November 25, 2009
By Lady Bird at 11:16 am
My pretend boyfriend, Ezra Klein, has a smart piece today about—stick with me here—the behavioral economics of Thanksgiving. Basically, Klein argues that we can control what we eat at Thanksgiving—and how much—by planning for our (predictable) irrationality beforehand, while we’re still feeling rational. Start with a soup course (what economists refer to as a “default”), [...] read more →
November 24, 2009
By Lady Bird at 12:57 pm
Some last-minute foodie links for the slow pre-Thanksgiving news day: Mark Bittman has a recipe for make-ahead gravy; Ruhlman shares his method for make-ahead stock. Why not combine the two? (And while you’re at it, make Ruhlman’s Brussels sprouts with bacon, roasted red pepper, and pine nuts—or just gawk at his wife Donna’s amazing photos, [...] read more →
November 19, 2009
By Lady Bird at 1:20 pm
When Gourmet Magazine went under, one of the biggest losses was that of Barry Estabrook, whose writing on food politics set the magazine apart from other food and wine glossies like Bon Appetit and Saveur. Estabrook’s writing—on slavery in tomato farms, antibiotic use in fisheries, and the USDA’s “dysfunctional” management of the US organic program—made [...] read more →
November 3, 2009
By Lady Bird at 11:26 am
So says Seattle Weekly’s Jonathan Kauffman, in a smart piece today on the Weekly’s food blog: Spurred in part by his adoption of a cute lil’ puppy, Foer converted permanently to vegetarianism a short while ago and has decided to spend 352 pages telling us why. In the WSJ article, Foer appropriates Jonathan Swift’s 1729 [...] read more →
October 22, 2009
By Lady Bird at 3:20 pm
I know, I know—never, ever go to a restaurant on opening night. However, I was so excited that Columbia City was finally getting a sushi restaurant that I decided to throw caution to the wind and make a reservation at Wabi-Sabi Sushi Bar and Restaurant (4909 Rainier Ave. S.) during its grand opening last night. [...] read more →
October 9, 2009
By Lady Bird at 11:54 am
Christopher Kimball, the bow-tied publisher of Cook’s Illustrated, has an op-ed in today’s New York Times that sheds some light on the demise of Gourmet, the venerable food glossy that billed itself “the magazine of good living.” Interestingly, Kimball doesn’t subscribe to the common theory that Gourmet died because publishers believe Americans found its journalism- [...] read more →
October 5, 2009
By Lady Bird at 11:02 am
Oh, man. What terrible news for a Monday morning: Conde Nast, citing declining ad sales and a need to “narrow our focus to titles with the greatest prospects for long-term growth,” is shuttering Gourmet Magazine, effective this morning. As I’ve written in the past, Gourmet is superior to Bon Appetit—its rival, also owned by Conde [...] read more →
September 24, 2009
By Lady Bird at 2:31 pm
I’m a huge fan of trying new things. Snails? Sure. Ants? Bring ‘em on. Geoduck? Yum. But sometimes the most exciting new food experiences aren’t primary elements but flavors. Take, for example, this recipe from Lord Krishna’s Cuisine for baingain aloo charchari, AKA char-cooked eggplant and potatoes. As Serious Eats notes, although Westerners “tend to [...] read more →
September 18, 2009
By Lady Bird at 3:25 pm
First, a confession: I was going to write about Julie and Julia—the much-discussed movie that juxtaposes the life of Julia Child with that of Julie Powell, a spoiled New York blogger who spends a year making every dish in Mastering the Art of French Cooking and whining about ti—but once I sat down to write, [...] read more →
September 16, 2009
By Lady Bird at 5:46 pm
As you may already be aware, there’s a new food-labeling campaign underway courtesy of the US’s biggest processed-food manufacturers. Called “Smart Choices” and managed by the American Society of Nutrition, the program allows food companies to place a big green check mark on products it deems “Smart Choices,” or foods that are “better” than potential [...] read more →
September 11, 2009
By Lady Bird at 5:33 pm
I’m not from Seattle, and it shows. Unlike born-and-raised Seattleites, I have a taste for spicy food—jalapeno-studded salsa, fiery pickled peppers, flaming-hot barbecue sauce. I love the shock of a searing tongue, the chills, the hallucinatory glow, that come from a truly fiery meal. Or I should say: I did. Nearly a decade in Seattle—where [...] read more →
September 3, 2009
By Lady Bird at 4:16 pm
It’s official: Light rail is awesome. Not for the obvious reasons (better/cleaner/faster than the bus, trains are awesome, etc.) but because it’s opening up whole new culinary worlds for people who couldn’t or didn’t go to the neighborhoods along the line. I’m leaving out neighborhoods, like the International District, that have a ton of amazing [...] read more →
