My Life in Hamburgers

My long, obsessive, and (too) deep relationship with hamburgers goes back to the earliest moments of consciousness—my plump little fingers clenching madly at tiny Royal Castle burgers, digging into the cloud-light buns with the same animal glee with which I plunged my face into the…

The Sad Story of Paula Deen

The Queen of Food Network, Paula Deen, has been fired for, as I’ve seen described by 50% of internet users…

the pineapple

Although the pineapple had been widely disseminated for centuries among the native peoples of South and Central America, it didn’t figure in European history until 1493. That’s when Christopher Columbus first encountered it on the island of Guadalupe, heaped among other fruits next to a pot full of…

Pie — It’s No Cake Walk

A baker finds her recipe for the perfect pie

The Omnivore’s Enema: How to Break Bread With Vegetarians

You’re probably doing it wrong

Fruitcake Is No Joke

Welcome to the “Twelve Cakes of Christmas,” written by Michelle Rizzolo of Big Sur Bakery with original illustrations from Wendy MacNaughton.

Whose Shoulders Do You Stand On?

I know there are people who find Twitter chaotic and shallow, but I was reminded recently why I love…

honey

Honey might be the most miraculous food, and also the most poetic. It’s certainly one of the oldest. Bees fossilized in Baltic amber date from fifty million years ago, when the first primates appeared in Africa and South America. These insects differ less from present-day honeybees than those first primates do from…

The Chemex

A brief meditation on a timeless piece of glass

For Paul, With Lox and Squalor

He sold me salmon, and became my friend

I’m leaving New York this week. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I do know that there is no Russ & Daughters where I’m going, and there is no Paul.