Latest news with #Parm
Boston Globe
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A new Revival Cafe location in Watertown has a very appealing setting
Millennial Toast with avocado, topped with an egg at Revival Cafe in Watertown. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Advertisement What to eat: The menu offers many things you'd expect to see at a cafe, but with a little more style. Bagelicious combines a housemade bagel with egg whites, a 'broccoli situation,' cheddar, and spicy aioli (it's the most popular item on the menu, Postal tells me). Millennial Toast is layered with avocado, pickled red onions, and feta, topped with a 6-minute egg. Poppyseed dressing comes with Easy Chickpeasy Salad (vegan and gluten-free), cucumbers, radishes, spinach, and crispy shallots. If you're looking for something a little more substantial, Lime after Lime Noodle Bowl is a mixture of chicken meatballs, sweet potato noodles, broccoli, cilantro, and lime vinaigrette. Or try chicken Caesar with Parm and croutons. Coffee cake, banana bread, muffins, biscuits, and cookies adorn the pastry case. Advertisement Lime after Lime Noodle Bowl at Revival Cafe. Lane Turner/Globe Staff What to drink: Every configuration of coffee you could ever hope for, including cortado, macchiato, flat white, mocha, babyccino (for the kids: steamed milk dusted with chocolate), nitro cold brew, iced golden crema, iced red eye. Also: matcha, homemade lemonade, iced ginger sparkler, boutique juices, teas. The takeaway: If you worked on this campus, you'd want to take your laptop, head straight for Revival, and stay a long while. The cafe itself has few more than half a dozen seats, many more outside on a sunny and partly shaded patio. The real drawer is the company foyer, with double-high ceilings, beautiful lighting, comfortable chairs, couches, and work tables. Pubic parking and restrooms. What more do you need? 99 Coolidge Ave., Watertown, 857-270-6209, A customer places an order at Revival Cafe in Watertown. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Sheryl Julian can be reached at
Boston Globe
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Blind date: ‘I kept being drawn back to her eyes'
TOMMY G.: 26 / field service engineer First thing people notice in his home: The abundance of plants in every room When he is happiest: Exploring someplace and stopping to take it all in 7:30 P.M. CONTESSA BOSTON Taking a Pulse Leigh Ann I wanted to try a less traditional way of dating. Tommy My parents met via a blind date. Leigh Ann I got ready like I would with any date — makeup, hair, clothes. Tommy I ended up walking around the Public Garden to kill time. Leigh Ann ended up being a bit late because she had to walk her roommate's dog. Advertisement Leigh Ann I walked up to the host and we walked over to a guy sitting alone. I was a little bit taken aback because my date looked older than I expected. He looked like an adult and I still feel like a young adult. Tommy She walked up and asked if I was her date. She was probably out of my league. She was wearing a nice black dress and gold earrings, but I kept being drawn back to her eyes. Weak Signal Leigh Ann We talked about work, where we've traveled, and hobbies. Tommy She led the conversation like she knew what she was doing. We both work in the medical field, though in different areas. She is a clinical research coordinator for neurological devices and I am a field engineer for cardiac devices. We each had some fun travel stories and discussed different TV shows. I found out she and her friends are fans of Love Island and hold watch parties. Related : Advertisement Leigh Ann I got a raspberry cocktail, we split an octopus appetizer, and I got a pasta dish. The food and service were great. I loved the complimentary bread basket — it came with delicious olives, Parm, and bread. Tommy We started with the octopus, which was really good. I had the Fusilli Genovese, which was very tasty. Leigh Ann I felt comfortable with my date but less comfortable as the date went on because I was feeling a more platonic relationship but was worried he didn't. Tommy Because of the nature of my job, I feel right at home with just about anyone once we find some common ground. I think I tried to crack a couple jokes that fell flat. At times we were bouncing between topics trying to find some stuff to relate to. Afterward I started to overthink the whole thing and felt that we didn't have too much in common. Short Circuit Leigh Ann I wanted to leave two hours into our date but he kept saying he was still picking at his dinner. I called an Uber and we went down in the elevator together. He said he had a great time and asked if I wanted his number and I said yes because I felt like it would be rude not to. Tommy I gave her my number and then I walked back to my car. Second Date? Leigh Ann No, because I don't think we had similar lifestyles. Advertisement Tommy I would be pleasantly surprised if she reached out. I don't see it happening, as we just felt a bit too different. Grading the Date Leigh Ann / C- Tommy / B+ Related : Go on a blind date. We'll pick up the tab. Fill out an application at . Follow us on Twitter or Instagram @dinnerwithcupid.
