College Sports, Thanksgiving Pies, and the Political Idea You’re Not Hearing About

🎙️ This week on Lunch With Jamie I sat down with Rep. Jake Auchincloss as part of my Meet the Candidates series. You can listen to the full conversation on YouTube, or as a podcast on Apple, Spotify and Amazon. If you are not already a paid subscriber of the Lunch With Jamie community and want to support what we are building, click here to upgrade.

From Jamie’s Desk:

Growing up in NYC, you get exposed to pretty much everything under the sun—public transit, bodegas, skyscrapers, brownstones, pro sports teams, rats—but one thing you don’t get is big college sports. Sure, St. John’s had a fun basketball program in the ’80s and ‘90s, but it wasn’t exactly Alabama, Kansas, Tennessee, or Michigan. When I moved to Los Angeles almost twenty years ago, I finally got a glimpse of what the world of big college sports looked like. But without any real connection to UCLA or USC, it didn’t stick.

That all changed when my daughter decided to go to UNC Chapel Hill. Overnight, I became a die-hard Tar Heel. I had actually secretly been a Tar Heel fan for many years due to my hatred of Duke, but that wasn't really rational—though sports rarely is. I knew a bit of UNC history, mostly the men’s basketball canon: Michael Jordan, Dean Smith, James Worthy and so on. But through Riley, I got a crash course in the rest—especially the women’s soccer team, the most successful program in college sports with 22 NCAA titles. You might have heard of a few of their former players: Mia Hamm, Lucy Bronze, and Riley’s favorite, Tobin Heath (second only to Christen Press). It seemed obvious that was the team she was going to work for, but she still wanted to check out all the women's programs before committing, which I appreciated. Before she’d even stepped foot on campus, she’d already met with the volleyball team and the basketball team. These weren’t sports I grew up watching, but through her I learned to love them all. By the time move-in rolled around, I was fully prepared for her freshman year.

Then, in typical teenage fashion, she threw me a curveball after meeting Erin Matson, the head coach of UNC Women’s Field Hockey. She soon decided that was the team she wanted to work for. The only thing I knew about field hockey was that in high school, we shared the football field and they tore it up every fall. To say I was less than excited would be an understatement. That was until I learned about Erin. Twenty-five years old, four-time national champion as a player, and successor to Karen Shelton (the coach with the most career wins in NCAA field hockey history). At 22 years old, Erin was one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA history, and she won a national championship in her first year of coaching. Suddenly, I understood why Riley was all in. She wanted a team that could compete for a national championship and a job where she could contribute from day one. Field hockey checked every box.

There was just one problem: I had never watched a field hockey game in my life. After my first one, I still barely knew what was happening. Slowly but surely, I watched every game last year and started to understand the rules (kind of). And then…I got hooked. I went overboard on Tar Heel gear and became a UNC Field Hockey person. Not basketball… FIELD HOCKEY. Now I get it. The insanity of college sports. The electricity in the air on game day. I understand why 100,000 people show up to a football game and camp out for weeks to claim their spots at the Duke vs. UNC game at Cameron every year. I get people painting their faces, and the generations of families being totally invested in these schools in a way that pro-sports can never touch. 

As you’re reading this, I’m en route to North Carolina as we (yes I am using the proverbial we now) get ready to play Northwestern tomorrow in the NCAA semifinals. I can’t even begin to describe how excited I am. No, Riley isn’t playing, but I am invested.

If you have a minute tomorrow (Friday, November 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET), turn on the ESPN app and watch the game. It might take you a minute to figure out what’s going on, but I promise you’ll enjoy it. GO HEELS!

Discussed in this issue: Where to get the best Thanksgiving pies (London included), and my latest conversation with Jake Auchincloss.

Have a restaurant rec, cultural gem, can’t-miss event, or a hot sauce that changed your life? Send it my way: [email protected]

🎧 Lunch With Jamie is available as a podcast—perfect for easy, on-the-go listening. Follow along on Apple, Spotify, or Amazon Podcasts, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, share, and comment. We want to hear from you!

The secret to knowing where (and what) to eat is simple: ask the experts. And when it comes to pie, my expert is David Nathanson. After consuming thousands of slices over the course of his life, he’s narrowed down his current list of the best pies around. Yes, it’s heavily LA-centric, but if you want David to come to your town and conduct a tasting, say the word. I’m sure he’d be delighted.

