This post originally appeared on September 28, 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.

My colleague of the last 10 years, Greg Morabito, is moving to the world of book publishing. I’m too devastated to have anything quippy to say, so I’ll just give a special shout-out to some of his seminal work, including photoshopping Guy Fieri with normal hair into iconic works of art, these satires of 2014-era trendy restaurant items and 2019-era hot takes, Critical Cats, his stakeout of Sam Sifton eating a novelty fast-food item, and his essential coverage of the explosion of food-related shows and movies over the past few years.

I feel lucky that I got to enjoy his reporting, analysis, and absurdist humor over the course of a very fun and full decade.

On Eater

• Intel: Amtrak is killing off the dining car on long-haul trips because millennials don’t like to eat with strangers; 109-year-old NYC cheese shop Di Palo’s stealth-opened a wine bar last week; Chicago’s Fat Rice now has a bakery; a restaurant called Pistol Whip closed after five months in Denver; Portland has a cheerful new natural-wine bar; a couple opened a restaurant-themed escape room in Queens; Bon Appetit partnered with Chicago’s largest restaurant group and delivery behemoth, GrubHub, to launch a delivery-only restaurant; Amazon debuted a bizarrely unnecessary ”smart” oven; an all-day cafe focusing on espresso martinis opened near Dupont Circle in D.C.; a group of Detroit restaurateurs got together to form a one-of-a-kind hospitality company; Sitka & Spruce in Seattle is closing; José Andrés will open a location of his fast-casual restaurant Beefsteak in Chicago; SF South Indian favorite Dosa will close its original location after 15 years in business; Michelin announced its stars for Chicago; David Chang will serve White Manna-inspired sliders at his upcoming Vegas restaurant; and by the looks of Brian Malarkey’s newest spot, there’s a sale on velvet in San Diego.
• Inside the Detroit area’s new super-high-end restaurant with yacht vibes.
• Here’s a great nitty-gritty on how cookbook deals work.
• The best way to throw a dinner party: Split the guest list and responsibilities with a co-host.
• Why it’s so hard for restaurants to go tip-free.
• Seven delicious things to eat in LA’s Koreatown.
• A deep dive on KFC’s new dating video game.
• Erin DeJesus goes down an Etsy rabbit hole to satiate her desire for Prue Leith-inspired statement necklaces.

Michelle Gerard | michellegerard

This week on the podcast

This week on Eater’s Digest, Daniel and I talk about the biggest stories of the week, including the surprising decision of London’s St. John restaurant to expand to an LA mall.

Off Eater

• How Ariane Daguin is changing the way Americans eat meat while bringing in $135 million in revenue for her company, D’Artagnan. [Inc]
• This podcast about all the ways companies can and do spy on you at work kind of rocked my world. [The Journal]
• I added the wrong link last week when I meant to link to this gorgeous Vermont farmhouse, so here’s a re-do. Or maybe I’ll fall into a pile of money and just buy this West Village spot. [Curbed]
• Welp, now I can stop using an ice bath when making hard- and soft-boiled eggs. [NYT]
• Andrew Cuomo and Sandra Lee broke up. [People]
• ”Will we be on the same Slack?” was definitely the most frequently asked internal question following the Vox/New York Media merger news. [Intelligencer]
• Obsessed with how much Rob Lowe’s kids troll him on Instagram. [@EricaZiman]