Welcome to Open Tab, a weekly roundup of the news, gossip, and cultural stories that have lingered across our digital spaces all week long. Following our recent look into the tumultuous implosion of the lesbian bar mask mandate, we turn our attention this week to a sweeping array of shifts across the culinary and cultural landscape—ranging from the decline of the traditional dinner party to the high-tech transformations reshaping food delivery, the polarizing economics of viral artisan baking, the evolving role of restaurant criticism, and an unexpected intersection between modern medicine and mental health.
When did we collectively stop throwing dinner parties? According to recent polls highlighted by The Atlantic, rates of hosting and domestic socialization have been steadily declining for years. This trend fits into a much larger, familiar context: the ongoing loneliness epidemic characterized by the slow tightening of our social circles and the gradual dissolution of casual and intimate relationships alike. Fewer gatherings, such as the classic dinner party, offer fewer opportunities to nurture these bonds, while a scarcity of close relationships in turn makes corralling friends for an evening of home-cooked food all the more difficult.
Yet, the outlook is not entirely bleak. As younger generations navigate these social hurdles, some Gen Z groups have begun hosting intentional friend-making dinner parties in their own homes, effectively trying to be the change they wish to see in the world. Sometimes the simplest antidote to social isolation is as straightforward as baking a cake and inviting people over to share it.
Also making waves this week are a series of rapid developments across the food and tech sectors: DoorDash is unveiling a new suite of programming, the public is locked in a fierce debate over a controversial $60 loaf of rye bread, metropolitan newspaper critics are breathing new life into traditional star ratings, and psychiatrists are increasingly examining the mental health implications of GLP-1 medications.
DoorDash Leans into the AI Rat Race and Autonomous Delivery
Just last week, delivery giant DoorDash made headlines by paying out a historic $131.5 million settlement to New York City delivery workers over wage and labor issues. This week, the company shifted focus by debuting a new text-based artificial intelligence platform designed to streamline how users order groceries and restaurant meals. This new platform builds upon a recent surge in conversational AI agents, mirroring similar tools like Instinct and Meta’s Muse. Customers can currently sign up for a waiting list to test the feature in beta. When asked about the scale of the initial rollout, a DoorDash spokesperson declined to disclose specific figures, noting only that the company is encouraged by the early public interest.
Simultaneously, DoorDash announced a pilot program for autonomous delivery drones in Northern California, partnering with major restaurant chains including Chipotle and Popeyes. Naturally, the program has sparked questions about the future stability of human labor and whether automated technology will eventually replace human couriers. Addressing these concerns, a company spokesperson emphasized that the drones are intended for a very specific, limited use case involving mid-range, time-sensitive, and small-payload deliveries. According to DoorDash, the drones are meant to add capacity for a narrow slice of orders rather than siphon volume away from human Dashers.
Even with these assurances, as artificial intelligence and automation technology continue to rapidly evolve, it remains difficult to overlook the financial incentives for delivery corporations to invest heavily in drones and ground robots—technologies that will never demand wage adjustments or trigger massive nine-figure labor settlements.
I Ate the $60 Loaf of Rye So You Don’t Have to
In the world of artisan baking, immense attention has focused on Rye, a newly opened bakery by European baker Martin Auer in New York City’s trendy SoHo neighborhood. Operating for just over three weeks, the shop serves a remarkably focused menu: a massive three-pound loaf of traditional rye bread made with imported Austrian rye flour, alongside a selection of tartines. However, the overwhelming public discussion has centered almost entirely on the price tag—a staggering $60 per loaf in New York, a stark contrast to the modest 14 Euros the bread commands in Austria, where Auer operates a successful chain of bakeries.
The venture has naturally drawn a significant amount of online blowback and skepticism, with internet commentators and even rival grocery chains like Lidl publicly mocking the steep price. Defending the establishment, Martin Auer’s son, Tim, who co-manages the bakery, explained that the pricing reflects the true cost of importing specialized flour from Austria, fair labor practices, the substantial three-pound weight of the loaf, and the crushing monthly rent for a prime SoHo retail space, which for comparable storefronts easily climbs into the tens of thousands of dollars.
The younger Auer noted that the bakery frequently sells out its daily supply, though he remained opaque on exact production numbers, suggesting a range between 50 and 300 loaves per day. As for the eating experience itself, the bread delivers a dense, nutty, and relatively mild flavor profile. Whether it is objectively worth sixty American dollars is subjective, but it arrives during an economic moment where consumers are increasingly remarking that everyday items have crossed into luxury pricing territory, with goods priced accordingly to match overhead realities.
The New and Evolving Rules for Restaurant Critics
Decades ago, the archetype of the restaurant critic was defined by strict anonymity and theatrical secrecy. Figures like Mimi Sheraton famously donned wigs and disguises to avoid recognition, while legendary writers like Jonathan Gold expanded cultural horizons by unearthing small, hidden-gem eateries serving extraordinary food. In popular fiction, characters like Anton Ego from Disney’s Ratatouille cemented the caricature of the detached, intimidating food critic wielding their pen for sport.
Over the past decade, however, newspaper restaurant critics have systematically rewritten the rules of the profession. While Adam Platt of New York magazine famously dropped his anonymity back in 2013, the movement gained significant momentum when critics like Alison Cook of the Houston Chronicle unmasked themselves in 2012, followed by Jonathan Gold in 2015. Over the subsequent years, critics including Soleil Ho at the San Francisco Chronicle, Lyndsay C. Green at the Detroit Free Press, and Louisa Kung Liu Chu at the Chicago Tribune discarded the performance of anonymity upon taking up their posts. By last year, critics at major legacy publications including the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post had followed suit, signaling that restaurant criticism is an industry in constant adaptation.
This evolution extends to rating systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many prominent newspapers paused or retired their traditional starred review systems out of respect for struggling restaurants and hospitality workers facing debilitating lockdowns. Today, publications such as The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle are officially bringing back those same star ratings. In an era oversaturated by digital food and restaurant influencers, critics and editors argue that structured star ratings provide a definitive, expert-driven standard of evaluation that cuts through the noise of modern online food media.
Why Some Psychiatrists Are Prescribing GLP-1s for Mental Health
For Hilary, a 39-year-old living in California, managing lifelong depression meant cycling through a succession of conventional antidepressants that routinely left her underwhelmed. That trajectory shifted after she began taking a GLP-1 medication. Within a few months of starting the treatment, she experienced a noticeable, more positive shift in her overall outlook on life.
Hilary’s experience is part of a broader trend. A growing body of clinical evidence indicates that GLP-1 medications may help alleviate certain symptoms of depression, prompting some psychiatrists to incorporate them as a supportive tool alongside nutritional therapy for their patients. As medical research continues to advance, the intersection of metabolic medications and psychiatric care represents a fascinating new frontier in patient wellness.