Rachel Karten Has No Time for Fussy Martinis

Karten, her martini, and an ice-cream sandwich. Illustration: Adam Mazur

As a social-media advisor and author of the Hyperlink in Bio e-newsletter, Rachel Karten has spent the previous couple weeks sifting by the chaos of platforms like X (né Twitter) and Threads. Regardless of the upheaval — pushed, Karten suggests, by “wild enterprise choices and egos” — she says the expertise of utilizing them is “the identical.” Threads, for instance, is “thrilling for manufacturers, however personally I’m feeling bored by it.” The identical goes for overfussy martinis: “When it’s, like, fennel no matter, I’m simply considering, I didn’t need fennel. I wished olive juice.”

Thursday, July 6

I began my day by going to a exercise class at a spot referred to as Bünda. It has cursed vitality — there’s a quote on the wall that reads “Higher butt, higher physique” — nevertheless it’s near my condominium and has good music. I don’t actually discuss to anybody there, however there’s one teacher who realized my title. That was an enormous breakthrough.

I learn someplace that after you’re employed out it is best to eat protein inside an hour of the exercise ending. Uncertain if that’s true however abiding by the rule regardless, I received dwelling and shortly grabbed a cottage cheese from the fridge and topped it with half an avocado, flaky sea salt, floor pepper, and a little bit olive oil. I’m blissful cottage cheese is having its second. I really feel prefer it had unhealthy PR for some time. It’s all the time been scrumptious to me.

Right this moment was the primary day of Instagram’s new app, Threads, being out — very related to me since I write a e-newsletter about working in social media and consulting with manufacturers on their social methods. With different Twitter alternate options like Blue Sky and Mastodon, I didn’t even obtain them. However Threads felt too straightforward. The primary posts have been chaotic, however millennial chaotic, not Gen-Z chaotic. I talked to a reporter at The Wall Road Journal about my ideas on it — “Promising, however concern all of the silly ‘Does pineapple belong on pizza?’ questions might wreck it” — and began sending out some posts from accounts I work on.

For lunch I made a mortadella sandwich with a facet of taralli. I requested my fiancé to deliver dwelling “one thing enjoyable” from his journey to Eataly the opposite day and was happy together with his cacio e pepe taralli pickup. The sandwich additionally had mayo, mustard, sliced child dills, and lettuce.

After spending just a few hours engaged on my e-newsletter that might be going out the following morning, I referred to as it a day and made dinner. Once I noticed Farideh Sadeghin’s recipe for “Koobideh, However Smash It on Tortillas” on Instagram, I knew I needed to make it. I’m making an attempt to make extra of an effort to truly prepare dinner the recipes from creators I like as a substitute of simply scrolling previous them.

This was a riff on a viral TikTok pattern the place you make smash-burgers on a tortilla. For Farideh’s model, you combine floor beef with a bunch of spices, unfold it thinly on a flour tortilla, and prepare dinner it beef-side-down in a cast-iron skillet. The meat will get lacy edged and crispy, whereas the flour tortilla puffs up within the residual beef fats. You high it with salted yogurt, cucumbers, dill, feta, toasted walnuts, and a spritz of lime. 10/10.

Friday, July 7

I awakened and made considered one of my favourite summer season breakfasts: burst-tomato eggs. I heated oil in a pan and threw in a handful of ripe cherry tomatoes with a giant pinch of salt. I cooked them till they burst and softened. I added two eggs and scrambled them in, and threw that on a tortilla.

At midday, I acquired an e-mail from a producer at CNBC asking if I wished to go on air in roughly three hours to debate Threads. I spent the following hour avoiding responding as a result of I knew it was one thing I ought to do, however I had by no means completed reside TV earlier than and was scared. I used to be like, “Possibly if I don’t reply, then it’ll be too late, after which I received’t must do it.” Ultimately, I responded, saying sure. I can’t actually eat after I’m nervous, however I made one other sandwich and had just a few bites.

I anticipated that whenever you go on reside TV there could be a pre-call. I assumed I’d get some type of down-low with the questions they could ask, if I ought to put on headphones or not, and how much backdrop I ought to use, however I received completely no particulars, simply the place and when to go online. Once I joined the Zoom, the producer was like, “Business break’s over in three minutes, and you then’re happening.” I used to be like, “Okay.” I used to be simply in my bed room on Zoom but in addition on reside TV. It was bizarre.

