From Clare de Boer's Best Bit

Wanderlust inspo from YOLO

I have a Substack problem. I was going to share the Substacks I read, and once I listed them, I realized that I subscribe to more than a dozen! (And that doesn't even count newsletters like Puck, The Information, Domino's Home Front, and Nice News, that I also read.) There's a lot of rumbling about the crisis in media, but we also live in an age teeming with excellent content—if you can sift out all the noisy junk. So let's do this: Email me at amanda@food52.com with your top 3 newsletters, and I'll come back in a few weeks with some findings.

I grouped my reading* into buckets** for you:

*I only do the paid version for some of these—the subscriptions add up!

**There are more, but this is starting to make me look like a weirdo

Food

- The Best Bit by Clare de Boer

The chef/owner of King and Stissing House turns her lens on the food she cooks at home

- Food Processing by Carla Lalli Music

Former BA food editor turned creator; she's funny, unpretentious, an excellent cook

Culture

- After School

Casey Lewis has her ear to the ground on youth culture

- Feed Me

Emily Sundberg writes about culture with a business lens

Business

- The New Consumer

All about consumer products and the companies trying to change the landscape—Dan Frommer, the reporter, is a not-so-secret foodie so he pays a lot of attention to new food and lifestyle companies

- The Rebooting

A dose of media news and commentary

- Link in Bio

Smart takes on social media and internet trends

News

- Letters from an American

Thoughtful, knowledgeable essays on daily politics—and corresponding moments in history—from a historian living in Maine

Lifestyle/Fashion/Home/Travel

- Big Salad

Joanna Goddard's newish Cup of Jo offshoot, focused on relationships

- Bobbi Brown

OG beauty entrepreneur writing about whatever floats her boat, a style that I also gravitate towards

- 5 Things You Should Buy

Longtime fashion journalist Becky Malinsky is my clothing Cliff's Notes. I like that she's high-low—a normal person who cares about clothes and does the homework for you.

- Rad Minimag

Chloe Redmond Warner, founder of Redmond Aldrich Design, writes about the nitty gritty of being an interior designer

- YOLO

If you like to fantasize about travel while eating your desk lunch, as I do, Yolanda Edwards delivers

Let's Talk Melamine

I may be am definitely biased but I think we offer the most stylish array of melamine plates, which are great for outdoor use—and, in my view, for use anywhere.

For the pattern-curious:

Tarhong Real Desert Wood

Tarhong Azul

Tarhong Cottage Floral

Siren Song Ebru Print

For monochromatic devotees:

Siren Song La Mer

Siren Song Cabbage Leaf

Fortessa Palace

Kinto Alfresco

Real talk: Melamine, a coal byproduct, was developed in the 19th century but wasn't used for dinnerware until the 1950s. It is safe to use as long as you don't put it in the microwave and you don't keep very hot food in it for hours at a time. There's been a movement toward recycled bamboo dinnerware (here and here), which is considered more sustainable, but most of these materials are blended with melamine as well.

Food52 Doings

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy, who died last week. To celebrate her life and contributions to the food world, join our Cookbook Club in revisiting this Sole Piccata recipe from her cookbook, Taste & Technique.
Our Tournament of Teriyaki recipe contest has a big prize: 5,000 smackers! Enter here by August 5.
No grill, no problem—all you need is an oven to make Nea's Slow-Roasted BBQ Brisket Sliders.
César's Scallop & Shrimp Aguachile is like ceviche, only way more fiery.

Food Oils as Face Oils

Karen Levi, a longtime Food52 team member (who's now at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture), was also my longtime source for skincare tips. Her latest find is Face Oil from Wonder Valley, which also produces olive oils for cooking. The face oil contains olive oil as well as a bunch of other food oils and flowers and herbs, including sunflower seed oil, rosehip, sea buckthorn, rosemary, and chamomile. I have annoyingly sensitive skin and it's been great!

Bring on the Cuteness