April 16, 2022

Title: SLOW FOOD

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

WISCONSIN CHEESE (17A: Product from America's Dairyland)

PLANTAIN CHIPS (27A: Potassium-rich snack)

PORK LOIN CHOPS (55A: Tonkatsu ingredient)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is a FOOD that contains the word INCH. 

Things I learned:

• THAI (33A: Patty Tavatanakit's nationality) Patty Tavatanakit is a professional golfer. She has been competing on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour since 2020. In 2021, she was named the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year for the LPGA Tour. Patty Tavatanakit was born in Bangkok, THAIland.
• ELLE (44A: "(debatable)" panelist Duncan) ELLE Duncan is a sports journalist for ESPN, and one of the panelists for the ESPN digital series, (debatable). Accessible on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and the ESPN app, (debatable) airs daily and panelists discuss topics from around the sport world.
• PORK LOIN CHOPS (55A: Tonkatsu ingredient) Tonkatsu is PORK LOIN CHOPS that have been breaded and fried.
• EVIL (68A: Like Dr. Facilier or Shan Yu) Dr. Facilier, also known as the Shadow Man, is the EVIL villain in the 2009 animated movie, The Princess and the Frog. Shan Yu is a Hun chieftain, and the EVIL villain in the 1998 animated movie, Mulan. 
• ELSA (3D: Comedian Majimbo) ELSA Majimbo is a comedian whose social media monologues went viral in early 2021. She was born in Nairobi, Kenya.
• LYNN (8D: "Your Sister's Sister" director Shelton) Your Sister's Sister is a 2011 movie written and directed by Lynn Shelton. The movie is the story of a man (Mark Duplass) grieving the death of his brother, and his relationship with his brother's ex-girlfriend (Emily Blunt) and her sister (Rosemarie DeWitt). LYNN Shelton died in 2020 of acute myeloid leukemia, at the age of 54. 
• LOVE (57D: Tanabata sentiment) Tanabata, also known as Star Festival is a Japanese festival celebrating the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, who according to legend, are LOVErs that are only allowed to meet once a year.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ETSY (15A: Website with a seller strike in 2022) This weeklong strike of ETSY sellers is happening now, as a matter of fact. Many ETSY artists closed their shops April 11-18 to protest increased transaction fees. 
• SEALS (38A: Sea creatures with a "monk" variety) Monk SEALS are the only earless SEALS found in tropical climates. Species of monk SEALS are found near Hawaii and in the Mediterranean. Monk SEALS are in danger of extinction as a result of overhunting. 
• REESE (51A: "Detransition, Baby" character) As I have previously written, Detransition, Baby is a book by Torrey Peters. REESE is the protagonist of the novel, a trans woman who has always longed to be a mother.
• ATE AT HOME (10D: Didn't go out for food) A nice bonus answer for a puzzle titled SLOW FOOD.
• OCEAN (54D: Poet Vuong) OCEAN Vuong is a poet, essayist, and novelist. His debut novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, has been a clue in a previous puzzle. OCEAN Vuong is also a contributor to the Future Library Project, a fascinating experiment (that I have previously written about in more detail) that has authors writing words that will not be read until 2114. 

Geography review:

• WISCONSIN CHEESE (17A: Product from America's Dairyland) WISCONSIN is one of the top states in terms of dairy production; only the state of California produces more milk. Particularly known for its WISCONSIN CHEESE, the state's nickname and slogan is America's Dairyland.
• EURO (66A: Coin in Madrid or Marseille) Both Madrid, Spain and Marseille, France are located in Europe and use the EURO as currency.
• ASIA (7D: Kuala Lumpur's continent) Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia, a country in Southeast ASIA.
• AMES (13D: City north of Des Moines) AMES, Iowa is located about 35 miles north of the state's capital, Des Moines. AMES is the home of Iowa State University, whose mascot is the cyclone.
• ISLAM (29D: Majority religion in Somalia) Somalia is a country located on the Horn of Africa, with coastline along the Indian Ocean. ISLAM is the religion of 99.8% of the population of Somalia.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I wrote about puzzles running on consecutive days with related titles although the puzzles themselves are unrelated. This is a fun subtle thing the USA Today puzzle does that I enjoy. A couple of astute solvers pointed out a fun sequence that occurred this week Monday through Friday. All this week we've had letter-related themes: INNER P'S (Monday), E-SPORTS (Tuesday), A-LISTERS (Wednesday), MIDDLE C'S (Thursday), and TRIPLE H (Friday). The letters in the titles spell out the word PEACH. Well, that's fun! And then I opened today's puzzle and saw the title SLOW FOOD. HAH! The perfect title to follow spelling out the word PEACH over the course of a week. I wondered if all of the constructors were in on this, but at least two of them have confirmed they had no idea. Just a little something extra...an Easter egg, so to speak. Thanks for keeping us on our toes, Erik! 

Today's puzzle was enjoyable on its own, too, of course. Fun to see the food items slowly appear INCH by INCH. My favorite clue today was for MESSY (70A: Like some bedrooms and buns). This puzzle was a delightful way to begin my Saturday.