Dan Packel

Derby Day

Dan — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:07:18 +0000

I’m apparently turning into some sort of expert on the Sport of Kings. In addition to my recent essay on Luck, I’ve landed horse racing stories in The Classical, and today the Daily Beast. Just because I’m saddened and pessimistic about the fate of the sport (outside of the aura of good feeling that will likely be cultivated this afternoon) does’t mean I’m giving it up.

For the record, I like Union Rags over Gemologist. But what do I know?

Luck

Dan — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:37:15 +0000

I didn’t help with Luck’s poor ratings. My own efforts to support the doomed HBO horse racing drama suffered from the beginning because of my non-existent HBO subscription. More viewing clandestine strategies also came up short: a Comcast log-in donated by a gracious friend was shut down after I viewed the second episode, and an encounter with bit-torrent to watch the third led to a threatening email from my service provider. I’ll have to wait until the DVDs come out to watch the rest. Still, I had strong, mostly positive feelings about what I did view — though colored by that most indelible of inks: personal experience. I explored my reactions here, in an essay for the Bygone Bureau.

Burgerland

Dan — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:41:07 +0000

I recently did some reporting from our nation’s capital on the seemingly limitless demand for hamburgers inside the beltway. We’re enthusiastic about burgers in Philadelphia — enough that I could likely have filed a similar story from home. But It really seems like the District — perhaps lacking a cheesesteak or other regionally distinct item of its own (okay, perhaps the halfsmoke might count?) — has taken the madness to the next level. The comments already suggest the fatigue has yet to set in. In the end, I have to salute you, burger fanatics to the south. Keep obsessing away.

Eat, Pray, Judge

Dan — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:24:30 +0000

After many months of assiduously ignoring my responsibilities, I’m back on the religious dining beat for the NYC based web concern The Awl. Next up looks to be a visit to Queens’ Annam Brahma. I welcome suggestions for further opportunities to explore.

Big Day

Dan — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:13:20 +0000

And not because it’s the first day of the baseball season here in Philadelphia, and my Phillies came from behind to defeat the Astros in the bottom of the 9th, with me in attendance.

No, two recent pieces of writing are now available online. I got scooped by Saveur for this piece on Philadelphia’s sandwiches, for the online magazine Real Eats (registration required), but I certainly enjoyed the research. And I talk both cheese steaks and South Indian food in my review of R.W. Apple’s Far Flung and Well Fed, for Alimentum.

Coming Soon

Dan — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:53:01 +0000

I just finished reviewing the proofs for my article “Snacking with the Sons of the Soil,” forthcoming in Gastronomica in February. I’m very excited that this piece of reportage, about the Maharahstra-based, quasi-fascist political party MNS and their April 2010 food festival, will be out soon.

Heading Home

Dan — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 06:20:02 +0000

My eleven months in Mumbai are just about up. Just putting the final touches on a piece on Mumbai street food, and I’ll be back in Philadelphia in just five days!

Seafood and Sand

Dan — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 10:44:53 +0000

I’ve returned from a lovely week in lush, palm-fringed Kerala to see that the New York Times has posted a few recent pieces on Mumbai. First, my brief take on the neighborhood of Juhu, fortified by an impressive slideshow by Kuni Takahashi. And second, where to get good Goan food in the city, published a few days ago. Were I writing the piece now, I’d try to slip a word in for Highway Gomantak. Speaking of seafood, I’ve got plenty of say about the fresh fish from Kerala’s backwaters and beaches, but it will have to wait.

So long, Kingfisher

Dan — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:11:47 +0000

I’m told that my profile of Ankur Jain of Cerana Imports is now available in the September/October issue of Draft. Through Jain’s efforts, a variety of European and American craft beers are now available in India (even if exorbitant government taxes on imported alcohol make it impossible for me to drink them on a regular basis. I hope to get the PDF up here as soon as I get access to a copy of the magazine.

Books!

Dan — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 11:46:43 +0000

I’m already worrying about boxing up and shipping out the piles of books we’ve acquired over the last 8+ months. Here‘s where I got a good chunk of them.