SoraNews24
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
The Great Parm Exhibition coming to Harajuku, Tokyo for frozen treat's 20th anniversary
What's the Parm in a little celebration? Parm, chocolate-covered ice cream bars on sticks, are often overlooked in the vast ecosystem of Japan's frozen treats. But their simplicity has served as a reliable ever-popular treat in an industry that sometimes gets unhinged with spaghetti ice pops or crab ice cream. It's just nice to know the sober deliciousness of Parm has always been around for the past 20 years. However, after 20 years of being the dignified ice cream in Japan, it's time for Parm to let its hair down and get a little funky. So, to celebrate this milestone The Great Parm Exhibition will be held from 3 to 7 July in the trendy Harajuku district of Tokyo. ▼ A map of the exhibition space Upon entering this exhibition, guests are first greeted with an introduction narrated by movie star Yutaka Takenouchi, probably best known outside of Japan for his role as the Prime Minister's aide in Shin Godzilla . He also appears in commercials for Parm. From here you can view the Parm Dissection Book, a tome that outlines the creation of Parm and gives never-before-seen insights about its design and production. After this, there is the My First Bite display where notable fans of Parm, such as Takenouchi and the head of product development for Morinaga Milk Industry shared their first times sinking their teeth into its silky smooth chocolate and ice cream. ▼ My First Bite Next up is the All of Parm section which will showcase the over 100 varieties of Parm that have been released over their 20-year history. Then it's on to the Grandeur of Happiness, where a giant monument, the size of 10,000 Parm bars, will be erected. This scale was chosen because an estimated 10,000 Parm bars are eaten every 15 minutes in Japan based on last year's sales data. From here you can enter the Chocolate Room which is designed to make it feel like you're inside a Parm bar and surrounded by smooth chocolate walls. Various displays highlight the unique qualities of this chocolate, like the Velvet Curtain that represents the coating which Morinaga refers to as Velvet Chocolate, and a giant pair of human lips that causes the chocolate to melt deliciously on contact. In the Just the Way You Are section, photos taken by fans of Parm are on display, giving a unique look at the bar seldom seen in slick advertising campaigns. Nearby is the Joy That's Supposed to Be There exhibit which simulates the happiness of finding a Parm in the freezer in three different ways. ▼ Much of the exhibition has a minimalist theme that exemplifies the simple charm of Parm. The Moment of Birth gives visitors a rare glimpse of Parm bars entering existence from the factory, just before packaging and shipping to spread joy around the country. Next to that is the Parm Garden, which is an area with Yogibo bean bag chairs that resemble Parm bars both in appearance and smooth texture. And next to that is the Trick Parm trick art area where you can take a photo as if pulling out a giant Parm from its wrapper. ▼ Parm Garden And last but certainly not least, there is a My Parm Bar experience where you can create your very own ice cream snack by dipping your frozen bar into melted chocolate and then adding up to two toppings of your choice. This can be done at no extra charge, but visitors must first take the Parm Love Test that gauges their love of Parm. And speaking of charges, admission is only 700 yen (US$5), but parts of this event will only be held as long as supplies last so you may not want to wait until the last minute of this five-day celebration of all things Parm. Take the time now to get yourself Parmed and ready. Event information The Great Parm Exhibition / 大パルム展 With Harajuku Hall Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 1-14-30, 3F 東京都渋谷区神宮前１丁目14-30 3F Event runs 3 July-7 July Hours: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Admission: 700 yen Source, images: PR Times ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Eater
10-06-2025
- Health
- Eater
‘No Seed Oil' Restaurants Seize the Moment
When Peter Phillips was brainstorming with his business partner for Massi's, their new sandwich shop in Astoria, Queens, he wanted something with a 'homemade feel,' in both aesthetics and production. The bread would be made fresh every day, the fries cut in-house. And everything would be fried in beef tallow. It 'just felt like a natural extension of what we were creating, with this focus on things that were pretty natural,' says Phillips. So when it came time to market the restaurant, centering that homespun framing just made sense — on Massi's Instagram, they note the sourdough is fresh, reassure everything is fried in beef tallow, and finally, affirm that there are 'no seed oils.' If you asked me last year 'what's a seed oil,' I wouldn't have known. I was familiar, of course, with the family of oils to which the umbrella term refers — canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and other versions of cooking oils derived from