People love to make fun of the New York Times‘ trend section—their umpteen pieces on this millennial craze have been called "hate-reads," and their dissection of cultural norms such as oversharing, defriending people in real life, and chopped salad at lunch as "trends" can be hilarious and infuriatingly obvious.

But while their pieces perhaps aren’t exactly timely, they will certainly make for interesting reads in a few decades—just like this throwback piece on a California fad called "cheeseburgers" from 1938. In a new column called "First Glimpses," the Times is looking back at the first time certain words or phrases were used in their record of note. 

When "cheeseburger" was first mentioned in the October 1938 article, it was in a long list about the "whimsy" of California eateries. Then, nine years later in May 1947, the Times revisited the fad, writing, "At first, the combination of beef with cheese and tomatoes, which sometimes are used, may seem bizarre." But luckily, their intrepid reporter could see the bigger picture. "If you reflect a bit, you’ll understand the combination is sound gastronomically."

And now, nearly 70 years later, you can not only ask for gourmet cheeses like brie, goat, or gorgonzola on your burger—or spend upwards of $300 on one—there are multiple burger chains where you can order stacks on stacks on stacks of cheeseburger patties. That weird little West Coast fad has become a multi-billion dollar industry, and cheeseburgers are practically our national food (arguably in hot contention with apple pie). Congratulations, America! We did it!

[h/t: The New York Times]

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How does one farm this strange beast the shape of a giant tumescent wang and what does it take to pull this freaky animal from the ground? What makes a geoduck taste its best? We went to the source to find out, touring Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton, Washington.

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I don’t really like hot dogs much, but maybe that’s because I live in New York where, judging by this chart by Food Republic, our hot dog selection is pretty uninspired. Perhaps I’d feel differently about these rubbery tubesteaks if I’d first tried one in Brazil or France or Amsterdam (or really anywhere that covers it with cheese or fries). Use the chart to plan your next street food adventure or get inspired to whip up some internationally-flavored franks of your own—or just marvel at how adorable Japan’s edible hotdog art is.

Image credit: Food Republic

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With temperatures creeping up into the 80s this week in New York City, it’s officially iced coffee season. And this year, there’s a new take on cold brew: Nitro Coffee, a beverage for when you want to feel like you’re drinking a beer, but have the mental state of someone who’s just downed multiple espressos.

Nitro is coffee infused with pressurized nitrogen and/or carbon dioxide, then chilled in a keg and served on tap in pints and tulip shapes that fill with a foamy head. It doesn’t just look like beer, it tastes a little like it, too. Bon Appetit describes it as "rich and creamy" as well as "sweeter and less acidic than large-batch cold brew," and even "chocolatey."

The Washington Post says that the specific and soon-to-be patented JoeTap system, which AC Beverage uses to bubble-ify their nitro, makes the drink "taste as if you’ve added cream and a sweetener to the cup." The system take advantage of what’s already in the coffee to highlight different flavors that would otherwise go undetected. Charles Kleinrichert, founder of AC Beverage and inventor of JoeTap, says that his system, which debuted last month at the annual Specialty Coffee Association of America gathering in Seattle, breaks down the nitrogen into microscopic bubbles that better infuse the coffee giving it the velvety texture.

If all of that sounds good enough to drink, don’t worry—Bon Appetit lists just some of the many hip coffee shops around the country that have Nitro on tap. And some companies, like Cuvée Coffee are already debuting canned versions of the brews:

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"Cornbread with mashed potato icing, drizzled with brown gravy and topped with fried chicken." (more…)

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