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How do you measure a year? In cups of coffee, yes, but also in the rushed early-morning breakfasts, the many trips to the grocery store, the slow dinners spent with friends. Each tells a story of how we filled our days.
Some of this year’s food preferences reflect how Americans’ lives have changed. As my colleague Yasmin Tayag explained in May, diners serving the classic American breakfast—eggs, potatoes, and coffee—were once a staple of affordability. Now, as supply shortages and tariffs affect these foods, stepping out for breakfast “can require a level of budgeting once reserved for fancy brunch.”
It’s not just prices that have changed; so, too, have Americans’ taste preferences. In August, Ellen Cushing wrote about how food is becoming spicier. More than half of American consumers are likely to buy an item described as spicy—up from 39 percent in 2015, she reported. Then there are the fried-chicken sandwiches. Consumption has increased 19 percent at American restaurants, threatening the burger’s long-held dominance.
Today’s newsletter explores how to understand the food that Americans ate this year.
On Food
Breakfast Is Breaking
By Yasmin Tayag
The classic American version hasn’t changed much in a century. Now it faces an identity crisis.
Why Is Everything Spicy Now?
By Ellen Cushing
More Americans are setting their mouth on fire—for extreme sport, and for everyday thrills.
The Worst Sandwich Is Back
By Ellen Cushing
Wraps are popular again. So is a certain kind of physique.
Still Curious?
- The golden age of the fried-chicken sandwich: The sun is setting on burger dominance, Ellen Cushing writes.
- Now is not the time to eat bagged lettuce: Food safety in America is under attack, Nicholas Florko reported in the spring.
Other Diversions
- Anne Applebaum: A peek at an alternate Venice
- The 20 best podcasts of 2025
- AI is democratizing music. Unfortunately.
The post The Year in Food appeared first on The Atlantic.
