Anson Stevens-Bollen
Commission Schomission!
Hey, everyone—did you catch that one piece of food reporting in SFR this week…the one about how Vinaigrette owner Erin Wade wrote a magnum opus of a letter for Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney about how she thinks he's full of bologna? Well, it was kinda awesome. Did you miss the article and Wade's letter? It's right here if so.
But what's the gist, you ask? Well, Wade points out that food delivery services often come with a pretty high commission for restaurants which, in case you didn't know, are often operating on a thin margin anyway. It also appears that despite Wade's never having partnered with the app/service, they've still uploaded her menu to their site and still have drivers picking up and delivering food. Look, whatever—she raises some good points and, weirdly, it's become one of the highest-read pieces in SFR history. We're a little jealous because we didn't write it, but we know you think we're cooler than the regular SFR staff anyway, so that's keeping us warm.
ANYWAY…
We thought it could be fun here to run down some of the reader reactions to Wade's letter that we found on Facebook. We've abridged them for clarity (and we're not out to make anyone look weird, just know that).
People have feelings, that's for sure…and here are some of them.
Debi Harrington
"This is EXACTLY the reason that I NEVER use a food delivery service. During this time of Covid19, it's just one more person handling my meal!"
Debi raises a pretty good point and, as Wade told SFR when they spoke to her, she can guarantee her staff is taking proper precautions, someone who works for a different company, however, is not within her control.
Debbie Ramirez
Go, Erin! Restaurants are offering curbside delivery. Get your butts in your cars or on your bikes and pick it up. AND TIP GENEROUSLY!
Other Debbie raises a good point, too, and it's one you should be thinking about at all times right now—tip well!
Emily Ashby
Also, the tips don't go to the restaurant workers, who are working hard to place the orders, cook the food, organize the meals and bag them. It goes to the drivers who simply come to pick up the food and take it to the destination
Another good point from our new best friend Emily. Look, we know these drivers are also just people trying to get by who are probably also pretty reliant on tips, but the point is that Grubhub has created a bit of a vacuum wherein everybody who isn't them is paying for them to spirit a middle-man into existence.
James Meehan
No masters… No slaves
Word. Is this, like, an Ayn Rand thing?
Michele D Verdeckberg
Then don't allow GrubHub to deliver your food. Case closed.
See, though, the point is that even though Wade has never partnered with Grubhub, they've still put her menu on their site and there's not much to be done from a driver placing an order and delivering it of their own volition. If that sounds weird, it's because it's weird.
There are lots more where that came from, too, but we're wondering about your thoughts. If we're being honest, it's easy for people who aren't immunocompromised to say stuff about going out right now (do note that Wade has kicked off her own delivery service through vinaigretteonline.com), but plenty of people are stuck in precarious situations.
As always, we should check our privilege. For example, we're privileged that we get to write this newsletter still, and we're privileged that much of what we do is eat food and lie on the floor groaning.
Either way, all we're asking is that if you can take the extra steps to pick something up, maybe do that…if, however, you're stuck in a less-than-ideal situation, maybe take a moment to think before committing to the whims of some company in another state who pretty much acts as the world's most expensive menu compilation. As always, too, tip well.
Oh, and send us your thoughts, seriously!
If there's one band in the world that knows how to order food, it's Ween.
¡Where to Donate Alert!
"Hey, Fork," you might be thinking. "You still keeping up the donations list thing?"
You bet your ass we are! DONATE!!!!
Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute
Also
-Numerous restaurants that had closed downtown entirely (temporarily) are opening (or preparing to open) their doors again for takeout service, including Plaza Café Southside and Yama's, which does that Greek food so nice. No, this isn't every single one (it's hard when we're just one person to know every single place reopening all at one time and, like, this isn't about trying to shit on other restaurants so much as it's about something someone just told us. Also, like, we know the "like" thing bugs you, but you'll never stop us from flying. NEVER!), but we're doing out best.
