TimesTalks D.C.: Food is what's going to save America

Last Thursday, The New York Times hosted a most interesting and informative "TimesTalks D.C." roundtable on the future of restaurants, the plight of undocumented workers in the food industry and gender equity in the workplace at George Washington University. The "Future of Restaurants" panelists included James Beard Foundation Award-winners José Andrés (Spanish-American chef and Washington, D.C. restaurateur, often credited for bringing the small plates dining concept "tapas" to America), Danny Meyer (CEO of the Union Square Hospitality Group and founder of the popular Shake Shack casual dining cafes), and Aaron Silverman (owner/chef at Rose's Luxury in Washington, D.C.). The multi-Michelin starred panel was moderated by Kim Severson, national food correspondent for The New York Times.

During the frank and lively 80-minute discussion, which was aired live on Facebook.com/nytimes, Severson started by asking each panelist if they have been practicing their "active male listening" in light of recent stories pertaining to sexual harassment in the workplace, including the restaurant industry.

"We are only as good as the people we have around us ... and we need to be calling out when we see something that is not right," said Andrés, the father of three daughters, about the #MeToo movement happening now in every industry, not just the field of food. "It's about humanity. ... I don't want to have any regrets that I didn't do the right thing."

Meyer, whose New York City-based Union Square Hospitality Group includes Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and Shake Shack concepts, spoke about the future opening of his first Union Square Cafe outside of New York at the Capitol Crossing complex in Mount Vernon triangle. "The thing that I'm most excited about is starting with the great restaurant community (in D.C.)," he said, which also includes creating safe spaces and promoting diversity. "I think we have an amazing moment to talk about who we want to be going forward right now."

Silverman, whose Little Pearl coffee shop and wine bar evolved out of a daytime cafe (Pineapple and Pearls) he used to operate, responded to a question about the elevation of "ethnic" foods: "I think there is a lot of food that isn't 'American' or French or Spanish that is already being elevated. It's totally happening and I hope to see more of it.

"It feels good to be able to say yes to people. We're just trying to make people happy."

Andrés, whose humanitarian relief effort has resulted in more than 3.2 million meals for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, recently wrote a Washington Post op-ed about immigration reform. He said: "America is about pragmatism. We should be creating smart visas to give opportunities for those people to come in, work, get paid, and go back to their communities."

Later, Andrés summed up the evening's wide-ranging discussion perfectly – and it took just one just one sentence to do it. He said: "At the end of the day, food is what's going to save America."

Photo: © Michael Dickens, 2018.