I assumed the interview went nicely, and I concluded that I sounded sensible sufficient! For dinner, I used to be planning to “lower your expenses” and “prepare dinner,” however now we have been celebrating my first live-TV look, so my fiancé and I went to Yakitoriya, a small husband-and-wife-run spot on Sawtelle. I seen lots of people on Yelp complaining in regards to the guidelines being strict and the service being gradual. I often don’t abide by Yelp critiques and don’t take a look at them typically, but when I see that a spot I’ve been eager to go has a very low rating, I’m lured to it from a sociological perspective: What’s happening right here? I used to be wanting it up for menu analysis and noticed it had a three-star Yelp evaluation and was curious in regards to the negativity, however I discovered it to be completely charming and ideal. Highlights included crispy rooster pores and skin with scallions, Japanese pickles, soboro don, rooster liver skewer, and ginkgo nuts. We additionally shared a big Sapporo and Junmai sake.

Saturday, July 8

For breakfast, I made burst-tomato eggs once more. I used a regular nonstick pan. It’s dinner-only for forged iron; I don’t fuck with it within the morning.

A number of weeks again, a PR firm invited me to have lunch at an Italian restaurant on Rodeo Drive. I don’t often say sure to free PR meals. Regardless of rising up in L.A., I’ve by no means spent any time on Rodeo Drive. It’s a darkish place, and I hope to not return! Nonetheless, this restaurant had good tortellini, and I’m grateful I didn’t must pay the outrageous going fee of $52 to eat it.

I wasn’t hungry for dinner till late, because of the six-course tasting menu and wine pairing at lunch, so I ended up ordering from Goop Kitchen. It pains me to confess that Goop Kitchen (Ms. Paltrow’s ghost-kitchen empire) is nice! It actually does! However its Cobb salad is unreal. I don’t bear in mind why I first ordered it, nevertheless it’s probably the most constant, scrumptious factor in my life. Maple-glazed bacon. Level Reyes blue cheese. Pickled peppers. Tangy Dijon-mustard vin. It all the time hits the spot.

Sunday, July 9

I began the morning at Bünda. The signal exterior reads, “I received 99 issues however a peach ain’t one.”

I made burst-tomato eggs once more. I paired the scramble with the sesame model of Ella’s Flats this time. No offense to Mary of “Mary’s Gone Crackers” fame, however Ella’s Flats are soooo significantly better!

Sundays are my large meal-planning days, so I sat down and made an iPhone be aware of the whole lot I deliberate to prepare dinner in the course of the week. I’ve a roster in my head of 20 recipes that I’m simply slotting in to make, with the occasional new recipe or new cookbook that I’ll typically dabble with. This week I made white rooster chili, a giant Greek salad, rooster sausage with roasted veggies, mushroom tacos, and tofu larb. I’ve made the final one — Hetty McKinnon’s recipe — lots, and it’s superb. I all the time stack my vegetarian meals towards the top of the week, since these elements received’t go unhealthy as shortly. Considered one of my outdated Bon Appétit co-workers taught me that, and it actually caught. I attempt to optimize my recipe planning so I can keep away from Googling, “Is that this sausage nonetheless good in fridge?” I grabbed Complete Meals sushi for lunch whereas grocery buying.

For dinner, I made the aforementioned white rooster chili. It’s a recipe from Kendra Vaculin at Bon Appétit and has turn into an everyday in our condominium. I topped it with contemporary avocado, cilantro, Fritos-esque chips, yogurt, and a lime wedge. I labored with Kendra at BA, and it all the time feels good to make a recipe from any person I do know. Even when I’ve by no means made it earlier than, there’s a stage of familiarity as a result of I do know their tastes.

Monday, July 10

I had a banana earlier than heading to the dentist for a cleansing. I’m satisfied the dental hygienist hates me. Why else would she run her instruments backwards and forwards on a sharpening stone in the course of my cleansing? Chilling.

For lunch, I had leftover chili. It tasted even higher than the evening earlier than. I like leftovers! I heated this chili up as a result of my fiancé doesn’t imagine in chilly leftovers, but when I make pasta the evening earlier than, I eat it chilly the following day. I’m all for chilly leftovers.

For dinner I made a last-minute resolution to go to Tower Bar, the Sundown Tower restaurant. I ordered a grimy gin martini, a drink I’ve turn into so related to that folks will DM me martini-shaped cat towers and olive pillows. It wouldn’t be MY Grub Road Weight loss program with out a martini, I (sadly) thought to myself. I’ve a protracted historical past with martinis. I used to drink wa-tinis with my mother and father rising up, water martinis with olive juice. I additionally ordered pigs in a blanket, shrimp cocktail, wedge salad, fries, and the burger. I noticed a star from the Barbie film and a giant podcaster.

I opened Google Maps to see the place I may get dessert close by and seen Awan, a plant-based-ice-cream store I had been eager to go to, was a couple of minutes away. I ordered a children’ scoop of the Gaviota Strawberry taste and sat all the way down to take pleasure in it.