Food Wrapped in Newspaper

In all my years of eating, twenty to be precise, I have always found those who have the power to weave the spoken word with the overwhelming power of food to be of the highest standing. The New York Times is no exception to that rule. Not only do they have the power of reputation behind them but they also possess a great deal of skill in weaving a picture for their readers that allows us to see into exactly what they are reporting on.

In the January 19th edition of the Times, Julia Moskin reported on a recent uproar of an alien food called the pljeskavica. The non-traditional burger has taken off in popularity in Queens and has taken off wildly with the European population in the surrounding area. But why choose this article? Better yet, what makes it an interesting article? It’s hard for me to look at an article that follows current events, such as the earthquake in Haiti or the war in Afghanistan, because I find that often times the articles covering current events are written with a sense of urgency and lack the intimacy that articles written about smaller events and occurrences possess.

This article is no exception to the rule. Moskin weaves an interesting picture of a cultural phenomenon that is sweeping a small area and penetrating our view on something so American and boxed up. Moskin not only looks at something under the radar but through that reporting allows us to think of something that otherwise we might not have. The New York Times usually writes stories that capture the attention of its readers. In the writing Moskin brings a small aspect of the New York landscape to a forefront and allows readers to have a new piece of information and think about a whole topic, hamburgers and how we eat and look at them, it can change people and their opinions.

The article is well written, usually the New York Times is, and allows us to think differently about news. The story won't find itself on the cover story, it's not that kind of news. What the story is is a chance to look at news, from the viewpoint of the everyman.

The article, in its original form, can be found at the following link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/dining/20balk.html?ref=dining