plant seeds and kernels. These were the 'neutral' oils called for in so many recipes. They're the workhorse oils that could be whipped into a mayonnaise or heated to fry a chicken without adding any pesky, distinct flavor of their own. And while it is possible to get, for instance, sunflower oil mechanically cold-pressed from sunflower seeds, most seed oils in the grocery store are extracted with heat and chemical solvents. But like the '90s 'nonfat' craze or the great carb scare of 2003, seed oils have become the dietary concern du jour. Sites like Seed Oil Scout and Local Fats allow users to search for restaurants that are seed oil free, while Louisiana considers a new seed oil labeling law. More restaurants are noting that they're seed oil-free because more people are asking. The concern over seed oils is rooted in their higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause inflammation. Omega-6 fatty acids have become a larger part of the American diet over the course of the 20th century, specifically with massive increases in ingestion of soybean and canola oil since the 1980s. And there's the issue that most commercially available seed oils are highly processed foods, produced with chemical solvents like hexane. The EU limits how much residual hexane can be in seed oils, while the FDA does not monitor hexane residue at all. Phillips says that aside from it feeling 'natural,' the choice to use beef tallow at Massi's is about taste, not health. 'Eating large amounts of beef tallow every day is probably not great for your health either,' he says. Instead, Phillips hoped putting 'no seed oils' on social media and on the menu communicates that they're not using cheap, industrial ingredients, while also highlighting an ingredient choice that might differ from what people assume when they order a chicken Parm and a plate of fries. But in our broader political moment, 'no seed oils' has also become shorthand that signals a wider wellness ethos, though diners and restaurants may not agree on the same meanings. For some, seeing 'seed oil-free' may signal what Phillips intends, or a shared understanding of the risks of an omega-6 rich diet. Or perhaps they see a kindred spirit in a Make America Healthy Again agenda, and assume an adherence to a host of other ideas about 'health.' Though sources like the American Heart Association and Harvard Medical School say omega-6s pose no real risks, for some restaurateurs, omitting seed oils connects deeply to their own health journeys. Olga Estrella, founder of Cafe Largesse in Austin, Texas, says she had been struggling with PCOS, with doctors unable to prescribe her anything that helped. 'I don't know what blog I read, but it said seed oil may have something to do with the inflammation,' she says. So she cut it out of her diet. 'Obviously, there were many different components, but seed oil was one of the first things that I did. It wasn't overnight, but I noticed a huge reduction in my inflammation and brain fog.' She and husband Frank Rog figured that if they cooked this way at home, it's how they should cook at the restaurant. They use avocado oil, olive oil, and butter, and though the whole menu isn't seed oil-free, as some ingredients from vendors still use them, they make it clear they cater to a seed oil-free diet. And according to Rog, it's becoming easier by the day to find vendors who make their supplies without seed oils. Chef Deborah Williamson of James Provisions in Hurst, Texas, similarly sought answers after a health scare in 2016, back when she was operating her restaurant's first iteration, James, in Brooklyn. 'It really started me on this path of trying to figure out, What is health? ' she says. She notes she's long been in 'wellness spaces,' and after learning about seed oils and omitting them from her diet, she's felt a massive change in her energy levels. Cooking without seed oils can be an ordeal. Williamson says James was known for its fries, but she took the fryer out of the kitchen at James Provisions, and instead serves roasted potatoes with compound miso butter alongside her burgers. 'I'm trying to replicate that mouthfeel and the satiation of a deep-fried french fry, but without using a fryer,' she says. Chef Chris Dumesnil of Aydea in San Francisco notes the increased cost of this commitment, explaining it's more expensive to use beef tallow, avocado oil, and chicken fat rendered from their chicken dishes. But customers haven't complained, and for him, it's worth it. 'Everybody in the restaurant that comes and becomes our guests, I don't want to have them become sick,' he says. 'In my mind, it's like taking care of my family.' For many restaurateurs, avoiding seed oil is in line with a larger organic mission. Aydea also advertises that it uses organic, raw sugars and honeys, grass-fed and organic milk, and pasture-raised eggs. James Provisions also promotes that it's 'seasonal' and uses 'thoughtful sourcing.' Phillips says that even though his other concepts — Chip City and Somedays Bakery — don't advertise as being seed oil-free, 'premium products have always been something central to my thinking'; there, cookies and pastries are made with high-fat European butter. If quality is the point, this is one more way to signal it. 