Tim Carman

Food scribbler, The Washington Post. Always in search of something tasty. Loves: coffee, BBQ, tacos, beagles & tips: [email protected].

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

When it opened more than a decade ago, Compass Coffee was one of DC’s feel-good business stories. Now the company’s in bankruptcy. I plotted out how it went from one to the other.

Gift link: https://t.co/JqGAKEfTm4

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

Curious if those in the business of feeding people agree with Dina Daniel from Fava Pot: Will Sysco’s planned purchase of Restaurant Depot lead to higher prices at the discount wholesaler?

Gift link: https://t.co/xQaQA94l6K

[Katelyn Caralle @Katelyn_Caralle]

Bystanders (including young children) get cornered as teens break out into a violent altercation at the Navy Yard Chipotle in SE Washington, DC.

[Drew Harwell @drewharwell]

This tweet, for a @RossBarkan story that copied my lede and reporting, now has more than 10x the views of the original. Ross hasn't apologized or acknowledged it; maybe he's just waiting for me to shut up. Without any explanation, I'm left to wonder how many times he's done this

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

Here is the full statement from WCK:
https://t.co/atGzHn6JRG

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

.@WCKitchen is scaling back operations in Gaza to what it is calling "pre-ceasefire levels" of aid. My sources in Gaza say the cutback means the loss of more than 400 Palestinian jobs. One source DM'd me to say that she and her family of seven relied solely on WCK to eat.

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

The news has not been received well in Gaza. "There is widespread anger and frustration among displaced people and residents after World Central Kitchen halted food distribution in some areas of the Nuseirat refugee camp," said a Facebook user. (The text was translated by AI.)

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

The owner of Martin's Tavern had no idea his historic pub would be featured on SNL this weekend. He was sound asleep by the time the skit aired.
Gift link: https://t.co/erJHeGrLrP

[Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle]

NEWS: The restaurant industry has filed suit in D.C. Superior Court to stop a proposed ballot initiative that, if passed, would increase the minimum wage in the city to to $25 an hour by 2029 and phase out the tipped wage by 2031. Procedural and constitutional concerns cited.

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

The original Ben’s Chili Bowl returns to action in less than two weeks, but the Ali family is keeping many of the details under wraps. They have a good reason.

Gift link: https://t.co/eAfDfXCmUu

[Mohamad El Chamaa @MohamdEch]

“The late Tanios Abi-Najm fled a civil war in Lebanon at age 44. He made a new life for himself & his family in the DC area, where he spread Lebanese food and culture far beyond his native land. This is his story & the story of Lebanese Taverna.”@timcarman
https://t.co/iSIX3iyv8v

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

The late Tanios “Tony” Abi-Najm fled a civil war in Lebanon at age 44. He made a new life for himself and his family in the DC area, where he spread Lebanese food and culture far beyond his native land. This is his story and the story of Lebanese Taverna.

https://t.co/AlcoG0zWWH

[The Atlantic @TheAtlantic]

Thirteen thousand miles. Infinite contenders. One beautiful loaf. @caityweaver set out on a monthslong quest to find the best free restaurant bread in America. Here’s her answer: https://t.co/cKM52CSAqB

[The Sting @TheStingisBack]

All the President’s Men turns 50 today.

This famous “six‑minute shot” is a masterclass in phone acting and pure technical nerve.

Director Alan J. Pakula and cinematographer Gordon Willis pull off a single, unbroken slow zoom: from a wide, humming newsroom to a tight close-up on Redford. No cuts. No safety net. Tension builds in real time.

Redford carries it with typical quiet confidence. Six minutes of note-taking and talking into a phone, no flashy “Oscar clip.” He even flubs a name (“McGregor” for “Dahlberg”), corrects himself naturally, and Pakula keeps it because it feels authentic.

The background is part of the story. As Woodward hones in on his phone call, everyone behind him huddles around a TV watching Senator Tom Eagleton resign. The contrast is deliberate: they chase the “obvious” headline, while the camera drifts past them to Woodward, and the real story.

To hold Redford and the busy background in focus early on, they used a split‑diopter lens, then had to ease it out as the camera moves in. A technical tightrope. The timing of both actor and cinematographer is spot on.

As Woodward closes in on the truth, the world literally falls away: the newsroom blurs, the noise fades, and we lock into his obsession. It’s one of cinema’s great moments: Redford doing almost nothing—and somehow everything at the same time.

What makes this shot brilliant is the contrast it carves between Redford and the newsroom around him. The visual language does the talking: he’s locked in, disciplined, driven, all focus and fire. He stands apart because the work matters more than anything else.

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

I spent a lovely afternoon going through the late food writer Marian Burros' home office. I read through her papers, sifted through her cookbooks, and examined her photos, all of which gave me an even deeper appreciation of this legend.

Gift link: https://t.co/UfjtkmI2Ki

[Jeremy Barr @jeremymbarr]

Just in: CBS News execs tell employees that layoffs are happening today.

"These are very hard choices and today is a difficult day," Bari Weiss and Tom Cibrowski say.

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

For those looking for metaphors about the future of AI and government's ability to regulate it, well, here it is...

[ABC News @ABC]

A dancing humanoid robot got a little too funky during a performance in Cupertino, California and had to be restrained by staff after knocking items off a table.

[Tim Carman @timcarman]

This is a first: I flew to an airport to eat burgers from a vending machine. I lived to tell the tale.

Gift link: https://t.co/o7Zj7sBMsF