Here’s what you might have missed

It was the lettuce all along: With the cyclospora situation growing more explosive, if you will, some Taco Bell locations in Michigan pulled lettuce and cilantro from their offerings early this week. Those suspicions were confirmed late on Thursday, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified shredded iceberg lettuce that was served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia as a source of the outbreak.
Some restaurants have shifted gears because of the diarrhea parasite: Brooklyn bakery Saint Street Cakes announced that it was switching to preserved berries instead of fresh as a precaution; blackberries and raspberries, with all their nooks and crannies, have been linked to previous outbreaks, though they’re not yet implicated in the current one. Similarly, Philadelphia bakery Manna pulled raw herbs and fruit from its baked goods as a precautionary measure.
That being said: Despite accounts of some people having been sickened by lettuce-filled slop bowls, Grub Street reported that it’s generally business as usual for most New York City restaurants, with none of the operators they spoke to citing decreased demand for salad — despite what all the memes might suggest.
Why is all of this even happening, you might ask? I appreciated writer Danielle Schwab’s Instagram slideshow breaking down how the structure of our food system results in outbreaks like this one. For one thing, industrial-scale agriculture means much of our food comes from few sources, which is why so many people are recommending shopping locally right now. In all, it’s a “scary vision of how America deals with a health crisis in the future,” wrote the Verge’s Gaby Del Valle, in a piece aptly titled “Enshittification.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Publix shoppers should maybe avoid blueberries, too: The grocery chain recently recalled organic blueberries sold across the South over potential E. coli contamination. A Florida couple has sued the chain after a severe E. coli infection resulted in weeks of medical treatment.
“Don’t Worry, the Anthony Bourdain Biopic Is Good.”: Thus read the headline of a new GQ profile of actor Dominic Sessa, to whom the publication attributes the success of Tony, out August 7. Here’s what director Matt Johnson had to say about his and Sessa’s approach: “We both had a strident lack of interest in Anthony Bourdain. He wasn’t a role model to either of us. And because we didn’t view him as a role model, it let us look at the character as somebody who could be influenced by others.” (After seeing a preview last week, I’m inclined to agree with GQ, despite my own hesitation from the trailer: It’s better than you might think — good, even!)
A restaurant tab revival: The New York Times published a dispatch on the return of house accounts at a few NYC restaurants, like Wainwright’s Tavern, which got the idea from Hamptons grocer Red Horse Market, where regulars can close out their purchases at the end of the month. While the practice was more common decades ago, it died out as credit cards gained prominence. The justification now seems to be providing ease for diners and encouraging repeat visits.
The splurge of the summer: The budget-friendly Cuisinart ice cream maker gets a lot of love, as does the KitchenAid attachment, but it seems like recently, a lot of the true ice cream heads — like recipe developers Marie Frank, Kassie Mendieta, and Jeremy Scheck — have upgraded to the sleek silver Lello Musso, which hovers around $800. I asked a content-creator friend who also recently got a Lello whether everyone’s just getting sent one. No, she said; the brand doesn’t even have an Instagram presence.
We’ve got to get the newly ranch-loving Europeans to Buffalo Wild Wings, stat: The chain announced the launch of the “first-ever” ranch-flavored popping candy, which will be available to sprinkle onto wings beginning July 20. Good news, World Cup tourists: The packets, which are 99 cents each, will certainly be easier to get through TSA than all those now-confiscated bottles of Hidden Valley.
Do Mexicans want Chipotle’s take on Mexican food? The chain opened a location in Nuevo León this week, representing its first foray into Mexico. It’s a bold move when Taco Bell has famously flopped there. The company’s expansion will continue into Mexico City in 2027. One upside: At least in Mexico, people know how to say “chipotle.”