Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Our default burger bun is the white squishy kind because we've had too many "failures" when I try to buy "nicer" buns. LOL, my husband is so cheap when it comes to breads and I tend to go to the other end of the spectrum (organic? artisan? harvested by fairies on a moonless night? SOLD!)

I want super squishy super soft buns. The kind that disappear quickly but somehow holds the burger together like an invisible force. I don't think you could do those at home and there must be a secret to it. I am wondering if anyone has that secret recipe of store bought buns.

What strikes me as funny is this: magazine publishers sell ads. Doesn't it behoove them to get you to look at as many ads as possible?

So then doesn't it make sense to remove detailed indices or tables of contents? They should make you flip through every page, devouring every word, picture, recipe (and ad).

I haven't seen the latest Gourmet, but one argument for clustering recipes at the back of the book is to run an ad on each recipe page. Then, when someone copies it (PHOTOcopies it, people), they have the ad preserved in perpetuity in their kitchen. Seems like I could sell that ad for a lot more $, no? ;)

But again, not sure they're smart enough to do this -- particularly when it took a protest to get them to remove unnecessary gerunds.

And why women always seem to be wearing riding beeches in these things.
annien at 6:57PM on 07/25/08

Ha ha ha ha ha

Yeah.

Seems to me that Gourmet is headed towards a focus on food culture rather than food-and-recipes. It's an intellectual shift - just looking through the prism with a different eye.

Hard to do in riding breeches. Usually it's done in granny dresses.

Challah - my local store has small loaves that cut perfectly into two buns. Sometimes I get poppyseed, sometimes sesame seed. The added body compared to a bun and the slight sweetness when toasted on the top BBQ rack is an amazing addition to an ordinary patty. Tabasco catsup and cheese (and another patty if I'm feeling dangerous!) make it my private island of (non-kosher) heaven.

bisbee, I hope you'll love Saveur. It is the next evolutionary step after gourmet; the writing and photography take food (and high-status foodies) off the pedestal, and they're just as much in love with a regional candy bar and with a new type of caviar.

In fact, I always find that I know/have used at least 30% of the foods, merchants, etc. which they pick for Saveur's 100 every year. Granted, I'm a foodie and I live in New York, but I'm no millionaire. Yet they chose my favorite butcher (Fleischer's Organic of Kingston and Rhinebeck, NY), my favorite fruit, my favorite old cookbook, etc. etc. etc...they are very much in touch with "good living", whether it costs one dollar or a thousand.

That being said, I'm sorry so many people resent Gourmet's high-end tone. It's an aspirational magazine, that's all. I love looking at the fold-out spreads of GE Monogram kitchens, meanwhile wondering how I and my favorite handyman might be able to rig up a deep-freeze or a rotisserie like the one in the picture, for half the price. And why women always seem to be wearing riding beeches in these things.

Elephant, the tapas bar across the street from Fleisher's, is fantastic. They've got yummy marrow bones, swoon-worthy chorizo and chocolate crostini and the best hummus I've ever had in my life.

Eng's Chinese Restaurant! My parents' place and where I grew up..

Rhinebeck, about a twenty minute drive, has some excellent restaurants. I particularly like Terrapin, which uses organic and local ingredients to create inventive meals. You can get the same great food in the bistro part of the restaurant for more reasonable prices. http://www.terrapinrestaurant.com

Cadbury Eggs

Easter candies!

I wait until the day after Easter when the Easter candy is marked down 50%.