Weekend Reads

Not to be Missed: Adam Johnson of GQ manages to fine Kim Jong-Il’s escaped former personal sushi chef-turned sidekick, writes about the mystery surrounding North Korea’s dictator in grave detail, and manages to live to tell the tail in “Dear Leader Dreams of Sushi”.

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201306/kim-jong-il-sushi-chef-kenji-fujimoto-adam-johnson-2013

America’s largest pork producer is reportedly being sold for $4.7 billion to China’s biggest meat processing company. Check out The New York Times coverage on Smithfield Inc, complete with dramatic video clips and photos. 

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/smithfield-to-be-sold-to-shuanghui-group-of-china/?hp

Turn on the AC, or find cool breeze: If you haven’t already seen it, The Braiser covers common chef-crush Eric Ripert as he live tweets eating a Cronut earlier this week and critics agree, it may be too hot to handle.

http://www.thebraiser.com/eric-ripert-live-tweeted-himself-eating-a-cronut-in-other-news-life-is-not-fair/

Bad news for Chipotle owner Steve Ells: Eater reports that Ells is being sued for retaliation over a dispute involving an alleged stolen Momofuku concept.

http://eater.com/archives/2013/06/04/chipotles-steve-ells-sued-over-stolen-momofuku-concepts.php

“The FDA Could Approve GMO Frankenfish”? Barry Estabrook’s blog Politics of the Plate has caught our attention.

http://politicsoftheplate.com/?p=1407

 

Could your restaurant fountain soda have more bacteria in it than toilet water? The Atlantic  investigates.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/06/british-restaurant-ice-germier-toilet-water-report/5786/

An essential skill with thorough instructions: Food52 instructs how to grill any steak in 5 steps (photos and videos included).

http://food52.com/blog/6732-how-to-grill-any-steak-in-5-steps

Want to throw a summer barbeque yet completely overwhelmed? Consider this BBQ Party Guide presented by Southern Living.

http://www.southernliving.com/food/how-to/barbecue-recipes-cookbook-00400000050457/

Yale Environment 360 interviews Michael Pollan about his new book, Cooked, what he learned about the connections between ecology and human health, microbes, and what he means when he refers to himself as a “superorganism”.

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/michael_pollan

If you were disappointed after California didn’t pass Prop 37 last fall, your hope could be renewed: “Connecticut Makes History as First State to Pass GE Food Labeling Law” via Alternet:

http://www.alternet.org/food/connecticut-passes-ge-food-labeling-law

Sushi with fresh wasabi. Photo by Mikka Tokuda-Hall.