so here’s the backstory on how it came to be, and 10 Vogue editors sharing their favorite places to get one.
My favorite episode of “This American Life” was similar to this: “12 hours overnight at one of Chicago’s last 24/7 diners.”
The highest density of Michelin-starred restaurants in the U.S. is in Washington, D.C., according to NPR. Here’s why.
Rolling Stone profiled MMA-fighter-turned-TikTok-food-reviewer Keith Lee.
Meet the bartenders who make their own chartreuse. (And a little background.)
Two semi-related reads:
“A taste of Black Appalachia:"
Too often, our attempts at nailing the family recipes end up in disaster and disappointment. This week, host Brittany Luse is joined by former Kentucky Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson, author of Praisesong for the Kitchenghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks. The two talk about Appalachian food culture, turning oral recipes into written ones, and the emotional relationship between food, family and memory.
“The Perfect Cake Does Not Exi … Is That Buttermilk Tres Leches?”:
While my work notably explores Southern and Americana desserts, I started toying with the idea of putting a version of the cake on my menu, a nod to my mother and grandmother, both Mexican Native Americans by way of New Mexico and Southern California. They soothed me with warm milk when I was a small, bug-bitten, clay-covered scrappy thing in southern Georgia, giving me a cinnamon stick to stir and cool it with. But I struggled to find a place for it in the market I was working in.
…
I included some basic Appalachian staples, because the other half of me is Appalachian and because I was working as a pastry chef to Sean Brock and had access to some of my region’s finest products. It felt right to take this idea of soaking a sturdy cake in sweet milks and use sweet Appalachian cornmeal in the cake base, recalling my father’s tradition of soaking leftover cornbread in milk and honey, and buttermilk, truly the finest I’ve experienced, from the Cruze Farm in eastern Tennessee. This version presented here feels full circle for me as a chef and a daughter.
And, from the New York Times: “Don’t Call It an ‘Ethnic’ Grocery Store.” (gift link)
In the 1970s and ’80s, as Asian immigration to the United States soared, grocers like H Mart; Patel Brothers, an Indian grocery founded in Chicago; and 99 Ranch Market, originally focused on foods from China and Taiwan, opened to meet the demand for ingredients that tasted like home. These were tiny mom-and-pop shops in suburban strip malls or outer boroughs with large Asian immigrant populations. They weren’t fancy, but they were vital to their communities.
Now, those same shops have transformed into sleekly designed chains with in-store roti machines, mobile ordering apps and locations across the country — all aiming to serve the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and the millions of others who now crave flavors like Shin Ramyun, chili crisp, chaat masala and chai.
Best of “The Bear:”
After Nearly 30 Years Onscreen, The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas Found Her Breakout
Liza Colón-Zayas racked up her first screen credit almost exactly 30 years ago, in an episode of New York Undercover. She went on to appear in more than two dozen TV series, from Law & Order and Sex and the City to House and Dexter. She was one of the passengers in Paul Greengrass’s Oscar-nominated United 93. She starred in a widely acclaimed production of Othello with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and, about a decade later, swept the off-Broadway awards circuit for her tour de force performance in the ensemble piece Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven.
The Bear Season 3's Heartbreaking High Point “Napkins”, Broken Down By Liza Colón-Zayas
Meet The 2 Chicago Musicians Behind The Score Of 'The Bear'
What Does The 'Chicago Accent' Actually Sound Like?
Where ‘The Bear’ characters would really eat in Chicago
The Bear’s Matty Matheson’s Toronto Restaurants: A Guide
You might know Matty Matheson best as handyman-turned-server Neil Fak in the Emmy-awarding winning comedy drama The Bear, where he also is both a producer and culinary consultant. But Matheson is first-and-foremost a cook and chef—he’s been in the industry for over two decades, and his restaurants in Toronto run a wide gamut.
At his divey Matty’s Patty’s Burger Club, you’ll find cheeseburgers—both of the crispy-lacey smashed varietal as well as juicy thick-pattied versions. On the other end of the dining spectrum, he’s got a more buttoned up, design-forward, seafood-centric steakhouse appropriately called Prime Seafood Palace that offers caviar service to go with giant slabs of rosey-hued cuts of prime rib.
How Would the Restaurant in ‘The Bear’ Work in Real Life?
The Definitive Guide to Restaurants Featured in ‘The Bear’
Sydney’s Bandanas Are The Star Of The Bear Season 3
And, once you’re done with season 3, check out Variety’s ranking of the show’s top 10 episodes. Which is your favorite?
Mine is currently “Honeydew” followed by “Napkins” then “Forks.”