The Monday Media Diet with Harrison Chapin

On Natoora, orzo bimbo, and The Northeast Kingdom, Vermont

Harrison Chapin (HC) runs the Secret Ingredient on Substack. Have a great week.

Tell us about yourself.

I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining line cook born, raised, and based in NYC.

I write The Secret Ingredient, my bimonthly newsletter adapting hit restaurant recipes for easy home cooking. Eat your way through the dishes that catapulted dining institutions to their fame. While the masses pray for lightning to strike in a thousands-long Resy queue, our readers are feasting!

I got my start working in bars during the pinnacle of the craft cocktail renaissance, then became a line cook at lauded NYC restaurant and pasta heaven Misi. As an outsider with no formal culinary training, I was motivated by my desire to pull back the curtain on the secrets of the food I loved to eat. Now, I’m on a mission to help you.

Describe your media diet.

I’m a loyal admirer of these Substack newsletters, among others:

• Sparks from Culture by David Roberts.

• orzo bimbo by Julia Harrison.

• La Briffe by Ruth Reichl.

• Let’s Get Lost by Rebecca Blackwell.

• The Amateur Gourmet by Adam Roberts.

• Sophia is Voracious by Sophia Wronsky.

• The Eastside Rag by John Fulton.

I listen to the Moth, a podcast of 10 minute true stories from people of all walks of life. I love the Moth because it is participatory. They hold live storytelling events where you can volunteer to share your own story.

What’s the last great book you read?

Il Buco: Stories & Recipes. The cookbook of rustic Italian restaurant Il Buco. They have rescued ancient agricultural knowledge and the means of production for staples we take for granted — products like sea salt — from the brink of extinction.

What are you reading now?

All my great-grandfather Henry’s published works. He was a novelist and poet in league with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Robert Frost. I documented the beguiling story of how I discovered an unlikely connection between us by snooping down a trail of clues in his memoir.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

Read aloud to any pets or critters in your vicinity.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

The Moth’s story compilation books. I have so much more empathy and curiosity towards strangers because I read the Moth.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone?

Natoora. It’s a produce and food product delivery service providing access to seasonal, niche ingredients you’re not always able to find anywhere else. With Natoora you can find things like Jimmy Nardello peppers, forced rhubarb, baby artichokes, and Emerald Beaut plums. Just stunningly beautiful varieties of fruits and vegetables you never knew existed.

Plane or train?

Train. Aside from cooking, I’m an adventure sports junkie. I’ve roved on trains far and wide in search of my next foot-powered adventure. I’ve thru hiked the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Northwest Trail, among other routes.

What is one place everyone should visit?

The Northeast Kingdom, Vermont, in the summer.

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.

I keep a collection of my dad’s old NYC Zagat restaurant guides from the 1990s and early 2000s. The reviews are crowdsourced from the general public; there are some really funny comments. I think Zagat reflects the intricacies and oddities of New Yorkers as patrons more so than they say about the restaurants they’re written in judgement of. I fell into this rabbit hole a few years ago where I’d flip through a newer Zagat guide with my eyes closed and make myself go eat wherever my finger landed on the page. I call it Restaurant Roulette. As a lifelong New Yorker with established opinions, it’s a really fun way to shake things up and try new places I otherwise wouldn’t. It’s given me some really bizarre meals, and there’s a blood-chilling amount of risk you’re taking on. Like when you inevitably pick out a 15 course omakase restaurant, that’s gonna hurt your wallet hahah.

The thing about New York’s dining scene these days is that it’s influenced by these “best of” lists. It’s not easy to accidentally fall into rabbit holes anymore; you’ve got to have the guts to push yourself in. Restaurant Roulette is an idea I’m considering bringing to my Substack, The Secret Ingredient, so stay tuned! (HC)