Ugly – Delicious – Ugly… Delicious.

Does anyone just want a summer song today? Fast forward and pair with the coconut water on the down-scroll.

The hype around Ugly Delicious has been pretty excellent: ‘It’s David Chang on Netflix, investigating dynamics of authenticity and power in foods everywhere. YOU’RE GONNA WANT SNACKS.’ So I made a pretty sweet setup to settle in and watch it this weekend: watched while baking + with a glass of something-or-other, perfect for zoning out with food porn. My soda bread came out 👌, but the show was somewhat less satisfying– where I had planned to get edified I mostly just got mansplained. Where the goal of the show is to question power dynamics (race! class! gender!) in the food business, it’s done with a heavy dose of circle jerking between celebrity chefs (shout to when Chang dribbles all over Wolfgang Puck), plus some surface-level bro philosophizing between the other dudes who are also on the show– ‘like, what IS pizza actually’. All of which makes it… disappointing? Accessible? Pls weigh in.

Is anyone else slightly concerned by the idea that the Obamas are in talks to do a show with Netflix? I mean, three cheers for more Obama in our lives, but do we trust Netflix to do it? It seems like their strategy is to grab everyone with a name, build a show around them that’s *juuuuuust* good enough, and then clickbait their way through season watches– rinse and repeat, no commitment to quality. Like sure, Stranger Things was awesome, but your one binge of that season was anchored in dabblings with Fuller House, the new Queer Eye, and that really sad Jerry Seinfeld special. All delightful on some level, but they kind of leave you hungry after. See: ‘Netflix Is Getting Huge. But Can It Get Great?‘ (We’re rooting for you.)

A few weeks ago, my friend Alex (who co-founded Giphy, heard of it?) told me I had to try the brand of coconut water he’d just invested in (gifs, what a business). I don’t like coconut water; this was delicious. Here’s the story: this guy Grier, who used to be the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ production designer, moved to Thailand to open a hotel. That didn’t pan out, but in its place he started producing coconut water. Last year, Alex had some on vacation, tried to find it in the US, and couldn’t, so he contacted Grier to see about international distribution, which culminated in an investment that makes CoAqua available to us all. Made of young *roasted* coconuts, which makes the water much sweeter and much more delicious, and bottled in glass so that the delicate flavor stays stable, it’s tasty in a way that’s unlike anything else you’ve tried. And now, thanks to Alex, you can find it in the US. And by ‘find,’ I mean ‘order online.’ Highly recommend.