HOW NEW YORK TALKS SUSTAINABILITY WHILE THROWING DINNER IN THE TRASH
New York loves to talk sustainability like it’s a personality trait. Panels, press releases, pilot programs, glossy language about “impact” and “circular economies.” But the numbers coming out of this city tell a different story — a darker one. New York throws out over a million tons of edible food every year while more than a million New Yorkers struggle to eat. That gap isn’t an accident. It’s the outcome of a system built to sound innovative instead of actually feeding people.
The city keeps announcing solutions while the waste stream keeps proving the opposite. Composting programs burn money without changing behavior. Nonprofits absorb hundreds of millions in funding without shifting the reality on the ground. Restaurants are blamed. Residents are instructed. Leadership keeps performing progress.
And here’s where it gets messy…
CHRISTMAS STORIES
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
New York ruined the mocktail the second it realized it could charge cocktail money without giving you the cocktail. That’s the whole scam. And it’s a good one.
The NA movement started with purpose. People wanted to cut back, stay sharp, avoid the next-day brain fog. Great. Then some bright soul figured out they could squeeze sixteen dollars out of a glass of muddled berries and melted ice, hit it with a sprig of thyme, and call it “mindful mixology.” Ever since, every neighborhood from Nolita to Park Slope turned into a laboratory for liquid regret.
—Leila Molitor.
THE CHEF BRINGING FRIED LASAGNA TO NYC’S STREETS AND MARKETS
Before Fried Lasagna Mama became a fixture at some of the biggest markets in NYC, it began with a clear intention. When she was accepted into Johnson & Wales University for Culinary Arts, she already knew the plan: build her own food business, no shortcuts, no gimmicks. After graduating, she moved through the grind every independent chef faces—testing, failing, adjusting, and staying committed to creating something no one else in the city was offering.
That breakthrough arrived in 2017. She stumbled across a YouTube video of two women reviewing Olive Garden’s fried lasagna appetizer. She had never seen lasagna fried before, but curiosity pushed her straight into experimentation. She refined the idea, added her own spin, created new flavors, and shared them with everyone around her. The response made one thing clear: she had a hit.
—Leila Molitor.
I don’t do meal plans. I don’t map out my week around food. I move through this city, letting the cravings, the moods, the weather, and the MTA decide where I end up. Some days I score big. Some days I regret everything. And every week I write it all down so you know exactly where New York fed me and where New York tried me.
REAL THINGS
Five ways to get through December in New York without losing your mind or your dignity:
Stop going to “holiday parties” you don’t actually like. If you wouldn’t text these people in July, you don’t need to fake-laugh with them in December.
Eat something green at least once this week. And no, the cilantro on your taco isn’t a vegetable. Try harder.
Tip your service workers like you respect the ecosystem. They’re the ones keeping the city upright while everyone else is out here melting down.
Gift smaller. Nobody remembers your presents anyway. People remember a great bowl of noodles. They forget your $48 soy candle before New Year’s.
Rest before your immune system files a lawsuit. December humbles everyone. Close your eyes before the city does it for you.
If you know, you know. If you don’t, that’s on you.
