This post originally appeared on October 26, 2019, in Amanda Kludt’s newsletter “From the Editor,” a roundup of the most vital news and stories in the food world each week. Read the archives and subscribe now.

I’ll admit Melbourne was never on the top of my travel list. I vaguely knew food world people, my colleagues especially, loved it. But I figure if I’m going to be on a plane for over a dozen hours from New York, I’ll go to a destination in Asia.

I’ve now officially changed my view after reading the immersive, beautiful, delightful, massive guide to Melbourne that our travel section just published this week.

I of course knew but never put much thought into the fact that Australia is a country of immigrants and thus has incredible food from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the U.K., and native Australians. So that means you can get bahn mi and also pippies in XO sauce, souvlaki and also cannoli, meat pies and also bun bo hue. And I’m suddenly desperate to try an espresso martini, words I thought I’d never write.

If and when you do go, please bookmark this guide. It will tell you why breakfast is such a big deal (and where to go), what a flat white (or a ‘magic’) truly is, which snacks to bring home with you on the plane, how to navigate the city’s biggest market, why Attica is the antidote to fine dining fatigue, and so much more.

And if you can’t go anytime soon, just enjoy some of the phone wallpaper that we made for you.

On Eater

Gary He/Eater NY

• Intel: The Washington Nationals invited chef and humanitarian José Andrés to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in a World Series game that President Trump has pledged to attend; a Chicago chef who assaulted his wife is now suing her for disparaging him; a new apple with a wild marketing campaign debuts this December; a controversial law in Flushing, Queens bans all street vendors from the main drag; Popeye’s will bring back its uber-popular fried chicken sandwich next month in a limited roll-out; Blue Hill at Stone Barns now has two Michelin stars; the World Restaurant Awards, a gambit to make more inclusive awards (but just made them more baffling), will not come back for year two; a giant Nordstrom flagship opened in New York with seven restaurants, including some by Seattle imports Ethan Stowell and Tom Douglas; and Rocco DiSpirito left The Standard less than a year after his buzzy debut.
• Review: If you can look past the GOOP-y branding and weekend DJs at Equinox Hotel’s Electric Lemon, you’ll find one of the most enjoyable places to eat on the far west side of New York.
• Why do bars charge so much for soda water?
• Here’s a good dinner party tip: reading assignments.
• Why milk in plastic bladders is huge in Canada and India but not in the U.S.
• Fresh Cantonese rice noodle rolls are experiencing a boom in NYC (as they dissapear in mainland China).
• A big welcome to a new addition to our SF team, Eve Batey.
• How restaurant ceramicist Jono Pandolfi got his job.
• Because we give the people what they want, here’s a guide to hosting bachelorette parties in Nashville.

This Week on the Podcast

We talk to tennis star Maria Sharapova about her love of restaurants, eating on the road, fueling her body, and candy entrepreneurship. Then we get into the biggest stories of the week.

Off Eater

• Last week The Cut put out one of the most powerful and disturbing podcast episodes I’ve ever heard. [The Cut on Tuesdays]
• Ali Wong’s guide to good Asian restaurants. [Vulture]
• In case you’re looking for another Alison Roman profile, here’s a good one. [Jezebel]
• New storefront guidelines in New York are ruining old school bodega aesthetics. [Curbed]
• Why pumpkin spice has taken over taken over Trader Joe’s. [Vox]
• A celebration of Momofuku’s iconic Bo Ssam on its 10th birthday. [Taste]