You’re not imagining it. Burger inflation is real. We have the data. Gift link: wapo.st/4xofJeT

How the restaurant burger went from cheap indulgence to luxury meal

The $30 burger can be found on menus from New York to California, despite efforts to rein in soaring beef prices.

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Houston-based Shipley Do-Nuts has expanded into the Mid-Atlantic. Which means I now have (sort of) daily access to the chain’s kolaches for the first time in 25 years. I have thoughts. Gift link: wapo.st/4iRbpBg

Column | What happens when a beloved food chain reappears in your life? It’s complicated.

I survived on Shipley kolaches in Houston. As the chain moved East, it stayed the same, but I’ve changed.

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You might be surprised by my take on BK’s new chicken nuggets. I certainly was, until I learned who the chef was behind the revamped nugs. Gift link: wapo.st/4i6MR76

Burger King’s revamped chicken nuggets set a new standard for fast food

Burger King is officially back in the fast-food chicken game.

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Some thoughts about the new film on Anthony Bourdain. Gift link: wapo.st/4qczAfi

Analysis | What the Anthony Bourdain biopic misses about his life and legacy

“Tony” wants viewers to see Anthony Bourdain’s time as a teenage cook in Provincetown, Massachusetts, as a hopeful spark, not the beginning of a descent.

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This was a terrible story to report and, no doubt, a difficult one to read. Gift link: wapo.st/3RnPgiQ

Judge bars chef Eric Adjepong from being alone with daughter after abuse finding

A Maryland judge has issued a protective order that prohibits the chef and TV host from contacting his daughter without supervision.

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File this under things I will never eat again. Gift link: wapo.st/4h5PtSj

Review | The Spam Dog is too much of a good-ish thing

This new dog floods your palate with pork flavor, but then the stomach gurgling begins.

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And just published this morning. Some thoughts about the MAHA programming at the Great American State Fair. Again, gift link: wapo.st/4bwe5zG

Analysis | The deep-fried contradiction of MAHA Mondays at the Great American State Fair

The fair in D.C. dedicates days to the Make America Healthy Again movement but is littered with junk-food temptations — just like everywhere else in America.

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I'm playing a little catch-up on stories this week. First up, ICYMI, was a piece about JD Vance and his family raising chickens at the Naval Observatory. We had questions. Gift link: wapo.st/44mdRHx

Column | The Vances added a chicken coop to the vice president’s residence. We had questions.

Who will be raising the hens at the Naval Observatory? And why are the Vances taking on this project?

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The fried apple pie is back at McDonald's to celebrate America's birthday. It's a gift no one needs and most everyone of a certain age will want, if mostly to see if it can match the memories of their youth. I was one of those people. Gift link: wapo.st/4oFBx2U

Review | McDonald’s new fried apple pie can’t live up to its lore

The hand pie, back for America’s 250th birthday, is no match for childhood nostalgia.

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Do you raise backyard chickens? I'd love to talk to you! Reply here if interested.

FOOD WRITING PORTFOLIO, DIV 3 2026 SFJ winners: 🥇 1st: @timcarman.bsky.social - Washington Post 🥈 2nd: @hannaraskin.bsky.social - The Food Section 🥉 3rd: @breij.bsky.social - LA Times 🏅 HM: MacKenzie Chung Fegan - @sfchronicle.com #SFJAwards

This was, perhaps, predictable, though it seems many restaurants are reconsidering the service charge option after learning about the tax and payroll implications. Gift link: wapo.st/43t6eyF

Restaurants add World Cup service charges, fearing tourists won’t tip

Operators in U.S. host cities say they want to ensure workers share in the financial benefits that the tournament will bring.

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I had this brief, exquisite moment at Huong Viet recently. I was compelled to write about it: to figure out how it happened and why it’s important. Gift link: wapo.st/4fv98Kz

Column | How I found bliss in dish No. 140 at a Vietnamese strip-mall restaurant

Here’s your reminder to look for the ecstatic in the prosaic, no matter where life takes you.

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Curious if those in the business of feeding people agree with Dina Daniel from Fava Pot: Will Sysco’s planned purchase of Restaurant Depot lead to higher prices at the discount wholesaler? Gift link: wapo.st/43tINp3

As restaurants struggle with costs, a major food supplier deal raises new fears

Restaurant Depot is a lifeline for small businesses. Many hope its sale to industry giant Sysco falls through.

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The owner of Martin's Tavern had no idea his historic pub would be featured on SNL this weekend. He was sound asleep by the time the skit aired. Gift link: wapo.st/4eFy0ij

Martin’s Tavern owner hopes SNL cameo gets people to ‘lighten up and laugh’

The historic Georgetown restaurant’s bar was the backdrop for a booze-fueled cold open featuring Trump administration officials.

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"It’s been a time of change and loss at The [Washington] Post. Some losses hurt the most because they can never be reversed." dandiamond.substack.com/p/dan-eggen-... RIP to the great Dan Eggen, who pulled no punches. He was laid off in February. www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...

