How to make dining out easier

It's Kate, with a solution to rising food prices and the restaurant reservation arms race [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi, [Kate Krader]( here, our London-based food editor. Let me officially welcome you to dining-out season. Personally, I define “dining out” as letting someone else do the cooking. But this summer, with a little push from my editors, I’m taking the concept of dining out literally. Meaning, outdoors! [A picnic](! I’ll still let others do the cooking. You’re going to need a bigger blanket! Photographer: Ted & Chelsea Cavanaugh for Bloomberg Businessweek Because chefs have become mail-order experts, I don’t even have to make my own hummus, or settle for the supermarket, when I can get it—with [other stellar dips and pitas](—directly from Michael Solomonov, chef-owner of Philadelphia’s destination Israeli restaurant [Zahav](. And I can order [sparkling white negroni spagliati]( directly from Italian hot spot [Via Carota]( in New York. [These 25 additional items]( can also supercharge my picnic spread. Did someone say snacks? From pita chips to sour blackberry fish, these nine are irresistible. Illustration by Beya Panicha for Bloomberg Businessweek As I talk myself into a meal that’s not in a restaurant, I consider further benefits, such as entertainment. Unless you’re 5 years old, playing games in a dining room is not encouraged. But at your own al fresco meal, it’s delightful. Among [the best lawn games for bored teenagers, as well as adults](, is Schilte Sjoelbak, a Dutch tabletop version of shuffleboard. Not to mention leather-backed Hermès Dominoes—although the more than $4,800 price makes dining out look cheap.  Picnics also mean that you’re the DJ and can promote your [own song of the summer](, maybe Sita’s Bring Me Back. Invited elsewhere? One of these 11 amazing gifts for the host will ensure you a place on the best-guest list. Photographer: Ted & Chelsea Cavanaugh for Bloomberg Businessweek Which brings me back indoors for another hot topic: This is restaurant awards season for all who celebrate. In the space of five days, we ran these three stories—the latter two just six hours apart: - [The Best Restaurant in the World is Disfrutar in Barcelona]( - [The Best Restaurant in the UK Grows Mushrooms in a Closet]( - [The Best Restaurant in the US is Langbaan in Portland, Oregon]( One thing you’ll note is that we stay on script for headlines. Also, that organizations like World’s 50 Best, the UK’s National Restaurant Awards and the James Beard Foundation (the respective awards promoters) step on each others’ toes when announcing lists. It’s an especially curious situation for World’s 50 Best and the National Restaurant Awards because both are owned by UK-based William Reed Business Media. At least the awards aren’t repetitive, though all of them were based on votes by some iteration of “industry professionals.” Meanwhile, seeking out the best lobster roll is one of three culinary road trips to take this summer. Photograph: Alamy Background: Getty Images For example, consider that the highest-rated London restaurant among the World’s 50 Best (Kol, at No. 17) was far down at No. 49 in the UK awards. Likewise, 50 Best’s top-rated US restaurant —the exceptional Korean Atomix, at No. 6—ranked nowhere in the Beard roundup. Why the discrepancies? Each list functions differently. Broadly, the World’s 50 Best honors top-of-the-line restaurants and attention-getting regions, the UK awards focus on what’s new, and the Beard Awards highlights diversity. There’s a lot more to say—maybe for my next newsletter. For now, Eater has produced [a helpful cheat sheet](. A spread at the Thai dining room Langbaan, named the best restaurant in the US. Source: Langbaan Finally, on a somber note, one of New York’s most promising chefs, [James Kent]([, is tragically gone](. The 45-year-old cook was well established—he ran the [two-Michelin-star Saga]( and the new American [Crown Shy in the Financial District](. I profiled him a few years back and was a fan of his restaurants. Kent, who pursued a sideline as a graffiti artist, had multiple projects ahead (including five dining spots in New York’s upcoming Printemps). He was simultaneously always hard at work in the kitchen while showing up at all the culinary fundraisers, and still marathon training with his wife, Kelly. Somehow, Kent was everywhere around the city, and now he’s gone. Connect with Kate on [Instagram](. Kent with a graffiti project in 2016. Photographer: Michael Mattisse What else I’m reading On my personal jealousy list is a story about the importance of dips, plus a pair of explorations of the restaurant world. [“It’s a flavour-bomb!” The rise and rise of the dip]( The Guardian’s Clare Finney provides excellent insight into a dish that’s become ubiquitous on restaurant menus. One big takeaway: Most Brits first experience dips via the supermarket, so the bar for chefs to exceed it is low. [‘No Talent Involved’: How Bad TikToks Boosted a Curry House]( The story of an Indian