A Note from the Editor

When I started to cook, beyond putting bread in the microwave with butter and garlic powder on top, and a little cheese (which I would then have to devour in under 10 seconds because if I didn’t the bread gets hard, and inedible), I was a vegetarian.

At the time, I really loved this aspect of my culinary history because it “forced me to think outside of the normal meat-and-three dinners”, I would humble-brag. I had to think beyond chicken and broccoli, steak and potatoes. My preteen self put eggplant at the center of the meal, or (it was the early 2000’s, so give me a break for this) stuffed Portobello mushrooms with goat cheese and pine nuts. I ate a lot of salads and was very much concerned if the soup’s stock was chicken broth or not. Now? One of my favorite restaurants in the world is a restaurant that only serves half-chickens and potato salad.

What I mean is: meat has been a super central focus of mine as I interacted and interact with food in general, since those formative years. And I’m not unique in this sense; meat is culinary focus across the board. There are whole restaurants (steakhouses) and diets (Atkins) dedicated, there are movements in direct opposition to eating meat (veganism, vegetarianism), holidays that have almost become synonymous with a type of meat (July 4 hot dogs, Thanksgiving turkeys), advertisements dependent on etymological subtleties (WHERE’S THE BEEF).

This issue, Counter Service plays with meat. Gatherings revolving around a grill & vacations marked by a market & Paris with no foie gras; these stories get me excited for my next barbecue and prepping to be a vegan starting next month at the same time.

Dig in, this issue is sups juicy.