New York City recently celebrated Restaurant Week, a biannual affair in which the city’s “best” restaurants offer discounted—and shrunken—prix fixe meals. The summer slump that high-end restaurants experience (due to summer vacations, shuttered concert halls, etc.) is an opportunity for them to attract new customers. It’s also the perfect occasion for neophytes to experience haute cuisine at reasonable prices. Blogs, sadly, experience a summer slump, too, and in that spirit we offer a free sampling of food-related articles from the COMMENTARY archive for this weekend’s reading.

The Zagat Effect
Steven Shaw — November 2000

Culinary Correctness
Steven Shaw — October 2000

Sushi and Other Jewish Foods
Alan Mintz — October 1998

The High Cost of Eating
Ben B. Seligman — July 1967

Forbidden Foods
Erich Isaac — January 1966

Bon Appétit!