'Seed oils are one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods,' posted now-Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. in October 2024. 'We need to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.' Kennedy's ascendance to office turbo-charged the anti-seed oil movement; he's threatened to ban seed oils and called for fast food restaurants to begin using beef tallow again to fry their food (which some have). Also, Casey Means, RFK Jr.'s new pick for Surgeon General, has been publicly outspoken about seed oils. And so the wariness around seed oils comes with a host of other beliefs common under the general umbrella of the MAHA movement. RFK Jr. has been outspokenly critical of vaccination, most recently saying there are 'problems' with the measles vaccine as unvaccinated children die of the disease for the first time in decades. He has supported debunked theories that childhood vaccines cause autism, and has promoted the falsehood that AIDS is caused by drug use and 'compulsive homosexual behavior.' Meanwhile, Means also frequently criticizes vaccines in her wellness newsletter, called birth control a 'disrespect of life,' and believes gluten causes mental illness. And as I wrote this, I received a press release for a four-part series from production company MAHA Films called Toxic Nation: From Fluoride to Seed Oils, How We Got Here, Who Profits, And What You Can Do , explicitly putting the rejection of seed oils within the purview of other health conspiracies. Should it matter what other people believe if you've found that cooking a certain way makes you feel better, or if you'd rather spend your money on local, organic olive oil than Crisco and Mazola? Ideally, no. Most restaurateurs I spoke to were adamant that their support of the anti-seed oil movement had nothing to do with politics; it was simply an extension of their beliefs regarding its health benefits. In the FAQ section of James Provisions' website, Williamson writes a fact followed by an opinion: 'Seed oils are highly processed, chemically treated, bleached, and deodorized. They don't belong on your plate or in your body.' But it's not so easy to separate one choice from the political movement that advocates it — especially as the political discourse fuels a growing diner interest. Graham Honig, co-founder of Talo Organic Grill in Venice, California, says about 90 percent of his customers come specifically because they advertise using beef tallow instead of seed oil. The restaurant also advertises other 'Talo difference(s)' on its website, like 'no cooking in plastic or non-stick pans,' 'no gums,' and 'no plastic cutting boards,' but it's the seed oils point that makes up much of its branding. Honig tells me he's trademarked the phrase 'seed oils suck,' which appears on the brand's T-shirts. Honig also says he's adamantly apolitical. 'I would say people should pay attention to what we say and what we actually promote, and come to their own conclusions,' he says. 'My only focus is creating a healthier world and healthier options for people.' (Talo has received investment from Calley Means, Casey Means's brother and co-author of their book Good Energy, and has posted using the hashtag #maha) Increasingly, restaurant owners say, customers are coming to them precisely because they don't use seed oils. 'There's a demand there,' says Rog. 'When it is brought up and they realize that that's what we offer, it's a great thing for them. They know what we're talking about.' Honig tells Fitt/Insider it's 'fortuitous timing' that there's a larger cultural movement around seed oils. And Dumesnil says he noticed that after RFK Jr. went on the Joe Rogan podcast, some customers became more curious about seed oils, which allowed him to explain the restaurant's positioning. 'Whether it's someone famous, a political person or an actual dietician that says don't use seed oils, we say it's something that we do, but not for the politics — but because of the nutritional value that it brings towards our family.' I sense myself veering into a defense of seed oils as I watch the larger MAHA movement gain popularity, which feels like defending the Coca-Cola Company, or fossil fuels. The naming and shaming of seed oils is an attempt to correct a very real problem in American foodways: that so much of our diet consists of ultra-processed food made by corporations that prioritize profit over quality. Most U.S. residents' omega-6 intake is due to an increased reliance on fast food and pre-packaged food like bread, frozen meals, and sweetened breakfast cereal that use hydrogenated seed oils to remain shelf-stable. So of course there's a draw to restaurants that advertise organic, nutrient-rich ingredients and reject things like mass-produced canola oil. It's also telling that so many restaurateurs came to reject seed oils after finding few answers for their ailments within the U.S. medical establishment. Christy Harrison, author of The Wellness Trap , noted in an interview with The Cut that conditions like chronic fatigue, and those that disproportionately affect women like endometriosis and PCOS, 'have been historically contested and therefore under-funded' by the conventional healthcare system. This disconnect between the medical establishment and many patients makes the wellness space ripe for promoting individual solutions to collective problems. 