Jenn Ladd

Six weeks in, Colin Lawrence Ladd-Matthews has graduated from newborn clothes, charmed his older sister, and put away more bottles than we can count. Still practicing on smiles and sleep but we’ll get there.

Ten years ago tonight, at @ladd_lauren ’s birthday party, I met Andy and my life clicked into place. There are so many alternate universes String Theory Jenn could have traveled to — farming in Vermont, kicking around Europe, going to law school — but I am curious about not one of them. I met my other half and I never looked back.

One-of-a-kind family trip in Ireland with mom and (some of) the sibs. Thanks to @fergiespub for getting the Ladd band together. ☘️🇮🇪

I've been super-lucky these past almost six years to have reported on stories in Philly's food scene, going places I'd never have imagined — many factory floors, my local abandoned Gilded Age mansion, a Japanese abatoir — and writing about one thing more interesting to me than the next. That's not changing, per se, but I'll be doing (hopefully only slightly) less reporting going forward as I transition back to my first love in journalism: editing. Starting today, I'm deputy food editor at @phillyinquirer , backing up our new food editor and meatball (and tiramisu) queen, the wonderful @margareteby . Thanks to departing food ed @mattbuchanan for the vote of confidence and so many good edits, and thanks to so many great Inquirer colleagues for their endless support, guidance, and camaraderie. Turns out I don't have too many non-family/work-related photos of myself in recent years, so here's one of me introducing Emma to Kim's BBQ in Olney.

It’s difficult to find the focus and strength to string a sentence together right now, let alone write these words: My dad died on Friday, after 74 years on this earth. In his last week, he was surrounded by his wife, his six kids, 10 grandchildren, and many people — nieces, nephews, colleagues, and friends — who loved him and came to say goodbye. He leaves behind an indelible mark on those he loved and guided through tough times. My dad taught me how to tell a good story. He taught me what’s worth caring about. He coached me through breakups and bad jobs. He rescued me and my sibs whenever we needed it. He let us know he loved us all the time. He showed us how to pursue our dreams, something he did without fail during his best years: becoming a trial attorney, having a big family, driving cross-country and back with said enormous family, getting his pilot’s license, buying a house on the lake, and traveling to Alaska and Italy with his sweetie. Parkinson’s made these last years of his life really hard. Amazingly, he never complained (a trait he definitely did not pass on to his kids). He experienced all the love he could, right up until he couldn’t. I will miss him every day.

This story won't be for everyone, but! I love a good deep dive, where I get to learn how something's made, how it's sold, and all the little details that go into it. I've written deep dives on breakfast tacos, soft-serve ice cream, in-house delivery, and more. But this summer, hot dogs were calling, and boy did they send me on a ride. So me, @laurenschmoren and @phillyrover went to @royaltavern to see how the hot dogs get made. From there, I talked to Owen Kamihira @elcaminophilly (who makes the French hot dog for @lecaveaubar ), who sent me to the OG Jimmy John's, in West Chester. I also got to see the smokehouse at @riekersprimemeats , where they make traditional German wieners every other day, along with a slew of other sausages. And I finally got to @ortliebsphilly , the NoLibs bar/venue and former jazz club (still there on Mondays) that is restyling itself as Philly's hot dog bar. Philly's not a hot dog town, but there are longtime dedicated purveyors, including @luckyslastchance , and @foxandsonphilly , @radinsdelicatessen , as well as newer entries like @littlehotdogwagon and @atruckcalled_sandoz (who sells a hot dog on @eemilywilsonn 's soft pretzels). Read the story at the link in my bio to learn (more than) everything you ever wanted to know about hot dogs, and go get a dog!

Park hopping on the 4th of July

I'm terrible at maintaining this page, but these @tigeristyger photos of @sorynez 's fresh masa and tortillas—now available by the kilo and in 12-pack—are too good to not post. Learn more about how the masa gets made, and watch a great @laurenschmoren video, at the link in my bio.