Dan Eggen, who shaped politics coverage at The Post, dies at 60

He helped guide Pulitzer Prize-winning projects, including coverage of Russian election interference in 2016 and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

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The original Ben’s Chili Bowl returns to action in less than two weeks, but the Ali family is keeping many of the details under wraps. They have a good reason. Gift link: wapo.st/4tWlyPg

Ben’s Chili Bowl hopes May reopening meets its matriarch’s standards

Improvements to the historic U Street diner, shuttered since last summer, are being kept under wraps until a May 1 unveiling to Virginia Ali and the public.

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The late Tanios “Tony” Abi-Najm fled a civil war in Lebanon at age 44. He made a new life for himself and his family in the DC area, where he spread Lebanese food and culture far beyond his native land. This is his story and the story of Lebanese Taverna. wapo.st/3QmPQwc

How Lebanese Taverna’s founder made an outsize impact on D.C. dining

The restaurant’s patriarch, Tanios Abi-Najm, fled war-ravaged Beirut before starting Lebanese Taverna in 1979. He died last week at 94.

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I spent a lovely afternoon going through the late food writer Marian Burros's home office. I read through her papers, sifted through her cookbooks, and examined her photos, all of which gave me an even deeper appreciation of this legend. Gift link: wapo.st/47THXEt

Because I have no chill, believe deeply in AP’s mission, and think covering the Middle East is more important than ever… some personal news! www.ap.org/the-definiti...

For those looking for metaphors about the future of AI and government's ability to regulate it, well, here it is...

SlavaUkraini033@slavaukraini033.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Robot Malfunction: In China, a dancing robot suddenly started smashing dishes. It knocked over plates on customers’ tables & then kept dancing without stopping. Staff tried to stop it, but it didn’t respond for several minutes. In the end, one of the waitresses simply dragged it into the back room.

SCOOP: The Pentagon asked the White House today for more than *$200 billion* for Iran war supplemental, sources say Some in WH think Congress won't support b/c it's so big Will tee up giant battle in Congress My last story for WaPo: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Pentagon seeks more than $200 billion in budget request for Iran war

That figure would far surpass the costs of the U.S. airstrike campaign to date and aims to boost production of critical weapons depleted in the conflict, people familiar with the matter said.

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You can't see listeria. I ran a farm for 15 years, and no matter how well you know me or how many times you've been to my farm you have NO IDEA about my farm practices. Knowing your farmer does not protect you against food-borne diseases. Don't drink raw milk.

Sarah Taber@sarahtaber.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Fun fact, the Dunning-Krueger effect & the vagaries of chance render this common-sense advice useless in real life 🥲 Most people will walk through a janky substandard dairy & have no idea there's anything wrong with it. That's... what this video is about? youtu.be/piB_DdO2D6I?...

This is a first: I flew to an airport to eat burgers from a vending machine. I lived to tell the tale. Gift link: wapo.st/47CF1fh

Column | At a White Castle airport kiosk, we glimpsed a bleak fast-food future

White Castle and Cheesecake Factory vending machines at Boston Logan International Airport offer a limited selection of disappointing food – and human erasure.

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Whether or not you plan to try the new McDonald's Big Arch, you gotta read the review by @timcarman.bsky.social. Nobody's better at not-so-fine dining. Gift link. wapo.st/4rRd23J

Review | McDonald’s new Big Arch burger is an ode to American excess

The newcomer goes big with two quarter-pound patties, three slices of cheese and more than 1,000 calories.

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The review nobody asked for, but everyone is writing. I’d love to hear your thoughts too, if you’ve tried the Big Arch. Gift link: wapo.st/4rRd23J

Review | McDonald’s new Big Arch burger is an ode to American excess

The newcomer goes big with two quarter-pound patties, three slices of cheese and more than 1,000 calories.

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As the laid off Middle East News Editor, I concur. Management eliminated the positions of every single staff correspondent and bureau chief in the Middle East.

In Medias Malone@professormusgrave.bsky.social · 7mo ago

I have to say the Post chose a hell of a moment to lay off all their foreign correspondents

The Post identified seven restaurants that received "notice of suspect documents" letters from DHS. Immigration attorneys tell me that many more letters are likely on the way. The DHS enforcement could lead to hundreds of workers leaving the local industry. Gift link: wapo.st/4aK22z1

D.C. restaurants brace for a wave of immigration-related workforce losses

More than 100 workers have been terminated or left their jobs since Feb. 12, and many more could follow, immigration lawyers say.

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Despite an objection from Harrison Suarez, one of the two co-founders of Compass Coffee, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia today approved the sale of many of Compass’s assets to Caffe Nero.

Compass Coffee is expected to have a new owner following Thursday’s bankruptcy auction. Gift link: wapo.st/3OBaF69

U.K.-based Caffè Nero wins auction to buy Compass Coffee

The multinational coffee company will continue to operate 17 D.C.-area cafes under the Compass brand.

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