World’s 50 Best Names Maido as Latin America’s Top Restaurant

The best restaurant in Latin America is ...

The World’s 50 Best organization has released its list of the top 50 restaurants in Latina America, and Maido, located in Lima, Peru, is number one for the second year running. Helmed by chef Mitsuharu “Micha” Tsumura, the tasting-menu restaurant serves Nikkei, a merging of Japanese and Peruvian cuisines.

“Chef Micha’s Nikkei Experience menu is a journey through Peruvian-Japanese fusion cuisine, with an emphasis on seafood,” the World’s 50 Best team says in a statement. “Everything sings with flavor and the natural bright colors that come from Peru’s produce.” Central (Lima), Pujol (Mexico City), Boragó (Santiago, Chile), and D.O.M. (São Paulo, Brazil) round out the top five.

How the midterms could affect trade and food policy

American farmers have become collateral damage in Donald Trump’s various trade wars. The forthcoming midterm elections, which could shift power from Republicans to Democrats in the United States House and Senate, will play a big role in determining the future for food producers in the country. Jonathan Coppess, director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, tells Bloomberg that a Democratic congress could be “more willing to stand up to the president” on tariffs and trade.

Another issue at stake is the farm bill. The current law that sets subsidies for farmers, the Agriculture Act of 2014, expires at the end of this year. Trump and House Republicans have pushed for new work requirements tied to benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which has proven to be an unpopular position. If Democrats win next week, the 2014 law reportedly could be extended through 2019.

And in other food news ...

• How does hero chef José Andrés keep morale high among employees of his Think Food Group? He brings them together to compete in an annual soccer tournament. [WTOP]
• William Sitwell, the editor of Waitrose Food magazine who proposed a series on killing vegans, has resigned his post. [Buzzfeed; Eater London]
• Tired: brick-and-mortar Pizza Hut locations staffed by humans. Wired: a prototype truck with robot arms that can bake and package pizza while on the road. [Dallas News]
• After years of low inflation, food companies such as Ritz and Mondelez and restaurants including McDonald’s, Chipotle, and Starbucks are hiking prices. These businesses are passing on higher supply costs to their customers. [Wall Street Journal]
• Coca-Cola, which previously announced plans to explore the market for cannabis-infused drinks, now says it will wait until weed is fully legal and more widely accepted in America. [Wall Street Journal]
• Dairy giant Land O’Lakes has ceased its donations to Iowa Republican Representative Steve King, who is a bona fide white supremacist. King has been transparent about his worldview for years, but only recently, when Land O’Lakes was facing a boycott, did the company determine the congressman does not fit with its values. [Bloomberg]
• Finally, a burning question: Does Ina Garten keep too many opened condiments in her pantry? [Jezebel]