Things were going pretty badly over here, Fork Frenz™️, and we almost thought we weren’t going to be able to get a newsletter together this week. It got so bad we started whining at anyone who would listen, from our friend’s mom to our other friend’s mom (do we just have a thing for moms?), but when we reached SFR’s Digital Services Manager, Brianna Kirkland, she was all like, “Shut up, fool, I got you!”
See, Bri, as we call her, is into the media of food. Like, a lot. She’s always all like, “Hey, I like food media, OK?” So we were like, “OK, prove it—prove it while we unwittingly trick you into basically writing The Fork this week.”
And that’s what she did. In other words, dear ol’ Bri helped us track down a whole glut of food-related YouTube channels that she believes all y’all will find enjoyable. Neat, right? Right. It’s kind of the one cool thing about YouTube that you can find people doing whatever thing you like, only they’re doing it with the passion of a thousand suns. So what does Bri recommend? Let’s take a look!
First, off, she says:
“Buzzfeed’s Tasty used to rule the food YouTube landscape, but just like the rest of their popular content, many of the creators have moved on, and the remaining content has fizzled.”
Why we can’t get that quote to un-bold is beyond us, but consider it a style choice wherein we point out it’s someone else talking.
“Likewise,” Bri continues, “after the PR implosion of Bon Appetit, many of those personalities have started their own channels. Binging w/Babish [creator Andrew Rea] has continued to expand his food YouTube empire by rebranding into the Babish Culinary Universe, and has picked up some of those stray Buzzfeed and Bon Appetit talents to work on his channel now.”
Cool! Or, maybe not cool, but, like, that’s some stuff that happened! But let’s get to Bri’s recs now:
1. If you liked the Pans & Hands style of Tasty videos, or the personalities from shows like Worth It on Buzzfeed, check out About to Eat. This channel is great for ideas when you need some inspiration for a particular ingredient.
2. Bon Appetit wasn’t the only food magazine making YouTube content, and Delish doesn’t have that pesky lack-of-representation problem that got BA in hot water. My fave Delish series is the one where June shows you how to stretch your food dollars to the absolute limits.
3. If you love a dash of humor in your culinary instruction, a la Babish, check out Joshua Weissman. He has a popular series recreating famous restaurant dishes—but better—that will definitely make you hungry. His sense of humor might not be for everyone, but his techniques are solid and production values are mouthwatering. Make sure you stay till the end for that B-roll.
Oh, and there’s more from there, dear readers. LOTS more. We just don’t want you to melt your brain with too much information. Let’s all thank Bri for taking time to help a weary Fork out, and for all the cool recommendations. It’s likely not super-hard to make a better burrito than Chipotle, but having a video that shows us precisely how doesn’t hurt. Dig it? Yeah, you dig it.
Since Bri loves BTS, we’re gonna put this in there for her. We have no idea if this is a hit or whatever, it’s just literally the only song by BTS of which we are aware.
Also
-In super-huge bummer news, the rumors are true and Plaza-based carnitas vendor Roque Garcia is calling it quits. Of course, he’s been at it for roughly 275 years, so he’s earned a rest and a fun retirement, but it’s just one of those losses that highlights the myriad ways in which Santa Fe isn’t the same town it was before the pandemic, before the aughts, before a lot of things that make us sad.
-As we might have mentioned lately, we’ve been hanging out in Albuquerque from time to time, and we’ve had a chance to eat at a few places we normally never visit. Our current top rec? Duran’s Pharmacy. Now, you maybe wouldn’t expect a pharmacy to house a kickass New Mexican diner in the back (unless you live in Albuquerque, in which case you know Duran’s), but this one does, and it has some of the finest red chile we’ve ever tasted. Our ABQ friends do want to give you one piece of advice, though: Don’t forget the potatoes. Oh, and apparently getting carne adovada on a Frito pie is awesome, but that’s obvious.
-Speaking of Albuquerque, we saw someone post online about how the Ta Lin World Market in Albuquerque (which is known for a wide variety of Asian products) will deliver any size order for an $8 fee. So we looked into it, and it’s true. What a steal! Don’t forget Santa Fe’s own Asian market, which is aptly called Santa Fe Asian Market. Not so long ago, an SFR staffer got a great meal cooked by the inimitable local chef Hue Chan Karels—all with ingredients procured at Santa Fe Asian Market.
-The folks at Arroyo Vino are doing a special dinner come Nov. 12 to benefit nonprofit Hike the Good Hike, a mental health awareness org founded by the restaurant’s bartender, Jesse Cody. Said dinner will be presided over by chef Giorgio Rivetti (which is a chef’s name if we ever heard one). In addition to items like Maine lobster, cocoa braised wild boar and a porcini rubbed ribeye, we know Rivetti is bringing some kickass wines. And even though the event runs $500 (we know, we know), it’s all for a good cause. Learn more here and maybe contact the restaurant if you have Qs or just wanna go have that dinner.
