Welcome to the weekend! Now’s the time to settle in and catch up on all this week’s food news. Here are top-level highlights of some of the food stories we’ve been reading this week.
- Avocado toast has reached peak popularity not just because it’s delicious, but also because it symbolizes everything it means to be eating in America right now. [Healthyish]
- After years of speculation, Momofuku creator David Chang is finally opening a restaurant in Los Angeles—and he’s nervous about the competition. [Los Angeles Times]
- Activated charcoal is the latest food trend, and the pitch-black ingredient is showing up in ice cream, hamburger buns, and more. But is it safe to eat? [Real Simple]
- On a related note, this cafe is serving charcoal fish and chips that looks like, well… [The Daily Meal]
- Chicagoans are as famous for their disdain for ketchup as they are for their love of hot dogs—so Heinz pulled a prank on the city and renamed its product Chicago Dog Sauce. [Eater]
- The Georgia peach has a history that’s, well, not so peachy: the orchard crop was formed on the same culture as cotton and other slave-tended crops. [NPR]
- Thanks to the rise in alternative milks, we live in a golden age of non-dairy ice creams. [The New York Times]