restaurant in Bristol, England, that found fame via employees who wear blond Barbie wigs and sing unfortunate covers of popular songs. Isabella Kwai reports on it for the New York Times. [Why You Can’t Get a Restaurant Reservation]( In October, Bloomberg covered the [growing phenomenon of bot-grabbing reservations]( that were maddening restaurant operators. Still, applauding Adam Iscoe at the New Yorker for covering the situation so thoroughly, including a minute-by-minute account of what it’s like to see your reservation book fill up instantaneously. Here’s our own take on why—despite legislation—NYC’s hottest dining reservations will stay impossible to score. Photographer: Gary He What to talk about at your next party From a download on Art Basel to a flashback to when supermodels walked the Earth—and Cats stalked the runway—here’s a roundup of events that are the talk of the town. [Naomi Campbell Says Her London Exhibit Shows ‘More Intimate Side’]( [Here’s How the Costumes for a Wild New Production of Cats Got Made]( [The Seven Products and Innovations We’re Tracking This Month]( [There Are Four Winning Strategies Behind Good Hollywood Sequels]( [The Story of Artist Christo’s $4 Million Wrapped VW Beetle]( [HBO’s New House of the Dragon Season Moves Way Too Slowly: Review]( You had questions ... So here are some answers! Keep them coming for next week via our [Bloomberg Pursuits]([ Instagram]( and [e-mail](mailto:askpursuits@bloomberg.net?I%20have%20a%20question). These days, it’s easy for restaurant bills to creep up, with appetizers, sides, mains, desserts, drinks, coffee. How do you make the most of a meal out without breaking the bank? This is the money question, LOL. Dining out nationally was 4.1% pricier in April than in the same month last year, [according to the USDA](; grocery store prices rose by only 1.2% in the same period. If you’re ordering all these things, your bill is certain to be going up. To avoid check-drop shock, do some online-menu recon to price it out before you go, or learn to do fast math at the table. (Don’t forget tax and tip!) Though waitstaff are not the villains here, always ask what sides a main course comes with. Some servers are sneaky, so you might find yourself with multiple French fry orders on the table. Also, make sure you know the price of an alluring-sounding special; the tab can be breathtaking, too. And always bring leftovers home. Besides addressing food waste, you solve the problem of the pricey desk lunch. Know, too, that restaurants are expensive right now. Just look at the prices of [lobster rolls in Connecticut](: around $26. There are only so many corners to be cut. Do you know what need not be expensive? An incredible bottle of rosé. Here are 14 new vintages—and only one is from France. Source: Vendors How should one compromise between the authenticity of the cuisine and the experience offered? Appropriation continues to be a major food world topic. It’s very hard to have an authentic experience if you’re outside where the food comes from. At [Kol in London](, chef Santiago Lastro has decided that the best way to present the cuisine of his native Mexico is [not to import such ingredients as avocados](; he’s made versions of guacamole with pureed pistachio nuts and roasted garlic. The place that’s doing the best job of threading the needle, in my opinion, is Los Angeles, where chefs are adept at serving genius fusion food that tells their stories. [Roy ChoiÂ]( helped put LA on this map with his Korean accented [Kogi BBQ tacos](; now there are places like David Kuo’s [Fatty Mart](, which specializes in mapo tofu pizza, and Diego Argoti’s [Poltergeist]( in the Echo Park barcade, Button Mash, where the menu features brilliant mash ups like green curry bucatino with fried curry leaves and Thai Caesar salad with puffed rice croutons.  London’s top Mexican restaurant puts no avocados in its guacamole. Photographer: Rebecca Dickson What should I order at a restaurant if I’m trying to lose weight without depriving myself? I wish I had the bulls-eye answer for myself, and it always depends on where you’re eating. In general, though, avoid the snacks restaurants are jamming into their menus. Even those that seem healthy are generally not so. When you eat a first course and a main course (if it’s that kind of restaurant), you’re much more in control of the situation than if your table has wall-to-wall dips and chips. But if you’re looking for one dish with a magic bullet, try soup—at least one not based on cream. With all the bone broths out there, you can have a super restorative starter that fills you up before a main course of plain roast veggies, meat, fish and so forth. While we’re on the subject of diets, we asked six executives what they eat for breakfast in our new column, the CEO Diet. Illustration by Charles Desmarais for Bloomberg Businessweek New for subscribers: Free article gifting. Bloomberg.com subscribers can now gift up to five free articles a month to anyone you want. 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