Welcome to the weekend! Now’s the time to settle into a laid-back rhythm and catch up on all this week’s food news on the web. Here are the high-level highlights of the food stories we’ve been reading this week.
- “It’s just cheese and pepper, people!” One writer sounds off on why the cacio e pepe trend is totally overrated. [Tasting Table]
- Gwyneth Paltrow’s new Midtown New York restaurant, 3 Green Hearts, is housed in a former movie theater and will feature raw green noodles, frosting shots and a selfie room. [Eater NY]
- Everyone loves a list of affordable eats, but labeling ethnic foods “cheap eats” comes with a hidden human cost. [NPR]
- In Tokyo, chefs are serving a kind of Neapolitan-Japanese pizza that’s a style all their own. [Eater]
- Here’s what happened when a roadside diner in France won a Michelin star by mistake. [Grub Street]
- $1.8 billion: That’s the amount that Restaurant Brands, the parent company of Burger King, is paying to purchase Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. [CNN Money]
- New York has just welcomed a new restaurant, Ikinari Steak, a Japanese steak chain that’s famous for having no chairs. [New York Daily News]