-Didja hear the news that the Bread Shop is moving? Yeah, that Lena Street ode to all things bready simply outgrew it’s space. But not to worry, as a recent social media post says they’re just moving down the street (to 1703 Lena St.), so those who love ‘em won’t have to change up their deal(s). Anyway, they’ll be closed Oct. 30-Nov. 8 to make the move. Know that.
-You’ll find special holiday season items at The Anasazi Restaurant at Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi—a business that really prefers if you say that entire long-ass name when you talk about ‘em—including a baked brie salad with cranberry, fig, pear and pecan, whiskey bread pudding with red wine pears and a vanilla créme and roasted Chilean seabass, among others. Just saying.
-KOAT, being one of the local channels, has teamed up with Blake’s Lotaburger, being one of the local burger joints, for KOATS for Kids, a SUPER INCREDIBLY CLEVER name for something wherein you donate coats at Blake’s, and they’ll give ‘em to kids. We know we’re dunking on KOAT, but giving a kid a coat is always in style. Like this one time, we were doing that Christmas Angel thing where you buy gifts for needy kids, and we got this young girl who, under the “special item or fun toy” section noted that she, “just wanted a warm coat.” Once we stopped weeping, we got her that damn coat and it was the last time we felt good about anything even a little bit at all. Anyway, find a Blake’s near you accepting coats by clicking here.
Kudos to reader Jesse A. who was brave enough to finally mention the Grinners video. We’re leaving it here this week to remind everyone what the deal was and, thanks to Jesse, you’re all free from its tyranny.
More Tidbits
-Bush Beans, being that bean company that had the talking dog commercials, is hiring a new position—Chili Commissioner. According to this thing we read, the job comes with $20,000 and a year’s supply of Bush chili beans. Word? Feels like chili beans are pretty accessible already, but we always assume that whenever anything happens in the entire world, someone out there breathlessly shouts, “FINALLY!”
-A new piece of tech that could be coming to a store near you soon reportedly helps shoppers pick out the perfect avocado with scanning technology. See, now this is that “FINALLY!” we were talking about. Anyway, the new Apeel RipeFinder scanner will debut at some industry con in Orlando, and there’s really no telling what’ll happen after that. Honestly, though? We don’t hate it.
-Did you know that if you Google “Halloween treats,” the first thing that comes up is some cupcake company called Baked by Melissa? Well, it is. And while we don’t believe for one second that this mysterious Melissa bakes every cupcake this company sells, we admit some of them look good. We, meanwhile, will stick to our own Halloween treat plan: Slowly eating all the good mini candy bars out of the mixed bag Le Forkette got in case kids show up trick and/or treat wise. HAVE FUN EATING THE ABBA ZABBAS AND CIRCUS PEANUTS AFTER YOU FINALLY RUN OUT OF SMARTIES AND WAX LIPS, YOU LITTLE PIECES OF SHIT!
-Popsugar-dot-com has entered the waaaaaaay too late game with yet another piece about the drawer on the bottom of your oven. Bros and Bro-ettes and Non-Binary babes over there? This is the food site equivalent of movies wherein someone says “That’s gonna leave a mark!” Like, get over it. People know. And if they don’t know, they can just pull up any of the other seventeen-bazillion pieces about it from around the internet that have been popping up since the dawn of the internet.
-Lastly in not-just-from-New-Mexico-food news, the people at Tyson Chicken (you know, that chicken company that simply will not stop doing horrendous shit) is poised to pay $10.5 million to Washington state for its part in driving up poultry prices there since at least 2008. All told, with fines from other companies, Washington stands to rake in something like $11.7 million, which tells us that Tyson is the worst offender. Still, $10.5 mil for a company like that is nothing, proving once again that people and entities with money don’t live in a world of laws, they live in a world of having the resources to do whatever the hell they want. We, meanwhile, remain weirded out by eating birds and also petted a chicken recently, so we know where we stand.
A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence
In the print edition of SFR this week, it was another week without food, but only because some cool books and textile arts hit the streets.
Number of Letters Received
38
*We don’t know how to explain to you, however, that last week’s Fork is based on true events...
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (a barely edited letter from a reader)
“Why do I read this?”
*Because we’re cool, probably.
Actually Helpful Tip(s)
“You can clean probably clean your toilet with Coke/coffee.”
*Terrifying, but probably true. We’ll experiment.
The Grinners control us now,
The Fork