-We wanna give another special shoutout to our friends at Edible NM for linking to an SFR story because we think they're cool and it's the equivalent of when George Clooney is like, "Me n' Brad Pitt are buds," for us food-based journo types.
-Local nice-ass dude Sanjay Yogacharya and his wife Shelby are offering and delivering free vegan and vegetarian meals in Santa Fe every Thursday. They do 20 at a time (don't write us about how that's not a lot, it's the nicest thing ever) and you can get more info by dropping an email to advaityogapeeth@gmail.com. You might even get on the list. Yay!
-You 'member last week when we told you about some places to get beer? Since then, we've heard from the super-rad Caitlin at Santa Fe Spirits about how they also have beer, ready-to-drink cocktails and hand sanitizer available at the distillery on Mallard Way. The response has been bonkers, but if you visit the site, you can order stuff and they'll give you a call when it's ready.
-We'd also like to add Blue Corn Brewery to the list, as we hear you can now get growlers of their delicious, award-winning brews from head beer guy Paul Mallory. We've had them, we love them, we recommend. Call 505-438-1800 for more details.
-Oh, and don't forget Beer Creek Brewing. They've got that good stuff to-go, too—and one heck of a pizza. Legend has it the brewery got its name because the early days may or may not have included a flowing creek of beer that shot out the brewery door and into the hearts and minds of millions (or at least tens of thousands)
-Lastly this week in local-ish news, did you hear about the New Mexico State Fair tragically canceling its SPAM contest? Well, you can dry those tears as it has been announced they'll take the event online. Whew, right? Now then, how do you like your SPAM?
All this SPAM information reminded us of a song from one of our favorite '90s-era third-wave ska bands. Does Monique Powell sound like Gewn Stefani, also formerly of ska bands? Maybe so…but we like Powell better because instead of butchering Talk Talk songs, she butchered Dexy's Midnight Runners songs. Look it up. You're welcome.
More Tidbits
-Not to burst your beer bubble, but like many small businesses dealing with COVID-19 right now, craft breweries are not immune. This is why it's so important to get that beer if you like you some beer.
-Meanwhile, with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham hinting at a SLOW reopening of certain economic sectors in a press conference this week, eater.com asks the tough questions, like can we make things better for reopening restaurants in a COVID world?
-If you're a meat fan (which the Fork is not, sorry), you may have heard a lot of news out there about potential meat shortages and factory workers coming down with the coronavirua. Maybe so, but HuffPost takes a closer look at what this means to you, the meat aficionado.
-Ummmm…delish.com has a whole kid's section now (or maybe they did all along and we didn't care because we don't have kids … or maybe we do and just don't want them to be happy), and we found a recipe all up in there for a freaking Samoa (yes, the Girl Scout Cookie) dessert lasagna. Not only did we not know dessert lasagnas are a thing, we didn't know you could make a samoa one. Excelsior!
-Speaking of Girl Scout Cookies, we heard there was a potential situation a-brewing since kids can't ambush you at the store or in your office or outside the cannabis dispensaries anymore. There may be some truth to this, but at least in Cincinnati, they're trying to do something about that with help from local businesses. Also, if you have Girl Scout kids and are looking to send Samoas someplace, think of us…though we can't say whether we'll have the patience to make a dessert lasagna out of them.
Finally
In the print edition of SFR, find that Vinaigrette/Grubhub stuff. We already told you all about it, what else do you want?!?!
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A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork's Correspondence
Number of Letters Received
47
*That's better.
Most Helpful Tip of the Week
“I’ll do what I want and don’t really look to shitty food newsletters for advice.”
*Nor should you, but seeing as how this is the least shitty food newsletter ever made…
Actually Helpful Tip
Fork favorite Sue B. sent us a super interesting link to a book (booklet…pamphlet?) about food during wartime that's painfully applicable about now, even if its writing is adorably dated.
*Sue! Sue! Sue! Sue!
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See you, space cowboys,
The Fork