'American individualism and capitalism fit right in with wellness culture,' says Harrison. 'Our health care system makes so many people feel dismissed and unheard, and they feel the need to take things into their own hands.' Indeed, one of the key components of the MAHA movement is the idea that health is an individual responsibility. It's what's behind RFK Jr. saying that 'only very sick kids should die from measles' while questioning the proven efficacy of the measles vaccine, or TV personality and current administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Oz saying on Fox News that 'it is your patriotic duty to be as healthy as you can.' Ultimately, it's nobody's business if you stock your pantry with organic avocado oil instead of corn oil, or if you choose to only frequent restaurants that don't use seed oils. The restaurateurs I spoke to nearly all said they wanted to be one more option in the seed oil-free community, a place where people at any stage of fighting the same health concerns as them, or people just wanting a meal made with high-quality ingredients, could eat and enjoy themselves. Now that 'seed oil' as a phrase has broken containment within MAHA circles, it's more likely that restaurants will use the label to stand out among competitors, and diners will see it as a trendy buzzword, like 'farm to table' or 'artisanal,' without any other associations. After all, it is not a problem to use olive oil in your aioli, or to cook things in beef tallow (unless you're vegetarian). Those choices don't solve these wider problems of access and health. But that's never been the point of a restaurant. See More:
Eater
10-06-2025
- Health
- Eater
'No Seed Oil‘ Restaurants Seize the Moment
When Peter Phillips was brainstorming with his business partner for Massi's, their new sandwich shop in Astoria, Queens, he wanted something with a 'homemade feel,' in both aesthetics and production. The bread would be made fresh every day, the fries cut in-house. And everything would be fried in beef tallow. It 'just felt like a natural extension of what we were creating, with this focus on things that were pretty natural,' says Phillips. So when it came time to market the restaurant, centering that homespun framing just made sense — on Massi's Instagram, they note the sourdough is fresh, reassure everything is fried in beef tallow, and finally, affirm that there are 'no seed oils.' If you asked me last year 'what's a seed oil,' I wouldn't have known. I was familiar, of course, with the family of oils to which the umbrella term refers — canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and other versions of cooking oils derived from plant seeds and kernels. These were the 'neutral' oils called for in so many recipes. They're the workhorse oils that could be whipped into a mayonnaise or heated to fry a chicken without adding any pesky, distinct flavor of their own. And while it is possible to get, for instance, sunflower oil mechanically cold-pressed from sunflower seeds, most seed oils in the grocery store are extracted with heat and chemical solvents. But like the '90s 'nonfat' craze or the great carb scare of 2003, seed oils have become the dietary concern du jour. Sites like Seed Oil Scout and Local Fats allow users to search for restaurants that are seed oil free, while Louisiana considers a new seed oil labeling law. More restaurants are noting that they're seed oil-free because more people are asking. The concern over seed oils is rooted in their higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause inflammation. Omega-6 fatty acids have become a larger part of the American diet over the course of the 20th century, specifically with massive increases in ingestion of soybean and canola oil since the 1980s. And there's the issue that most commercially available seed oils are highly processed foods, produced with chemical solvents like hexane. The EU limits how much residual hexane can be in seed oils, while the FDA does not monitor hexane residue at all. Phillips says that aside from it feeling 'natural,' the choice to use beef tallow at Massi's is about taste, not health. 