The 10,000 Year Old Diet

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As some of you know, I do a little book editing here and there, and a book that I worked on and am really excited about just went on sale today. THE JUNGLE EFFECT by Daphne Miller, MD, argues that traditional, native diets are actually the healthiest way to eat. It makes sense that our bodies evolved along with specific foods, so in the end, natural foods and traditional preparations hold the secret to meeting our bodies' needs. So to learn more about Daphne's travels to the world's healthiest spots, including Iceland, Okinawa, Crete, rural Mexico and Africa, pick up a copy of this really important and fascinating book. Here's what Michael Pollan had to say about it, in case you need any more convincing:

“History shows that the human body is well adapted to an extraordinary range of different traditional diets. Alas, one of the very few diets to which we are NOT well adapted is the Western Diet most of us are eating today. In this bracingly hopeful and eminently practical book, Daphne Miller shows us how we can bring the wisdom of traditional diets to our own plates, in the interest of both our health and our pleasure. THE JUNGLE EFFECT is a fascinating, useful and important book.”

Pizza Schmo to Pizza Pro

This past weekend I underwent a self-imposed pizza boot camp, with the goal of learning all the tricks to making quality pies at home. Check out my exploits on Metromix right here.

Rice and Beans

The only chain restaurant that I eat at more than once a year is Chipotle. I hate to admit it, but the quality is consistent, and you can custom make your burrito, creating a relatively healthy option if you so desire. But thanks to an article in this month's Fast Company mag, I'm actually feeling retroactively less guilty about my fast food weakness. It turns out that Chipotle has a pretty good record when it comes to sustainable ingredients and humanely-raised livestock. I also like the CEO's relatively honest and refreshing outlook: if you charge a bit more for a good reason, people will pay it. Of course, there are plenty of arguments for why it's not ideal to "scale up" organic ideals in all cases, but I do think that practically speaking, it can only help to have big companies with deep pockets and a lot of influence fighting the good fight. In a perfect world fast food probably wouldn't exist, but it's a fact of life, so a more sustainable, ethical model can only help move things in the right direction.

Moby Dick Allusions and Coffee

This week's NY Mag features a clever and timely panel discussion on how to fix Starbucks. Danny Meyer, consummate restaurateur (and celeb look-alike of my homeboy DJ Egg's dad), has the most compelling ideas. This guy is just a genius when it comes to hospitality and restaurant management, and his dead-on analysis is exactly what Starbucks needs. Read all about it.