It’s the top of the yr, and time to get reflective about what, precisely, was 2023. If probably the most learn tales on Eater.com are any indication, it was a yr of sating curiosity, of celebrating eating places and eating scenes — each intensely native and thrillingly worldwide — and of determining precisely what the manufacturers had been as much as (a perennial query). These are the Eater.com tales that grabbed probably the most readers this yr:
10. Use the Panera Purse to Carry a Higher Sandwich
Actually nobody had “Panera sandwich purse” on their 2023 model stunts bingo card which is what made the ridiculousness of Panera’s BAGuette so decidedly welcome. It’s enjoyable! It’s dumb! It’s fashun! It’s additionally a chance to ding Panera for its subpar sandwiches, so truthfully a win throughout.
9. In-N-Out Is Headed East After Years of Insisting It Wouldn’t
Individuals actually love In-N-Out, huh? The famously west-coast-only chain introduced earlier this yr that it will lastly open its first outpost east of Texas — in Tennessee — and east coasters rejoiced. They’ll need to be affected person, although: The shops received’t debut till 2026.
8. The Multilevel Fact About Behind Small City America’s Newest Tea Obsession
“Loaded teas” — extremely colourful tea and juice drinks that always declare to have optimistic well being results — began to crowd Instagram again in 2022. This story unpacked the place that development really got here from: Loaded tea retailers are sometimes related to the multilevel advertising and marketing firm Herbalife, and operators of “diet golf equipment” slinging caffeinated loaded teas and protein shakes spoke out about how the MLM system works.
7. Why Followers of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar Are Mad at Katy Perry
We love a random, low-stakes, movie star meals drama, and early this yr, the web turned on Katy Perry, who apparently purchased a stake in Bragg Dwell Meals Merchandise, the maker of the enduring yellow-label apple cider vinegar, again in 2019. Vinegar followers on TikTok alleged that the product had been watered down or modified its formulation since Perry’s acquisition; Bragg attributed any variations to pure variations within the product.
6. The place to Eat in 2023
The place to Eat, which publishes on the prime of the yr, predicts the world’s subsequent prime eating locations to encourage some armchair touring. Manila, Albuquerque, and Asheville, North Carolina had been among the many 2023 locales.
5. Right here Is the Full Checklist of James Beard Award Winners
Any protection of the James Beard Awards, an annual celebration of America’s cooks and eating places, is constantly a prime Eater story (its semifinalist and finalist lists additionally cracked the highest posts for the yr). However it’s the ultimate checklist of precise winners that readers flocked to probably the most, to have a good time and congratulate this yr’s slate of medal recipients.
4. The World’s 50 Greatest Eating places: The Full Checklist of Winners
This one’s for the high-quality eating lovers. The reveal of the World’s 50 Greatest checklist for 2023 noticed Central in Lima taking the highest spot, with three eating places in Spain — Disfrutar, Diverxo, and Asador Etxebarri — rounding out the highest 4.
3. The Greatest New Eating places in America 2023
Yearly, the Eater staff scours the nation to determine the eating places defining eating proper now. This yr’s checklist of 12 Greatest New Eating places, which spans from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, reveals a present spirit of experimentation: There’s a tasting menu that began as a pop-up, a Saturdays-only barbecue joint, a Mexican brunch spot tucked right into a brewery, and a daytime cafe/market.
2. The Bizarre (and Wired) Fact Behind What’s Actually in Coca-Cola
“There’s really cocaine Coca Cola” is a enjoyable proven fact that’s been within the ether eternally, and Gastropod unpacked that historical past — and tons extra — in its episode devoted to the key formulation of the enduring soda. A further little bit of trivia from the episode: a chemical firm in New Jersey presently (legally!) makes cocaine for Coke.
1. Let’s Discuss Concerning the WTF Ending of ‘The Menu’
This film starring Ralph Fiennes as a violently off-kilter high-quality eating chef got here out in late 2022, however as audiences streamed the movie all year long, extra folks requested: What within the precise hell was that ending? And does the surprising closing twist really work? That is our try to elucidate.