'Eating large amounts of beef tallow every day is probably not great for your health either,' he says. Instead, Phillips hoped putting 'no seed oils' on social media and on the menu communicates that they're not using cheap, industrial ingredients, while also highlighting an ingredient choice that might differ from what people assume when they order a chicken Parm and a plate of fries. But in our broader political moment, 'no seed oils' has also become shorthand that signals a wider wellness ethos, though diners and restaurants may not agree on the same meanings. For some, seeing 'seed oil-free' may signal what Phillips intends, or a shared understanding of the risks of an omega-6 rich diet. Or perhaps they see a kindred spirit in a Make America Healthy Again agenda, and assume an adherence to a host of other ideas about 'health.' Though sources like the American Heart Association and Harvard Medical School say omega-6s pose no real risks, for some restaurateurs, omitting seed oils connects deeply to their own health journeys. Olga Estrella, founder of Cafe Largesse in Austin, Texas, says she had been struggling with PCOS, with doctors unable to prescribe her anything that helped. 'I don't know what blog I read, but it said seed oil may have something to do with the inflammation,' she says. So she cut it out of her diet. 'Obviously, there were many different components, but seed oil was one of the first things that I did. It wasn't overnight, but I noticed a huge reduction in my inflammation and brain fog.' She and husband Frank Rog figured that if they cooked this way at home, it's how they should cook at the restaurant. They use avocado oil, olive oil, and butter, and though the whole menu isn't seed oil-free, as some ingredients from vendors still use them, they make it clear they cater to a seed oil-free diet. And according to Rog, it's becoming easier by the day to find vendors who make their supplies without seed oils. Chef Deborah Williamson of James Provisions in Hurst, Texas, similarly sought answers after a health scare in 2016, back when she was operating her restaurant's first iteration, James, in Brooklyn. 'It really started me on this path of trying to figure out, What is health? ' she says. She notes she's long been in 'wellness spaces,' and after learning about seed oils and omitting them from her diet, she's felt a massive change in her energy levels. Cooking without seed oils can be an ordeal. Williamson says James was known for its fries, but she took the fryer out of the kitchen at James Provisions, and instead serves roasted potatoes with compound miso butter alongside her burgers. 'I'm trying to replicate that mouthfeel and the satiation of a deep-fried french fry, but without using a fryer,' she says. Chef Chris Dumesnil of Aydea in San Francisco notes the increased cost of this commitment, explaining it's more expensive to use beef tallow, avocado oil, and chicken fat rendered from their chicken dishes. But customers haven't complained, and for him, it's worth it. 'Everybody in the restaurant that comes and becomes our guests, I don't want to have them become sick,' he says. 'In my mind, it's like taking care of my family.' For many restaurateurs, avoiding seed oil is in line with a larger organic mission. Aydea also advertises that it uses organic, raw sugars and honeys, grass-fed and organic milk, and pasture-raised eggs. James Provisions also promotes that it's 'seasonal' and uses 'thoughtful sourcing.' Phillips says that even though his other concepts — Chip City and Somedays Bakery — don't advertise as being seed oil-free, 'premium products have always been something central to my thinking'; there, cookies and pastries are made with high-fat European butter. If quality is the point, this is one more way to signal it. 'Seed oils are one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods,' posted now-Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. in October 2024. 'We need to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.' Kennedy's ascendance to office turbo-charged the anti-seed oil movement; he's threatened to ban seed oils and called for fast food restaurants to begin using beef tallow again to fry their food (which some have). Also, Casey Means, RFK Jr.'s new pick for Surgeon General, has been publicly outspoken about seed oils. And so the wariness around seed oils comes with a host of other beliefs common under the general umbrella of the MAHA movement. RFK Jr. has been outspokenly critical of vaccination, most recently saying there are 'problems' with the measles vaccine as unvaccinated children die of the disease for the first time in decades. He has supported debunked theories that childhood vaccines cause autism, and has promoted the falsehood that AIDS is caused by drug use and 'compulsive homosexual behavior.' Meanwhile, Means also frequently criticizes vaccines in her wellness newsletter, called birth control a 'disrespect of life,' and believes gluten causes mental illness. And as I wrote this, I received a press release for a four-part series from production company MAHA Films called Toxic Nation: From Fluoride to Seed Oils, How We Got Here, Who Profits, And What You Can Do , explicitly putting the rejection of seed oils within the purview of other health conspiracies. Should it matter what other people believe if you've found that cooking a certain way makes you feel better, or if you'd rather spend your money on local, organic olive oil than Crisco and Mazola? Ideally, no. Most restaurateurs I spoke to were adamant that their support of the anti-seed oil movement had nothing to do with politics; it was simply an extension of their beliefs regarding its health