Chipotle Covers Its Paper Cups, Bags with Prose

Chipotle Mexican Grill, otherwise known as just "Chipotle," is the only fast-food restaurant that I still go to these days. No longer owned by McDonald's, which divested itself of the chain in 2006, Chipotle consistently serves tasty tacos and burritos that are made with fresh, organic ingredients and prepared in-house.
 

via http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Eating in at Chipotle, I'm usually munching on a black bean taco as pretty damn decent music plays in the background. (On more than one occasion, I've held up my smartphone to identify a song that I later downloaded.) I have yet to try the tofu-filled tacos and burritos, which were rolled out nationwide last year with much fanfare. But judging by the publicity photos, they look delicious.

Chipotle's newest initiative involves its food containers: paper cups and carryout bags are now covered with literature written by well-known authors. Called the "Cultivating Thought" author series, the initiative was spearheaded by Jonathan Safran Foer, the successful novelist behind Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. His nonfiction work Eating Animals, which smartly argues the case for vegetarianism using the author's personal transition to this dietary change to propel the narrative, is among my favorite books.

According to an interview in Vanity Fair, Foer "was sitting at a Chipotle one day, when he realized that he had nothing to do while noshing on his burrito. He had neglected to bring a book or magazine, and he didn't yet own a smartphone. Suddenly, the Eating Animals author (and vegetarian) had an idea: What if there was something truly good to read on this Chipotle cup? Or the bag?" He contacted the CEO of Chipotle, Steve Ells, sharing his idea. Ells was open to it.

Making their debut last week, the new Chipotle cups (and bags) feature prose by Foer, Toni Morrison, Malcolm Gladwell, Bill Hader, Judd Apatow, Michael Lewis, Sarah Silverman, George Saunders, and other big names in the worlds of literature and entertainment. Each piece of prose was written to be read in two minutes or less. Speaking about the initiative on the Cultivating Thought website, Foer said, "We live in a world of fewer bookstores, and fewer libraries, and more and more junk asking for our attention. I couldn't be happier to be a part of a program that brings thoughtful texts, for free, to people with a few minutes to sit and think."

I think it's an inspired approach. If it gets more people to read, and introduces people to new authors, then all the better.

To read more about this newest initiative from Chipotle, go HERE and HERE.

100 Notable New York Writers Who Are Still Living

New York City has long been recognized as an epicenter of the literary world. Home to numerous book publishers and the persons they attract - authors and editors, copy editors and proofreaders, book designers and booksellers, agents and publicists - New York is a veritable hotbed of big shots and up-and-comers in the book business. Flavorwire profiled those comprising the city's literati in its list of "New York's 100 Most Important Living Writers."

Zadie Smith

One of the reasons that drove Flavorwire to put this list together - aside from stirring up a bit of debate, I imagine - was a recent announcement made by Philip Roth. The much-lauded writer of Goodbye, Columbus, Portnoy's Complaint, Sabbath's Theater, American Pastoral, Everyman, and other impactful books stated in October 2012 that he was going to retire after more than 50 years of producing works of literature. News of Roth's retirement led Flavorwire to "look at some of New York City's most important writers, from Roth's contemporaries to his possible successors...taking into consideration their legacy, their publishing history, and their cultural relevance across the board."

Junot Diaz

Among those who Flavorwire listed in its "New York's 100 Most Important Living Writers" article are Junot Diaz, Zadie Smith, Chuck Klosterman, Patti Smith, Pete Hamill, Walter Mosley, Jonathan Safran Foer, Joan Didion, Gary Shteyngart, Paul Auster, and more. Despite some notable names being absent (I would have included Toni Morrison and Arthur Nersesian), the list is an impressive who's who of writers who are either from New York City or live in one of its five boroughs (although I'm guessing that most live in Manhattan or Brooklyn).

Chuck Klosterman

Besides presenting brief profiles of these writers, Flavorwire also interviewed some, asking questions including "How do you feel about Philip Roth retiring?", "Who is your favorite emerging New York writer?", and "What's next for you?" Their answers are touching, unexpected, and quite entertaining. (One of my favorite answers is Sam Lipsyte's response to the question, "How do you feel about Philip Roth retiring?" He said, "I didn't know you could." Writing, like any other form of creative expression, is an impulse that never stops nagging at you and therefore must be heeded. If Roth can turn that valve off, then good on him.)

To see everyone who made Flavorwire's list of "New York's 100 Most Important Living Writers," go to THIS LINK.

* All of the above photographs are from the Flavorwire article.