I talk to a lot of people as a reporter. Few sources left me feeling as energized, positive, and downright happy as Charisse McGill of @lokalartisanfoods . I only interviewed her twice, but she made SUCH an impression, and I followed her story and successes, often reported by @phillyinsider , with delight. Even after writing the story, I still cannot fathom that I was tasked with reporting on her death this week — words that still feel wrong to write. (You can read about her life at the link in my bio.) To Charisse's family and friends, I can't imagine the void you're left with. I'm so deeply sorry. To anyone who, like me, only had brief encounters with her, please be sure to go out and buy some French Toast Bites, spice, beer, or coffee soon to support Charisse's legacy and business, which will be carried on by her daughter, Madison. It's the minimum we can do to honor a truly inspiring soul.

If you're a meat-eater, you've probably heard of wagyu, and maybe you've had it. The high-end beef has become increasingly popular, to the point where Acme sells ground wagyu by the blister pack. But if you know what actual Wagyu (with a capital W) is, you know that the stuff in the Acme is not genuine — for one thing, real Wagyu will never run as low as $8.99/pound — and neither is a lot of the beef marketed as wagyu. Real Wagyu is so richly marbled, it looks pink. That exceptional intramuscular fat extends through the entire cow, meaning even the leanest cuts cook through in seconds. Which makes the premise of Philly-based education/consulting business @the.wagyu.sommelier so interesting: It's bringing secondary and tertiary cuts of true Japanese Wagyu to the Philly area (and to the U.S.) for the first time. Think rump heart, chuck eye, whole packer brisket, eye round, shank, and fat. Because they're not prime cuts, they'll sell for closer to top-quality USDA beef (less than half of what prime cuts of A5 Wagyu go for), but they'll have all the best characteristics of Wagyu. Wagyu Sommelier, led by Tokyo native/Philly transplant Nan Sato, has also collaborated with @drexelfhm to bring Japanese butchers stateside and to teach a course on Wagyu this fall. Sato's mission: to show Americans how diverse Wagyu is — varying from farm to farm — while also making the real thing more accessible to restaurants (and not just steakhouses and Japanese restaurants). There's a lot more to this story, including a history of how real Wagyu got co-opted. Read about it in the link in my bio. Heads-up, this is paywalled! Thanks to @monicaherndon for photos 1, 2, and 5. FYI: Photo 1 shows USDA chuck roll vs. Wagyu chuck roll.

Last week I tried to upend my circadian rhythm for a really good reason: hanging out in Atlantic City's 24/7 bars. Few cities have such bars, especially post-pandemic; Atlantic City has five. Reader, let me tell you, it was an odyssey. Read the story (subscriber-only, sorry) at the link in my bio. Many thanks to @theirishpubatlanticcity and @tonysbaltimoregrill for hosting me and @joe_lamb , and revealing what a fun, interesting town Atlantic City is. This is the first summer I've spent time there, but I am 100% certain I'll be back again and again.

My latest story is a deep dive on lima beans and the behind-the-scenes efforts that go into making a plant popular. It's a complicated web that involves scientists, farmers, chefs, seed companies, and everyday gardeners and home cooks. Lima beans are a polarizing legume, but they're good for you, good for soil quality, and thought to be climate-resilient — traits that make them a promising crop for the future. But if no one wants them, farmers won't grow them. A lot of people are working on turning that around, on making the lima bean trendy. USDA scientist and Bucks County native @dohlefrijole and collaborators at several academic centers are working on a four-year project aimed at building better lima beans. They're tasked with studying 700 lima bean accessions (seed samples) and figuring out which ones are the most appealing for farmers and eaters alike. They're working together with Philly-area players like @plowsharefarms , @peopleskitchenphilly , and @scottmorganics , who have several lima bean varietals growing in their fields this summer. While the farmers help determine which varieties grow best, it's up to Philly chefs and shoppers to help decide which of those *taste* best when the harvest comes around. (Try some limas at the @geecheegirlcafe Plowshare dinner in September!) That input helps inform the scientists' work. If this strikes you as a fool's errand ("Lima beans, popular? Please."), consider the Brussels sprout: Sprouts had a well-deserved bad reputation for decades. It wasn't until after 1998 — when a scientist identified the compounds that made them bitter — that seed companies began systematically breeding out the bitterness. That made them more palatable, but chefs and restaurants made them a craze: The more Brussels sprouts appeared on menus, the more farmers grew them. This is the kind of wonky story I love doing but way less people wind up reading than, say, a story about Wawa pizza. Thanks to @margareteby for letting me run with it. Read it at the link in my bio.