The Dining Issue

Some people love fairy tales, but I personally love stories about food. Food and the way we consume it has evolved so rapidly — you can even see the changes in tastes and preferences by comparing a Washington Square News dining article from this year and another one from last year. But like any trend these come and go while sometimes resurfacing, but they usually become little conversation markers between awkward silences or gatherings.

“Hey remember when you got lost in Brooklyn trying to find the first coffee shop that made the Unicorn Latte?” Relatable? Relatable.

People don’t usually care too much about how some things come to be, which is understandable since not being born during that specific time impacts your interest in these fascinations. That makes it so much easier to accept milk as a natural phenomenon rather than questioning how someone thinks of squeezing cow boobs and making milk. We are now at a time when rather than discovering or finding basic food groups, we are adding to what has already been discovered and upgrading it. However it is always important to appreciate the dishes and traditions that survived through the years.

I want this issue to serve as an ode to the food places that set themselves apart from the fast New York City pace by staying true to their origins — places like Katz’s Delicatessen and McSorley’s Old Ale House. Food brings people together, and I think that’s why I care about it so much. This is why dining and food in general hold such an importance in our daily lives, and that is why we spoke with NYU students and asked them about dishes that have impacted their lives.

I hope your mouth waters for the food you had with your family as you read this issue and try not to feel too homesick — let’s be honest, the thing we miss most about home is the food. But before packing your bags, I hope you visit the places mentioned in this issue and find more traditional places of your own. New York City is exciting and new, but I think its history makes it unique and within every street is a family-owned store that hides from our daily rhythms.

Keep up with trends, try new things, but don’t forget where it — and you — all came from.