benefits. In the FAQ section of James Provisions' website, Williamson writes a fact followed by an opinion: 'Seed oils are highly processed, chemically treated, bleached, and deodorized. They don't belong on your plate or in your body.' But it's not so easy to separate one choice from the political movement that advocates it — especially as the political discourse fuels a growing diner interest. Graham Honig, co-founder of Talo Organic Grill in Venice, California, says about 90 percent of his customers come specifically because they advertise using beef tallow instead of seed oil. The restaurant also advertises other 'Talo difference(s)' on its website, like 'no cooking in plastic or non-stick pans,' 'no gums,' and 'no plastic cutting boards,' but it's the seed oils point that makes up much of its branding. Honig tells me he's trademarked the phrase 'seed oils suck,' which appears on the brand's T-shirts. Honig also says he's adamantly apolitical. 'I would say people should pay attention to what we say and what we actually promote, and come to their own conclusions,' he says. 'My only focus is creating a healthier world and healthier options for people.' (Talo has received investment from Calley Means, Casey Means's brother and co-author of their book Good Energy, and has posted using the hashtag #maha) Increasingly, restaurant owners say, customers are coming to them precisely because they don't use seed oils. 'There's a demand there,' says Rog. 'When it is brought up and they realize that that's what we offer, it's a great thing for them. They know what we're talking about.' Honig tells Fitt/Insider it's 'fortuitous timing' that there's a larger cultural movement around seed oils. And Dumesnil says he noticed that after RFK Jr. went on the Joe Rogan podcast, some customers became more curious about seed oils, which allowed him to explain the restaurant's positioning. 'Whether it's someone famous, a political person or an actual dietician that says don't use seed oils, we say it's something that we do, but not for the politics — but because of the nutritional value that it brings towards our family.' I sense myself veering into a defense of seed oils as I watch the larger MAHA movement gain popularity, which feels like defending the Coca-Cola Company, or fossil fuels. The naming and shaming of seed oils is an attempt to correct a very real problem in American foodways: that so much of our diet consists of ultra-processed food made by corporations that prioritize profit over quality. Most U.S. residents' omega-6 intake is due to an increased reliance on fast food and pre-packaged food like bread, frozen meals, and sweetened breakfast cereal that use hydrogenated seed oils to remain shelf-stable. So of course there's a draw to restaurants that advertise organic, nutrient-rich ingredients and reject things like mass-produced canola oil. It's also telling that so many restaurateurs came to reject seed oils after finding few answers for their ailments within the U.S. medical establishment. Christy Harrison, author of The Wellness Trap , noted in an interview with The Cut that conditions like chronic fatigue, and those that disproportionately affect women like endometriosis and PCOS, 'have been historically contested and therefore under-funded' by the conventional healthcare system. This disconnect between the medical establishment and many patients makes the wellness space ripe for promoting individual solutions to collective problems. 'American individualism and capitalism fit right in with wellness culture,' says Harrison. 'Our health care system makes so many people feel dismissed and unheard, and they feel the need to take things into their own hands.' Indeed, one of the key components of the MAHA movement is the idea that health is an individual responsibility. It's what's behind RFK Jr. saying that 'only very sick kids should die from measles' while questioning the proven efficacy of the measles vaccine, or TV personality and current administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Oz saying on Fox News that 'it is your patriotic duty to be as healthy as you can.' Ultimately, it's nobody's business if you stock your pantry with organic avocado oil instead of corn oil, or if you choose to only frequent restaurants that don't use seed oils. The restaurateurs I spoke to nearly all said they wanted to be one more option in the seed oil-free community, a place where people at any stage of fighting the same health concerns as them, or people just wanting a meal made with high-quality ingredients, could eat and enjoy themselves. Now that 'seed oil' as a phrase has broken containment within MAHA circles, it's more likely that restaurants will use the label to stand out among competitors, and diners will see it as a trendy buzzword, like 'farm to table' or 'artisanal,' without any other associations. After all, it is not a problem to use olive oil in your aioli, or to cook things in beef tallow (unless you're vegetarian). Those choices don't solve these wider problems of access and health. But that's never been the point of a restaurant. See More:
