Objective analysis

When one of The Food Section’s newest paid subscribers first joined this newsletter’s email list, she tells me, “It was due to a suggestion from Substack while passively browsing other food newsletters…I didn’t give it another thought, as I figured I had plenty of other free newsletters coming my way.”

Her nonchalance is understandable. At last count, Substack had 541 food-themed newsletters on its leaderboard, which is where the top-performing newsletters are indexed. How could anyone be expected to distinguish Sourdough Struggles from A Quiet Noodle? (I think I made up those names, but with so many eaters and home cooks now Substacking about their culinary lives, it’s entirely possible both newsletters already exist.)