substack wrapped

and some vacation week reading.

Dec 28, 2023

Tis the week of the round up and who am I to swim upstream. So without further adieu, here are some of the best stories I read on Substack in 2023.

JANUARY - This week is the epitome of midnight snacks, so learn about their history from

Doug Mack / Snack Stack

Snack Stack

A history of midnight snacks

Hello, Snackers. It’s the best meal of the day—but is that because it’s a mark of luxury or because it’s a break from loneliness or hard work when other people are asleep…

2 years ago · 13 likes · 5 comments · Doug Mack / Snack Stack

I'd Like to Thank the Academy

Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Notable Quote: “I just wanna love people.” Synopsis: Jim (Andrew Garfield) and Tammy Faye Bakker (Jessica Chastain) build a preaching empire from the ground up, but Jim’s hypocrisies and indiscretions threaten to bring it all down. What will Tammy Faye do without her beautiful furs…

2 years ago · 4 likes · Andrew

FEBRUARY - I absolutely love an old Florida story and

Hanna Raskin

never fails to deliver on regional food news.

The Food Section

Pancake lovers distraught over ownership flip

Parents of young children, lumber camp cooks, and patrons of The Old Spanish Sugar Mill in DeLeon Springs, Florida all know the same thing: The first pancake you make is never the best pancake. At The Old Spanish Sugar Mill, where the wooden tables are outfitted with inset griddles, restauran…

2 years ago · 6 likes · 4 comments · Hanna Raskin

MARCH - I love the work of

Alex Dobrenko`

and this story has two other elements close to my heart: Odesa and humor.

Both Are True

Humor During Wartime

I was born in Odesa, Ukraine. I spent the first seven years of my life there, and yet, I’m ashamed to admit that days, sometimes weeks, can go by without me thinking about the war at all. To move freely between thoughts of war and a life of peace is the ultimate luxury, a privilege I did not earn. My parents and I got lucky: we were allowed to leave in 1994. I was seven years old…

2 years ago · 54 likes · 52 comments · Alex Dobrenko`

APRIL - Reading

Elissa Suh

write about movies is often better than watching the movie. I’m also a big fan of Cafe Sabarsky, so this one stuck out for me on multiple levels.

MOVIEPUDDING

Corsage and mozart cake

i. movies about animals ii. the best things i ate iii. Corsage [new movie] iv. Cafe sabarsky [old restaurant] v. a consumerist recommendation SHORT TAKES In Bong Joon-Ho’s BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE (the PARASITE director’s first film), the poor pay for the sins of the middle class, whose only recourse is to bribe the rich for the privilege of treading water…

2 years ago · 5 likes · 4 comments · Elissa Suh

MAY - What I love about

Jolene Handy

‘s stories is that they are a perfect blend of history and whimsy. Her series of Herman Miller Summer Picnic Posters is a wonderful example.

Time Travel Kitchen

The Herman Miller Summer Picnic Posters, Part One

It’s the 100th Anniversary of Herman Miller, the company that brought the legendary and lasting furniture designs of Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Isamu Noguchi and more into our homes and offices. To celebrate this milestone I thought it would be fun to look back at the posters that…

2 years ago · 53 likes · 45 comments · Jolene Handy

Time Travel Kitchen

The Herman Miller Picnic Posters, Part Two

This week more picnic guests arrived at my virtual bash and brought all sorts of summery foods with them. I’ve paired their offerings with some of the iconic Herman Miller picnic posters designed by Stephen Frykholm from 1970-1989. There is also a fantastic video about the creation of the posters featuring Mr. Frykholm that you must see if you love these…

2 years ago · 39 likes · 32 comments · Jolene Handy

JUNE - For more deeply regional foods, stop by

Old Line Plate

to learn the colorful, painful and sometimes quirky history of Maryland food.

Old Line Plate

Harvey Wallbanger Cake, Elaine Burns

In the early 1970s, a popular new drink began to make appearances in advertisements and nightlife coverage. Charles McHarry of the New York Daily News reported in his “On The Town” column: “La Seine now has a drink called the Harvey Wallbanger, an import from Malibu, and here is how it was born: Seems a surfer known as Harvey bounced into a Malibu pub one…

2 years ago · Old Line Plate

JULY - Every little thing she does is magic, but this is probably the story by

Culture Study

I’ve identified with most from the corner of my unsellably sunflower yellow office.

Culture Study

How Your House Makes You Miserable

Do you read this newsletter every week? Do you forward it or text it to your friends?? Do you value the work that goes into it??? Consider becoming a subscribing member. You get access to the weekly Things I Read and Loved at the end of each Sunday newsletter, the massive link posts, and the knowledge that you’re paying for the things you find valuable…

a year ago · 719 likes · 286 comments · Anne Helen Petersen

AUGUST - I love all of

Jason Diamond

‘s work, but to commit this many words to smell took my adoration to the next level.

The Melt by Jason Diamond

That 1980s Bowling Alley Smell

A weird thing people don’t tell you about getting older is certain smells just go away. I’m not talking about a dulling of our senses, I mean the literal scents that occupy very specific memories or moments in time. I assume it’s probably for the best, especially since many of the scents I’m chasing likely aren’t available for me to sniff because they’d…

a year ago · 36 likes · 2 comments · Jason Diamond

SEPTEMBER - I mean does the

Katie Nissen

piece in The Stump even need an introduction? My only hope is that in 2024 we can have a public internet fight about the merits and demerits of eggs.

The Stump

A Love Letter To The McGriddle

Reader, have you ever enjoyed a tasty little breakfast sandwich? A warm treat filled with happiness and smiles? If you haven’t had a McGriddle, your answer is no. Sorry to inform you that no other breakfast experience counts. Now, I about to simp so hard for a brand on main, dear reader, please forgive me. But, if ever there was a time to laud the inven…

a year ago · 5 likes · 12 comments · Katie Nissen

What I loved about

Bailey Richardson

piece in

Art Dogs

was the idea of Willie Mays’ as an artist which of course he was. Brilliant interpretation on theme!

Art Dogs

Willie Mays' poodles

Art Dogs is a weekly dispatch introducing the pets—dogs, yes!, but also cats, lizards, marmosets, and more—that were kept by our favorite artists. Subscribe to receive these weekly posts to your email inbox…

a year ago · 33 likes · 10 comments · Bailey Richardson

OCTOBER - If you want to go cookbook shopping, you should always start with a stop by

Stained Page News

who covers the best coming from the food publishing world with flare.

Stained Page News

Introducing the Cookbooks of October 2023

Howdy cookbook fans! And welcome to your second issue of fall cookbook season: OCTOBER RELEASES! (See September releases here.) A quick reminder that, unlike in previous years, this is a much more hea…

a year ago · 33 likes · 6 comments

NOVEMBER - I also went to Montreal this year and sort of went to a sugar shack, so this was an exciting piece to see from

Addison Del Mastro

The Deleted Scenes

The Sugar Shack

When my wife and I visited Montreal earlier this year, in late spring, one thing we wanted to do was visit a “sugar shack.” These are the mostly small, family-owned facilities where maple syrup is produced, several of which are within easy driving distance of Montreal…

a year ago · 20 likes · 8 comments · Addison Del Mastro

DECEMBER - I haven’t read any of Elizabeth Gilbert’s books, but I absolutely read the

Oldster Magazine

Questionnaires and this was a good one.

Oldster Magazine

This is 54: Author Elizabeth Gilbert Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.” Here, celebrated bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert…

a year ago · 1136 likes · 50 comments · Sari Botton

Happy New Year clipart — Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Borscht for Breakfast

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