Tim Carman

U.K.-based Caffè Nero wins auction to buy Compass Coffee The multinational coffee company will continue to operate 17 D.C.-area cafes under the Compass brand.

Compass Coffee is expected to have a new owner following Thursday’s bankruptcy auction.

Gift link: wapo.st/3OBaF69

Papa Johns is taking on Pizza Hut (and Domino’s) pan pizza. We tried all 3. Papa Johns just debuted a pan crust pizza, but how does it stack up against Pizza Hut and Domino’s?

Papa Johns has introduced a new pan pizza. Emily Heil and I did a taste test to see how it compares to the pan offerings at two other chains, including the ur-pie at Pizza Hut.

Gift link: wapo.st/4aAJBLT

Compass Coffee had Starbucks-size ambitions. Here’s how it unraveled. The homegrown D.C. coffee chain’s push to expand its way to profitability ended in a January bankruptcy filing.

When it opened more than a decade ago, Compass Coffee was one of DC’s feel-good business stories. Now the company’s in bankruptcy. I plotted out how it went from one to the other.

Gift link: wapo.st/3MihGbs

Actually, the Washington Post Layoffs Were a Bigger Bloodbath Than You Thought - Washingtonian The layoffs announced last week at the Washington Post were disfiguring to the esteemed news organization, with whole sections and departments—sports, books, staff photography—wiped away, and devastat...

As @postguild.bsky.social assesses the damage from last week’s layoffs, it turns out between 44% and 47.5% of the newsroom has been axed. It “may have been the biggest one-day wipeout of journalists in a generation.” washingtonian.com/2026/02/09/a...

My sweet dog doesn’t believe in reading, just snuggles.

Column | GLP-1 drugs might do what food policy can’t — change the way we eat The desire for smaller portions and fewer junk foods is affecting what the food industry is selling us.

Our food environment is making us fat and sick.

But RFK Jr.'s ideas about fixing it are mostly either bad (more beef tallow!) or ineffective (eliminate food dyes!).

But it doesn't matter. Ozempic can do what regulations can't: change our food supply.

(gift link)
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A screenshot of The Washington Post homepage featuring two articles. The first is headlined: ICE at Olympics angers Milan mayor, who says agency’s image is ‘terrible.’ The second is titled: Clamor is growing in Europe to boycott North American World Cup.

Oh look. This package near the top of The Washington Post homepage is a collaboration between International and Sports (and ties directly to the U.S. political moment), two desks we hear are about to be obliterated by what could be some of the worst layoffs in the history of the paper.

Shootings in Minneapolis underscore how Kristi Noem has transformed DHS The agency was founded after Sept. 11 to prevent foreign terrorist attacks. Now it is almost exclusively focused on apprehending undocumented immigrants.

Homeland Security’s sweeping deportation campaign marks a sharp break from the agency’s post-9/11 mission.

“DHS has now become an immigration department, and that’s not what it was founded for,” said a former senior DHS official.

Trump threatens Insurrection Act >>

The Washington Post Guild is alarmed and appalled by federal law enforcement’s search and seizure of reporter Hannah Natanson’s property and personal devices. Hannah is a valued member of our union whose work covering the federal workforce has been essential (1/3)

Opinion | Kristi Noem and DHS do not deserve the benefit of the doubt Philip Bump: The Department of Homeland Security and its leader have an honesty problem — and the numbers prove it.

Yesterday I documented how DHS lies all the time and suggested you not trust their claims, in case you did.

Compass Coffee files for bankruptcy amid lawsuits, lagging downtown sales The Washington-based chain plans to close 11 of its more than 20 cafes around the region amid lagging sales and lawsuits.

This news had been expected for a few weeks now. The future of Compass is quite uncertain after its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Gift link: wapo.st/3YnvZxQ

“RNC Chairman Joe Gruters described being shocked by Trump’s eating habits when they traveled together during the campaign. While flying to a campaign event, according to Gruters, Trump consumed french fries, a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburger, a Big Mac and a Filet-O-Fish.”

Good read on the existential challenges facing local restaurants.

The danger with enacting a pileup of rules on our local businesses is that while each requirement may be well-intentioned, the cumulative effect suffocates the business.

