As you recover from Thanksgiving’s indulgences, step away from the fridge. It’s better to read than eat, at least for now. This week, we bring you a menu of pieces about food of suspicious (or even illegal) origin. In “Raw Deal,” Dana Goodyear reports on a raw-milk-trafficking gang in California known as the Rawesome Three. In “Slippery Business,” Tom Mueller explores the trade in adulterated olive oil, a business so prevalent in Europe that it became the focus of an anti-fraud olive-oil task force. Sometimes the source of intrigue is drink. In “The Jefferson Bottles,” Patrick Radden Keefe investigates the mystery behind one wine collector’s flair for tracking down rare vintages—including, it was alleged, invaluable bottles from the private collection of Thomas Jefferson. (“The level of wine was ‘exceptionally high’ for such an old bottle—just half an inch below the cork—and the color ‘remarkably deep for its age.’ The wine’s value was listed as ‘inestimable.’ ”) Finally, in “The Maraschino Mogul,” Ian Frazier writes about a factory in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn hiding illicit activities in its basement. Cherries on top, and something else below. Who knew?
—David Remnick
From The New Yorker’s Archive
Dept. of Gastronomy
Raw Deal
California cracks down on an underground gourmet club.
By Dana Goodyear | April 30, 2012
Letter from Italy
Slippery Business
The trade in adulterated olive oil.
By Tom Mueller | August 13, 2007
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A Reporter at Large
The Jefferson Bottles
How could one collector find so much rare fine wine?
By Patrick Radden Keefe | September 3 & 10, 2007
Our Local Correspondents
The Maraschino Mogul
After the bees turned red, Arthur Mondella’s cherry empire revealed its secrets.
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