Joan Niesen

Washington, D.C., United States

Freelance Writer at Freelance

Freelance writer • I write a food newsletter, Grazing • professor at Georgetown • she/her • Alum of @SINow, @washingtonpost, other places • St. Louis native

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Articles

everything I read in April and May

4 weeks ago | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: I’m on a desperate hunt for antique furniture for my new house, to modest success. Not only am I exploring St. Louis stores, I’m also learning exactly how to barter online, which has so far involved finding items on Chairish, seeing if the sellers are also on eBay, getting cheaper shipping quotes there and then attempting to lowball on price. As someone who’s never once so much as tried to negotiate over a salary offer for a new job, this is both uncomfortable and exhilarating.
on the other side of the fence

1 month ago | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: I moved to St. Louis, hence the pause in this newsletter. There was a tornado, hence the subject of this newsletter. That’s been the defining event of my first two weeks back in the Midwest, and it’ll probably define the next few months. So it only felt natural to table some of the other stuff I wanted to write and share a few words about what it’s been like here the past week, at least from my (very, very fortunate) perspective. Did you make it here without subscribing? Let’s fix that.
go to a bookstore today

2 months ago | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: I write you from Boston, where I’m visiting for a wedding. Yesterday, I got the chance to visit Beacon Hill Books, which was charmingly vertical and smelled unreal, thanks to a basement cafe. … Otherwise, my house is full of boxes, I have no idea where anything is, and I haven’t eaten a home-cooked meal in 10 days. Maybe longer. … I did make these brownies on Wednesday to share with my class of students at Georgetown.
everything I read in February and March

2 months ago | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: I can’t get enough of Samin Nosrat’s buttermilk-brined roast chicken recipe. Here in D.C., we had a solid two-week period where I was able to get outside and grill, and I loved having marinaded, grilled chicken around for sandwiches and salads. Then it got cold and rainy, and that’s been the status quo for a week — so I’m roasting chickens like it’s January. … I’m also making what may be my favorite Smitten Kitchen recipe for dinner tonight: southwestern pulled brisket.
a brief interlude about baseball

2 months ago | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: You don’t hear from me for weeks, and then I’m like, “hey, I’m moving to St. Louis,” and now here I am three days later being like, “no, really, read more about St. Louis, okay?” That’s what that is: I’m asking you to read this essay I wrote for , an online literary magazine about the Cardinals. Did you make it here without subscribing? Let’s fix that. My first month of college, I was paralyzed with homesickness for St. Louis.
the fig trees go west

2 months ago | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: There’s more going on than I care to type, which is why I’ve been absent for so long. (Sorry!) The essay below should give a clue about at least part of what I’ve been up to. I also caught a stomach bug — or had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, or both. That happened while I was spending a weekend with my cat in a hotel. Do not recommend. March had some high points, but as its final hours tick down, I say good riddance. Did you wind up here without subscribing? Let’s fix that.
grazing the internet, February edition

Mar 6, 2025 | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: Lately, huh? I have no idea what I’ve been doing lately besides scurrying in circles, working and trying to organize my life. I haven’t baked anything but bread in weeks, which depresses me. I’ll have to make something this weekend. Drop suggestions in the comments, please. … Oh, also, I’m trying a new format for these monthly emails full of links. I got tired of bulleted lists, and looking back over past newsletters, I realized they didn’t do much to make me want to read or click.
never meet your heroes

Feb 26, 2025 | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: We went to Savannah over President’s Day weekend (a fact that will become abundantly clear if you keep reading). While there, we managed to escape the tourist-y downtown for almost all of our meals, venturing to the Starland neighborhood and feasting like kings. Some recommendations: Smol Bar, Late Air, Two Tides, Brochu’s. … It’s finally warming up in D.C. after the longest, coldest winter I’ve ever experienced here, and last night I fired up the grill for the first time since November.
everything I read in January

Feb 14, 2025 | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: Last month, I ordered a ham for the sole purpose of acquiring a bone I could use for red beans and rice. That meant a week full of ham and cheese sandwiches and even more frozen ham squirreled away for later. One ham is so much ham for two people! But this week, it paid off. It was finally red beans and rice time, and the bone was key to the smoky, deep flavor of the beans and andouille. It was the perfect meal to eat (and eat again) over a few snowy days.
blueberry muffins with lemon curd

Feb 7, 2025 | joanniesen.substack.com | Joan Niesen

Lately: Not a lot is new. I haven’t had time to cook. I did have time to bake about 80 cookies for Jesse’s book event this week at Wonderland Books, the store where I’ve been working. A ton of people showed up to listen to him talk on the five-year (ish) anniversary of his book being released. They also seemed to enjoy these sourdough chocolate chip cookies, which have become my go-to receptacle for getting rid of my starter discard.