The Table

Two federal SNAP changes took effect in the window. On Nov. 1, food-restriction waivers began in Montana (high-sugar beverages, energy drinks, candy and prepared desserts), North Dakota (sweetened beverages, energy drinks and candy), South Carolina (candy, energy drinks, soft drinks and sweetened beverages) and Virginia ("sweetened beverages"), according to USDA's Food and Nutrition Administration waiver table. The same table notes that a federal court vacated approved waivers for Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia on June 22.

On Nov. 4, new stocking standards kicked in for SNAP-authorized stores other than specialty shops such as butchers and produce stands. The final rule, published in May, raises the minimum from three to seven varieties in each of the four staple food categories and requires perishables in three categories instead of two. The Federal Register notice says small retailers (convenience stores, small groceries) are the ones mainly affected; commenters told USDA that stocking seven grain varieties isn't feasible for small convenience stores.

The fifth MICHELIN Guide Kuala Lumpur & Penang, released Nov. 4, recognises 159 places: one two-star restaurant, nine one-star restaurants, 60 Bib Gourmands and 89 MICHELIN Selected establishments. The only promotion is Potager, a contemporary French restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, which earns its first star. Darren Teoh's Dewakan, known for indigenous ingredients and Malaysian flavours, keeps two stars and remains the country's only two-star restaurant.

The other one-star restaurants are Akar, Beta, Chim by Chef Noom, DC. by Darren Chin, Molina and Terra Dining in Kuala Lumpur, and Au Jardin and Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery in Penang. Four places joined the Bib Gourmand list and 12 entered the Selected category. Aidan Low of Akar won the Young Chef Award, and Potager's Mr Nazahar won the Service Award.

ExpatGo notes that, unlike previous years, Michelin skipped a gala and announced the selection by press release only.

Asador Etxebarri, Bittor Arguinzoniz's restaurant in the Basque village of Atxondo, Spain, took No. 1 at The 50 Best Restaurants 2026, announced Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Teatro Municipal de Lima, the first time the global awards were held in Peru. It was No. 2 last year. Arguinzoniz cooks over custom-built grills, from red prawns and beef chops to the milk ice cream that ends the meal.

The rest of the top five, per CNN: Gaggan (Bangkok), Alchemist (Copenhagen), Quintonil (Mexico City) and Wing (Hong Kong). New York's Atomix placed 11th, the top U.S. entry, and its chef Junghyun "JP" Park won the Chefs' Choice Award. Jessica Rosval of Al Gatto Verde in Modena was named the World's Best Female Chef and Naar in Kasauli, India, won the Sustainable Restaurant Award.

The list (formerly The World's 50 Best Restaurants) comes from votes by more than 1,100 industry experts, who must have eaten at the places they nominate within the previous 18 months. Past No. 1s, including last year's winner Maido in Lima, are no longer eligible. The 51-100 list came out Oct. 21.

The Michelin Guide revealed its new Swiss selection on Monday, Nov. 2, at a ceremony in the Andermatt concert hall. The one new three-star restaurant is The Japanese Restaurant at The Chedi Andermatt, run by identical twins Dominik Sato and Fabio Toffolon, who have cooked there together since May 2023. That makes five Swiss three-star restaurants, alongside Memories (Bad Ragaz), Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl (Basel), the Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville (Crissier) and Schloss Schauenstein (Fürstenau).

Tageskarte, citing Gault&Millau, reports that the brothers cut the restaurant from 17 tables to 12 and that revenue still rose. No new two-star restaurants were named; Switzerland has 22. Seven restaurants earned a first star, including rémy in Zürich, ad lib in Zermatt and Schlüssel by Tanja Grandits in Oberwil, and 11 new Bib Gourmands were added. Tageskarte counts 133 starred restaurants in all (Cuisine Helvetica says 132); last year's guide had 145, according to Keystone-SDA.

UNESCO published a draft decision on Nov. 5 recommending that larb, Laos' chopped meat or fish dish, be inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as "Larb: a culinary symbol of Lao cultural identity," the Laotian Times reports. The final decision is expected at the Intergovernmental Committee's 21st session in Xiamen, China, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.

Larb is usually finely chopped meat or fish, raw or cooked, mixed with lime juice, fish sauce, toasted rice powder (khao khua), shallots, mint, coriander and chilli, and eaten with sticky rice. Families serve it at everyday meals and at weddings, birthdays and Lao New Year. The Lao Business Women's Association led the nomination, submitted through the culture ministry in early 2025. If inscribed, larb would be Laos' fourth element, after khaen music (2017), Naga motif weaving (2023) and the Fonelamvong Lao dance (2024).

The same evaluation round also recommended South Korea's hanji paper-making, Seoul Economic Daily reports.

At a rally in Cleveland on Saturday, ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms, former President Barack Obama said President Donald Trump had the White House "looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory" because of all the gold, The National News Desk reports.

Trump answered on Monday at Joint Base Andrews: "For you to say it's a Cheesecake Factory — that just shows why you were a lousy president," adding that walls "hadn't been cleaned for years." The White House's X account posted a mock menu poking fun at the chain's roughly 20-page, 250-item menu, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ate lunch at the Washington, D.C., restaurant and criticized Obama.

Rick McCormack, the Cheesecake Factory's former vice president of design, told CNN he found the comparison "a little bit sad" and called it "the pettiness of politics." The report notes that since returning to office Trump has torn down the East Wing for a ballroom, paved over the Rose Garden and added gold-leaf fixtures to the Oval Office.