A Day Without a Woman, Cookbook Competition, and More Updates to Start the Day

A Day Without a Woman

Today, many women around the world are going on strike or demonstrating in other ways in order to “act together for equity, justice, and the human rights of women and all gender-oppressed people, through a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity.” We’re compiling a list of Boston-area businesses that are either closing for the day or expressing support for A Day Without a Woman in other ways; check it out here and email us if there’s anything else that should be included. We’ll update the list throughout the day. Here are some thoughts on the day from Eater editor-in-chief Amanda Kludt, and here’s an index of other Eater sites’ coverage of the day.

The Piglet

Food52’s annual cookbook competition, The Piglet, is now in full swing. Find out how Soframiz (by Sofra’s Ana Sortun & Maura Kilpatrick) fared against The Adventures of Fat Rice by Abraham Conlon, Adrienne Lo, and Hugh Amano. The judge for this round happened to be Eater’s own Bill Addison, restaurant editor and roving critic. He praises Sortun and Kilpatrick’s “deep, obvious fluency with tahini, phyllo, yogurts, cheeses, and a mind-bending spectrum of spices” and specifically recommends taking the time to make zhoug, an herb sauce that “added heady dimensions to Sortun and Kilpatrick’s take on shakshouka” and “surpassed any version [he’s] had in a restaurant.”

Starch Madness

In other bracketed competition news (‘tis the season), Boston Magazine’s annual Starch Madness competition has begun, pitting local restaurants’ best starchy dishes against each other, from Mike’s Pastry’s cannoli to Sweet Cheeks’ biscuits. Voting in round two begins today; eight competitors remain. Chicken & Rice Guy’s combo plate was victorious last year. This year, the combo plate defeated Publick House’s mac and cheese in round one and heads into round two to face No. 9 Park’s classic prune-stuffed gnocchi.

Meanwhile, in Maine

Speaking of starch, the Portland Press Herald convened a panel of opinionated bagel lovers to evaluate a half-dozen bagels from the Greater Portland area. South Portland’s Scratch Baking Co. came out on top, followed by the very new Purple House in North Yarmouth.

Got a news tip for the Eater Boston team? Email boston@eater.com.