Pecan Pie: The Pie Room by Curtis Stone
Order by 8pm on Sunday, 11/23

Chocolate Chess: Fat & Flour
Order ASAP, they’re almost entirely sold out for Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pie: Urth Caffe
Order by 6pm on Monday, 11/24

Cherry Pie: Winston
Nationwide shipping is available. Order by Friday, 11/21 to get it in time (although ASAP is recommended). No deadline to order for pick-up, but there are a limited amount of orders per day

Apple Pie: The Apple Pan
Order by Friday, 11/21 (although they recommend the earlier the better)

Key Lime Pie: The Ivy Bakery (Dolce Isola)
Order by Tuesday, 11/25

Apple + Date + Strawberry Pie : Chainsaw LA
Order by 6pm on Friday, 11/21. They will also be accepting walk-ins on Wednesday, 11/26

And because there’s no such thing as too many pie options, here are a few more that our crew recommends:

New York:
Carissas: Whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving out East or making the trek back to the city, you can pre-order now. Place your order by Monday, 11/24 at 10:00 a.m.
Briermere Farms: Order by Friday, 11/21. Any of their “crisps” are great.
Librae Bakery: Orders are now closed, but pies will be available on a first-come, first-served basis on Wednesday, 11/26 starting at 10 a.m. Try for the Salted Maple Pecan & Date Pie or the Spiced Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake.
Hallock’s Cider Mill: Order ASAP — 11/27 is already sold out, but there are still openings for Monday, 11/24 and Tuesday, 11/25.
Schmitt’s: Order by Monday, 11/24.
Petee’s Pie: Order ASAP to get your pie for Thanksgiving week.
Sweet Maresa’s: You can pre-order to have it shipped overnight to you, or pick up in Kingston NY.
L’Appartement 4F: Manhattan pickup in the West Village is still available for their Apple Pie—order ASAP. Brooklyn pickup is already sold out.

Los Angeles:
Varsity Bakers: While I haven’t personally tried their pies, their baked goods are incredible, so I can only imagine the pies follow suit. They even offer “pielettes” for a perfect single-serve opportunity. Order by Sunday, 11/23 at 8 p.m., and pick up on Wednesday, 11/26.

London:
Hummingbird Cafe: Classic American-style cakes and pies in London. Place your order at least 48 hours in advance.
Beverly Hills Bakery: All of your classic Thanksgiving pies are available in London.
Panzer’s: Both Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie are available in London.

Nationwide Shipping:
The Elegant Farmer: Available on Goldbelly!

This week, my guest was Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who is running for re-election to keep his House seat in Massachusetts. He’s been a strong advocate for the state—focusing on issues like affordability, healthcare, education, and gun control. But his opinion on Dunkin’ Donuts might get him in some trouble. 

I really enjoyed this conversation. We did our traditional Meet the Candidates “get-to-know-you” intro, which definitely showed a lot of his personality. Jake revealed his last meal would be dumplings from a spot in his hometown of Newton, MA called Grandma’s Kitchen (and Jamie’s List team member Michaela co-signs). He admitted that he doesn’t have a campaign theme song (but is open to suggestions—send and I’ll be sure to pass them along). He worked as a Chinese food delivery driver and a gas station attendant before attending Harvard, and his ideal day off is spent with his wife and young kids (or watching the Patriots play).

As fun as that was, we had to get into politics.

You can listen to the full conversation on Youtube, or as a podcast on Apple, Spotify and Amazon.

Aaron Michaelson, Aaron Stern, Adam Saper, Adam Smith, Alex Tse, Andy Wang, Anthony Jacobson, Ashley Sawyer, Ben Hundreds, Blake Lively, Bobby Kim, Brian McGinn, Chad Colby, Chad Gutstein, Chris Rice, Condé Nast Traveler, David Gelb, David Katzenberg, David Nathanson, Evan Funke, Eater, Eli Meyer, Food & Wine, Goop, Kristina O’Neill, Iman Dakhil, Infatuation, James Beard Award, Jason Spivak, Jerry Greenberg, Jeremy Smith, Jerrold Son, Jessica Alba, Joe Varet, Jon Buscemi, Jon Alagem, Jon Shook, Jordan Okun, James Ponsoldt, Kate Burr, Katie McNeill, Kelly Sawyer Patricof, The LA Times, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lloyd Sacks, Marc Rose, Marc Mezvinsky, Martha Patricof, Matt Haimes, Matt Karatz, Max Chow, Max Shapiro, Max Winkler, Michael Kives, Michelin Guide, Nicole Richie, Neal Moritz, The NY Times, Paul Zucker, Peter Goldwyn, Phil Rosenthal, Phill Ettinger, Rachel Halilej, Riley Patricof, Sawyer Patricof, Shu Chowdhury, Todd Steinman, The Hungry Tourist, The Infatuation, Vinny Dotolo.

Today’s email was brought to you by: Jamie Patricof, Michaela Sullivan and Lauren Malanga