Where have all the air potatoes gone?

Dill pickle pizza, Cronk’s comeback, and more.
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Gastro Obscura

India’s Missing Vegetables

During quarantine, food designer Akash Muralidharan tracked down mystery produce from his grandmother’s popular cookbook. As he read about vegetables he didn’t recognize (such as “air potato” and “clove bean”), he wondered: “If they are not in my kitchen, where are they?”

Craft brewers are widely obsessed with the Salted Nut Roll. While the Depression-era candy from Minnesota is little-known outside the Midwest, it has both literally and figuratively fueled the modern craft beer industry in the United States.

Dill pickle pizza sent pizza fans into a frenzy when Rhino’s Pizzeria in Rochester, New York, debuted the creation in 2018. It began unassumingly, with a base of white garlic sauce and mozzarella, but the sliced pickles and dill weed divided the internet. Today, you can order Rhino’s signature sauce and make your own dill pickle pizza at home.

Fountain of Eternal Chili

Just 45 miles north of Cheyenne, Wyoming, sits Chugwater. The small town is notorious for its annual chili cook-off held in June, but it’s also home to Wyoming’s oldest soda fountain. In addition to their extensive milkshake selection, Chugwater Soda Fountain makes Chugwater’s legendary chili year-round.

Cronk's Comeback

A viral tweet has revived a boozy root beer called Cronk. Originally created around 1840, Cronk capitalized on the supposed benefits of sarsaparilla, a woody plant whose root reportedly cured much, if not all. Twitter users’ rallying cry around the forgotten beverage has summoned a brewery to produce a commercial version of the drink.

Save Our Stone Fruit

Silicon Valley was once orchards as far as the eye could see. The campuses of Google, Facebook, and other businesses have pushed most fruit growers out, but some are left. Today, one local agricultural lawyer is responsible for roughly half of the country’s stone fruit collection.

Come for the fish sundae (an ice cream parfait featuring seared slices of tuna, a dash of salt, and slivers of raw garlic) at this whimsical eatery in Nankoku, Japan. Stick around for the collection of Studio Ghibli Cat Buses—particularly the pink-and-purple version parked near the entrance.

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