Tea and Controversy, Food on Instagram, Dinner in Antarctica, and More Long Reads

In the perpetually rolling boil of history, we see that tea has been a steeping pot for social change internationally. In more pinpointed locations, we read about the the evolving food trends in Philadelphia, and the more stagnant — yet still unique — dinner assortments in Antarctica. When it comes to your Instagram account, there are both impetus to snapping that avocado toast, but sometimes also consequences. Here are seven great articles to sip on this weekend.

When Sipping Tea Was A Socially Ruinous Act

Atlas Obscura

This fear of addiction was two-fold. Not only did tea contain caffeine, a known addictive substance, it was also often taken with another New World menace: sugar. Foreshadowing worries of our present century, sugar was considered a dangerous habit which made people fat, blackened their teeth and changed their personalities. Critics felt that it made the West too dependent on foreign trade.

Cold War, Hot Tea: Nancy Reagan And Raisa Gorbachev's Sipping Summit

NPR

Reagan played host first, inviting Gorbachev to tea at the beautiful lakeside mansion loaned to the Reagans by the Aga Khan. Things didn't start well. Gorbachev's long motorcade rolled up 15 minutes late, a tardiness bitterly noted by the waiting journalists whiplashed by the icy November winds.

The Psychological Case for Instagramming Your Food

New York magazine

When we photograph our own #cleaneating pictures, we end up delaying taking part in the desirable act of eating healthy, building anticipated pleasure for what might otherwise seem like a bowl of green gloop. Something similar happens while taking a picture of a mountain of chili cheese fries or a steak. The only difference is that, in these situations, what we're likely anticipating is the desirable flavor more than the virtuous act itself.

Rainbow Bagels and Crazy Milkshakes: What Happens When a Dish Goes Viral

Eater

Shortly after the milkshakes took off, Isidori called to check on his ice cream order. "I was like, 'Yo, where's my ice cream?' and [my supplier] said, ‘Yo, you bought everything. You cleaned me out.'" He says food ordering has gone up across the board, because customers usually come for a full meal. Where he used to seat 300 covers a day, they now do as many as 500.

The Lone Chef of Palmer Station, Antarctica

Lucky Peach

The biggest challenge isn't cooking and living on an isolated chunk of land in the middle of the Southern Ocean — it's the fact that Hiller can only put in a single food order at the start of the season. Fresh fruit and vegetables, or "freshies," are fleeting and eventually fantasized about.

The French finally embrace delivery food

The Verge

"There's a real war for Paris going on," says Boris Mittermüller, CEO and founder of Foodora in France, a delivery app and website that has launched in 11 countries across the world. "Everyone is fighting for market share." Berlin-based Foodora came to Paris in June 2015, and Mittermüller says its orders have grown by between 20 and 40 percent every week since.

Pittsburgh Rare: A Culinary History of the Steel City

Serious Eats

You'll eat pierogi and pasta and soul food, fries on sandwiches and fries on salads and fries underneath a roller coaster at Kennywood Park. This is what a lot of people call "authentic Pittsburgh," the 'Burgh of the steel industry's postwar heyday and the peak of immigration, full of Italian cheesemongers and Greek church ladies and Syrian butchers.