<i>The Takeout</i>’s best stories of 2019-February 2024-www.zdask.com

　　In all that The Takeout is and does, we hope that the message is resoundingly clear: Food is delicious. And in our efforts to celebrate everything from chicken sandwiches (sorry) to ham cookies (less sorry) to the Worst Thanksgiving Ever (not sorry at all), we are left with a byproduct of endless joy and delight that lingers long after hitting “Publish.” It’s hard, sometimes, to find an outlet for all that joy, and to celebrate each article as much as we’d like to—because in digital media, it’s not considered good form to post an update to every story that says, “Wasn’t this a great read? Just such a treat!”

　　But now it’s the end of the year, the end of the decade, and we can throw caution to the winds like two romcom characters under a sprig of mistletoe. This is where we, the staff of The Takeout—including some returning audience favorites!—each take a moment to celebrate some of the writing we enjoyed most in 2019.

Kate Bernot, former managing editor

　　I turned six of my favorite meals into sausages to answer one question: Will it hot dog?Ah, the hot dog—king of meats, meat of kings. The historical development of local hot dog…

　　Ask The Salty Waitress: Is wine by the glass a rip-off?Hey Salty, I have this know-it-all brother-in-law who just has to be the smartest, most contrarian…

　　4 lessons from a post-graduate course in omelettesThere are obvious breakfast foods; there are obvious lunch foods; and there are obvious dinner…

　　We sell our pizzas for $16.50. Here's how the costs break down.The day my boyfriend put giardiniera on a pizza changed my life forever. That boyfriend, now my…

　　I took a walk in this beautiful world: The 20 essential episodes of Parts UnknownHow do you pick the 20 best episodes of Parts Unknown? The answer is, with great difficulty. How do

Aimee Levitt, associate editor

　　What catching, killing, and cooking trout taught me about foodLearning to catch, filet, and cook fish over a campfire is not something you can pick up from…

　　Johnny's O's is more than a hot dog stand: it's Chicago's historyUnited States of Hot Dogs is a recurring feature exploring the historic origins and modern appeal…

　　Salty about sweets: These are the most overrated candiesDeploying the term “overrated” on the internet is your express ticket down into the snake pit.…

　　I went the distance at the Caesars Palace buffetI didn’t intend to set up camp in a Las Vegas buffet. I am too antsy, too old, and too eager to…

　　Chicken Parm Pot Pie is even better than you’re imaginingNobody remembers who first uttered the phrase “chicken parm pot pie” in the Takeout staff meeting.…

Kevin Pang, founder and former editor in chief

　　We meat again: An adult confronts the Steak-umm of his pastThe ritual was the same every morning. While my brothers and I ate breakfast, my mom deposited a…

　　You have this many minutes to consume McDonald's French fries before they're inedibleRobert Frost got it, man. He understood how fleeting life’s pleasures—nay, life itself—can be.

　　4 lessons from a post-graduate course in omelettesThere are obvious breakfast foods; there are obvious lunch foods; and there are obvious dinner…

　　Cooking through Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook must begin with French onion soupAll this week, The Takeout’s Kevin Pang will be cooking from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook

　　The Complete Guide to Parts UnknownEvery episode of CNN's Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain, reviewed

Allison Robicelli, staff writer

　　These are the best candies undiscovered by the massesI’m 30. The average 30-year-old’s relationship to candy—an item most prized by, and most associated

　　Cincinnati chili is really just Greek bologneseSitting at a booth at Santorini’s, a Greek restaurant on the west side of Cincinnati, I was about…

　　Why the Coors Light “bra ad” is groundbreakingThere’s currently a beer commercial known as “the bra ad.” It shows a woman dressed in office…

　　Were Jell-O salads an act of prefeminist vengeance?About a year ago, a new twig of speculative history sprouted on Tumblr and quickly migrated to…

　　I am just a man, cooking my way through a gallon of ranch dressingThe headline explains it: I recently procured an entire gallon of ranch dressing. Half of you…

Marnie Shure, editor in chief

　　A 60-second intro to Cajun foodIn most restaurants, when you see something prepared “Cajun-style,” you can fairly expect that…

　　Ask The Salty Waitress: Am I too old to wait tables?Dear Salty, Hi, my name is Joan. I used to be a waitress years ago and was a good one if I may say…

　　Ingredients in a Beer Mile: water, malt, hops, yeast, merciless entropyThere are certain inadvisable things you do because they seem like they might make a pretty good…

　　Benefit of the gout: What I learned from dietary heartbreak“I think I broke my toe.”

　　Hey Susan Orlean, is a hot dog a sandwich?Susan Orlean’s classic work of reportage, “The American Man At Age Ten,” is on the curriculum of…