La Barbecue’s Top 5 for Austin In the crowded, competitive and often ruthless Texas barbecue scene, La Barbecue sits among the best of the best. Sure it helps that owner LeAnn Mueller hails from barbecue royalty—her grandfather founded Taylor, Texas’ Louie Mueller Barbecue in 1949, a temple of smoked meat that never fails to impress.… Read More →
Minnesotans Want and Deserve the Right to Know About GMOs By Andrew Zimmern If I’ve learned anything during my 35 years spent cooking in kitchens and traveling to over 160 countries in search of what food teaches us about culture, culinary creations and choices, it’s that the decisions people make when it comes to the… Read More →
What Not to Miss in Austin The co-owner of Salt & Time, Ben Runkle is Austin’s leading meat purveyor. What was born from Runkle’s passion for Old World charcuterie, turned into the city’s first whole carcass butcher shop and salumeria when a partnership with Bryan Butler developed in 2010. The pair are committed to sourcing animals… Read More →
Eating at California’s Five Michelin 3 Stars By Bob & Sue With the elevation of Manresa to three stars for 2016, Northern California now has five of the 13 Michelin 3-star restaurants in the United States. We ate at all five in nine days during our recent anniversary celebration in January. These five great chefs… Read More →
Ever dream of becoming a restaurateur? OpenTable has partnered with hospitality consultant Alison Arth to create How to Open a Restaurant: The Modern Restaurateur’s Guide to Starting & Growing a Restaurant Business. The guide provides prospective restaurant owners with the tools they need to succeed, hitting on topics like funding, staffing and restaurant technology. It’s also chock… Read More →
The Future of Restaurant Reservations Chicago restaurateur Nick Kokonas co-owns Alinea, Next and The Aviary with chef Grant Achatz. After recognizing the downfalls of traditional restaurant reservations, Kokonas set out to transform the industry with his ticketing system Tock. Similar to buying tickets for a concert or sporting event, Tock creates a transparent and seamless booking… Read More →
Robert Stehling’s Top Picks for Charleston For the past decade, chef Robert Stehling’s Low Country fare at the acclaimed Hominy Grill has rivaled the best grandmother food in the South. His Charleston Nasty Biscuit—fried chicken, cheddar and sausage gravy, sandwiched in the perfect biscuit—has a loyal following, as do other favorites like catfish po’ boys,… Read More →
My friend Tom Colicchio over at Plate of the Union is excited to announce the launch of its Campus Challenge and we want to spread the word to politically engaged college students who care about food advocacy. Plate of the Union’s Campus Challenge is a youth-driven effort to get campuses organized to push political candidates to talk about food… Read More →
Last week I was asked to share some ideas about why Presidential Candidates aren’t talking about FOOD. After all what we eat, how we grow and raise it, how we distribute it and what we do with the leftovers influences our environment, public health, national security, class issues, social justice issues like hunger, education, and… Read More →
If Queens, NY was its own city it could lay claim to being the greatest food city on Earth. As it stands now, it’s the largest of New York City’s five boroughs, has a population of almost 2.5 million residents, half of whom are foreign-born. Queens County itself is one of the top five most… Read More →
Bangkok is one of the most beautifully complex cities in the world. Its ability to teach a traveler the lessons of life make it one of my favorite destinations. I’ve been about 20 times and just when I think I’ve figured it out, I realize I don’t know a thing about it. The song says,… Read More →
“syn•er•gy: two forces working together to create something greater than itself.” Spoon and Stable just announced its upcoming Synergy Series for 2016. In this really exciting, chef driven dinner series, Gavin and his team will host four New York, Michelin-starred chefs: Michael White, Michael Anthony, April Bloomfield, and of course, his mentor Daniel Boulud. To have… Read More →
The Purposeful Traveler A prolific travel writer and expert on Central America, Joshua Berman began his writing career after a stint in the Peace Corps as a volunteer in Nicaragua. He now writes a monthly column for The Denver Post, has published travel articles in the New York Times, Delta SKY, Sunset and National Geographic Traveler, acted as my guide… Read More →
Devour Johannesburg A lively and diverse city, Johannesburg—known by locals as Jozi, Jo’Burg or Joeys—is the largest city in South Africa. With a history chock full of crime and decay, the city’s future is heading in a different direction. An influx of creative energy has tourists eager to visit and the city is coming back… Read More →