‘One thing after another’: 2025 was a brutal year for D.C. restaurants A battered Washington restaurant industry is bracing for continued challenges in 2026.

And next year is not looking so good either.
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Column | Anthony Bourdain’s boeuf bourguignon offers the gift of time and patience The slow-simmered stew gave me a chance to reflect on the things that hide under a mountain of distractions.

For the holidays, I gave myself the gift of boredom. And Tony Bourdain’s stew.

Gift link: wapo.st/3L7Srrx

A $25 minimum wage for D.C.? It might be on November’s ballot. D.C. lawmakers have overturned the will of voters twice over ending the tipped minimum wage. Labor advocates are now aiming higher.

Labor advocates are pushing for a $25 minimum wage in DC, as an antidote to the affordability crisis. It comes after D.C. Council twice overturned the will of voters over tipped minimum wage. The restaurant industry is expected to present fierce opposition to the new initiative. wapo.st/4aBXwmk

D.C. Council votes to change streatery rules after restaurant pushback Some restaurateurs have said they can’t afford to comply with the city’s new program.

Some news today on the D.C. streateries front. wapo.st/44xvDrO

Great culture can save lives. Literally.

Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes.com about Tom Stoppard

After surviving Hiroshima, she has a message for Trump As the president weighs resuming testing of nuclear weapons for the first time in decades, Koko Kondo wants to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.

A remarkable story about a Hiroshima survivor www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Effects of carbohydrate-restricted diets and macronutrient replacements on cardiovascular health and body composition in adults: a meta-analysis of randomized trials Carbohydrate-restricted diets (CRDs) are widely promoted for improving cardiovascular and body composition outcomes, yet evidence remains mixed across…

Make it stop!

Endless papers pitting low-carb, low-fat, keto, Mediterranean, whatever diets against each other when ALL the differences are just a few pounds.

It doesn't matter. No diet ever tested works for long-term, substantial weight loss.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Column | 20 years after Chris Whitley died, I can’t shake his earthy, gutting songs After a brief flirtation with the mainstream, Houston’s Chris Whitley carved one of rock’s more fascinating paths. It’s time to rediscover him.

My colleague @timcarman.bsky.social has a beautiful essay on the music of Chris Whitley, who died 20 years ago www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Review | Chili’s and Shake Shack are coming for the Big Mac. Which burger stacks up? As McDonald’s struggles with value-seeking diners, rivals are taking aim at the chain’s flagship burger.

Should a Big Mac knockoff taste like the real thing? Or just steal the architecture of the famous burger? Emily Heil and I have a fun back and forth on the topic.

wapo.st/3JOGab2

After five years, D.C. streateries hit with higher costs and more rules The city is introducing a plan that would charge restaurants for using public space, in addition to other requirements.

Numerous restaurant owners say the District’s new guidelines and fee structure will force them to close their streateries. Some Washingtonians won’t miss them.
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Column | Meet The Washington Post’s new food critic Elazar Sontag is The Post’s next food critic — and he won’t be anonymous.

I've known Elazar for a couple of years now. He's an exceptional human being and a wonderful food critic. You're in good hands, D.C. www.washingtonpost.com/food/2025/11...

Review | Three celebrated restaurateurs dish about life behind the scenes Memoirs by Keith McNally, Drew Nieporent and Andy Shallal give readers an inside look at the restaurants they built — Balthazar, Nobu, and Busboys and Poets.

Three restaurateurs, three memoirs, three very different perspectives on what makes a successful life, in and out of dining rooms.

wapo.st/47wCPX5

You’re the best, Tamar.

Review | Arby’s steak nuggets may be as close to real barbecue as fast food gets These protein-packed nuggets are better than they look.

"Tim Carman ALMOST makes me want to go to Arby's," my husband says to me this morning.

This is why. Terrific piece. @timcarman.bsky.social writes so well about food..
www.washingtonpost.com/food/2025/10...

Review | Arby’s steak nuggets may be as close to real barbecue as fast food gets These protein-packed nuggets are better than they look.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled scrolling for this lark of a review on Arby's new steak nuggets.
wapo.st/3WPNbLL

Taqueria La Placita in Hyattsville/Riverdale has an exceptional menu of tacos stuffed with offal, including head meat. taquerialaplacitamd.com/product-cate...