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The Foodist
One Man’s Quest to Find the Wild Origins of the Chile Pepper
Wandering the Sonoran Desert in search of the chiltepin—the ancestor to domesticated chile peppers—with MacArthur genius Gary Paul Nabhan
by Ari LeVaux
Since he started hunting for chile peppers, more than 40 years ago, Gary Paul…
The Foodist: Garlic Powder Is Awesome
I missed out on years of enhanced flavor because of foodie prejudice against the dehydrated ingredient.
by Ari LeVaux
Many foodies look down on garlic powder as a stale, cheap substitute for the real thing. It’s a shortcut for lazy…
The Foodist: Tofu Doesn’t Have to be a Four-Letter Word
by Ari LeVaux
My son’s first taste of tofu was at a restaurant. He didn’t know what tofu was, or that it was coming. Having never caught wind of tofu’s bad reputation among non-Asians, he took a bite of its sauce-drenched, crispy fried…
Destination Ann Arbor Launches Ann Arbor Area Craft Beer and Distillery Pass
The Ann Arbor Area Craft Pass is a free digital experience that incentivizes locals and visitors to explore the many craft breweries and distilleries in the Ann Arbor area. With 14 local businesses included within the passport, users will…
The Foodist: Best Dressed Salads
by Ari LeVaux
It’s a noun. It’s a verb. It’s a way of life. “Creamy,” said my friend Luci Brieger, when I asked how her summer was going. Creamy has many meanings at her farm, Lifeline Produce in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, all of them…
The Foodist: Taking a Stand for Arugula
by Ari LeVaux
“Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?” asked then-Senator Barack Obama, during an Iowa campaign rally in 2007. There was no Whole Foods in Iowa at the time, and his gaffe, and the…
The Magnificent History of the Maligned and Misunderstood Fruitcake
by Jeffrey Miller
Nothing says Christmas quite like a fruitcake – or, at the very least, a fruitcake joke.
A quip attributed to former “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson has it that “There is only one fruitcake in the entire…
The Foodist: Espresso Exceptionalism
by Ari LeVaux
When I go to the coffee shop, it’s usually not for the coffee. Only one or two spots in town can brew a better cup than I. They have expensive, well-maintained espresso machines, carefully roasted beans and baristas who…
The Foodist: The Way of the BLT
by Ari LeVaux
A properly put together BLT is the Bruce Lee of sandwiches. It’s lean and light and full of fight.
Just a few strips of bacon give you all the meat necessary for this black-belt combination of tomato, onion, mayo,…
The Foodist: The Thrill of the Grill
by Ari Levaux
Grilled pizza does not sound like the highest use of a grill or a pizza. Wouldn’t the bottom of the crust burn into a blackened crisp long before the cheese melts? Luckily, nobody told Johanne Killeen and George Germon,…
