Monday morning, I began to write about the collection of tomatoes starting to ripen in my garden, ranging from vibrant yellow beauties the shape and size of gumballs to tiny green striated torpedoes and deep purple-maroon monsters with more crevices than an elephant’s trunk. My writing was stopped short when our sous chef and fellowRead more »

is so unbelievably fantastic. …“Bronx Flavor” is an effort to educate and entertain without pretension. And Baron Ambrosia, a self-described “quaffer of culinary consciousness,” is like Anthony Bourdain crossed with Ali G, with more pimped-out accessories. (The Baron’s ride, the Purplesaurus Rex — P-Rex for short — is a replica 1923 Mercedes convertible, painted pinkRead more »

Far be it from me to get involved in other food media institutions’ test kitchen power struggles, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that my close friend (and college roommate) Andrea Albin is currently battling for zucchini supremacy over on the Gourmet website. Video can’t be embedded, but click here to see it.Read more »

We’ve spent all day testing an early version of our new Wii game — rough job, but someone’s got to do it. (BTW, check out the developers’ blog here.) Rupa Bhattacharya, Culinary Writer

Dave Mechlowicz, Culinary Purchasing Manager

Oh, Otto, you’ve done it again: [via] Rupa Bhattacharya, Culinary Writer

Year after year, cucumbers have been the most dependable and prolific plants in my garden, making them an easy sell for me each spring. This year, I got so carried away with tomatoes and peppers, I almost forgot them, until my friends from Teich Garden Systems (who build our Good Food Gardens) gave me anRead more »

Between this video from the NYTimes (embedding is needlessly difficult, but I promise it’s worth the click-through) and the ongoing confirmation hearings, I’m starting to realize that Otto von Bismarck was right. Then again, the last time that happened, things didn’t end terribly well… Rupa Bhattacharya, Culinary Writer

Media-wise, it’s been a rough couple of weeks for the organics industry. Earlier this month a prominent LA Times food journalist confessed, “I don’t believe in organic,” arguing that flavor–most reliably found in farmers’ markets–should trump all other considerations for conscientious food shoppers. Fair enough perhaps. And in and of itself, the article is ofRead more »

Am just back from New Orleans, where I spent the last couple days as a guest of Tales of the Cocktail, the annual cocktail conference that brings together bartenders, drink historians, liquor companies, and cocktail aficionados for a 6-day extravaganza that I heard referred to more than once as “spring break for bartenders.” As canRead more »