It occurs to me that this is the second week in a row in which I’m inclined to warm up the crowd with an anecdote about a former job. I’ve worked so many weird jobs that the main game at my bridal shower was “Han-go,” in which each square was labeled with one of my previous work assignments. Magician’s assistant for the win!
But in this case, the story really is relevant.
During the summer after high school graduation, one of my jobs was inserting ads into weekly newspapers as they rolled off the presses. On our assembly line of three, I was stationed next to a woman who every shift insisted on making small talk over the roar of the machine. Readers, I jumped out the window.
Granted, we were on the ground floor, so it’s more accurate to say I quit by stepping out of the nearest wall opening on the way to my car. But the point is my irritation with the printing process was so intense that I felt called to do something drastic.
If that little community paper is still in business, I doubt it now has a press in the building. As you know, print’s place in the news landscape has changed over the last 25 years.
And my feelings toward print have changed too. I read The New York Times on paper every morning because I like the appearance and lack of distraction. Print now feels like a defensible preference rather than an annoyance necessitating escape.
That’s why The Food Section is now available in a format you can hold. Going forward, The Food Section each quarter will publish a selection of its recent stories in print. You can order a copy of the first edition here.
Obviously, there’s no real substitute for getting The Food Section’s coverage as soon as it’s published. Another issue with the print issue is it doesn’t contain even half of what The Food Section’s paid subscribers receive: One of the reasons that so many small papers have shut down is print’s not cheap.
Still, in the name of inclusivity and accessibility, it’s important not to leave out readers who don’t like getting their food news via email.
If you’re one of those readers – or perhaps have one on your Christmas list – I hope you’ll consider buying a copy of The Food Section today.
In the meantime, if you’re not a paid subscriber, here’s some of what you missed this week:
A profile of Le Petit Chateau, a groundbreaking Columbia, SC restaurant which was more closely tied to the owner’s identity as a gay man than previously documented.
The reason why one South Carolina seafood seller is frustrated by potential patrons looking for garlic sauce bags.
A virtual tour of a barbecue exhibit that a North Carolina museum can’t stand to take off view.
Have a great weekend!
Hanna
Wonderful article on Le Petit Chateau in Columbia. I shared the article with a long-time Columbia resident, who also happens to be a former governor of the Palmetto State, and he recalled taking his wife there on one of their first dates. Wish I had had the opportunity to go there.
Thanks, Hanna, for the excellent content. Your newsletter is gold -- especially because I spent several years in the Carolinas :)