While filming in Nashville for the Music City Food + Wine Festival last September, I had the opportunity to hang out with the sensational Rachele Lynae. Rachele is one of the hottest young crossover country talents I’ve heard in years. She’s got a musical growl that could scare a grizzly bear and she’s as down… Read More →
While filming in Bangkok this past fall, I had the distinct pleasure of hanging with Mark Wiens, a prolific video blogger in Southeast Asia who also happens to be a Bizarre Foods mega-fan. Together we visited the Dusit area of Bangkok and dined at Soei, an amazing off-the-radar restaurant that should be on everyone’s must-visit list. P’soei Kurtcharoen… Read More →
Where to Eat in Iceland’s Capitol By Devan Grimsrud Reykjavík is many things. It’s a port city, the capital and largest city in Iceland, and the northernmost capital in the world with a latitude of 64°08′ N (I would know as my only memento from the touristy gift shop was a magnet stating this very… Read More →
What’s in a name? We compiled a list of some of the most bizarrely named places on the planet. I mean there really is a Fucking, Austria just two miles east of the German border. Actually pronounced to rhyme with “booking,” the tiny town of Fucking is most famous for its traffic signs. British and American soldiers who… Read More →
Wok Cooking Essentials Wok cooking is intimidating, but it’s the most versatile and handy tool in your kitchen. It can braise, fry, sauté, and even make a handy smoker (I use one of my woks fitted with a small inset grate to tea smoke duck and squab all the time). Because of its unique shape,… Read More →
The Best Cookbooks of the Year It seems each year there are more incredible cookbooks published than the last; it’s a tough job to whittle down the lengthy list into a handful of my favorites. This year in particular, there are several noteworthy debuts, like Aaron Franklin’s meat smoking manifesto, Michael Solomonov’s ode to Israeli cuisine,… Read More →
Eating Words: A Norton Anthology of Food Writing Edited by literary critic Sandra Gilbert and professor and award-winning restaurant critic Roger Porter, Eating Words is a vast volume of exquisite food writing, from Biblical times through modern day. It’s a historically and conceptually diverse anthology, that goes beyond mere consumption and explores food’s relation to politics,… Read More →
Delicious French Comfort Food By Bob & Sue Picking the one greatest comfort food restaurant in the world would be challenging. But in France, naming the best Michelin 3 star comfort food restaurant might quickly focus on George Blanc, east of Macon. This is because of its two great signature dishes known for the simplicity… Read More →
A few years back I met Josh Tetrick and his amazing team at Hampton Creek Foods. Over the years, I have pushed hard to tell this company’s story. I think their mission is not only aligned with mine, but also that they are the perfect definition of everything a modern food company should be. Last… Read More →
Devour Buenos Aires A Latin American city heavy with European influences, Buenos Aires is the best of both worlds. Equally confident and classy, there’s no question why it’s the most visited South American city. A unique cultural life thrives here, from the old-timey cafes, European architecture and bustling streets to the devoted soccer fans and… Read More →
Gift Ideas for the Cook in Your Life From fun stocking stuffers and edible indulgences (Roe Caviar, I’m looking at you), to inspiring cookbooks and splurge-worthy kitchen gadgets (who doesn’t want a high-powered blow torch for the perfect golden sear?), here is my gift giving guide for 2015. • • • EAT & DRINK READ … Read More →
The Country’s First Edible Insect Farm Kevin Bachhuber founded Big Cricket Farms in Youngstown, Ohio in 2014 in response to growing water shortages, the rising costs of protein production and a simple love of eating insects inspired by a trip to Thailand. Big Cricket Farms is the first government certified food grade insect farm in this… Read More →
Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market Jerusalem’s 800,000 inhabitants are a dizzying blend of cultures, all influential in the shaping of this incredible and contentious space. The riches of this tiny and diverse country converge at Mahane Yehuda. Established by Arab traders during the Ottoman Empire in the late 1800s, the shuk is a place where all walks… Read More →
Championship Quality Barbecue Once known for its stockyards, Kansas City is still famous for its incredibly diverse barbecue scene. It’s a true melting pot of meat, with barbecue restaurants incorporating styles and traditions from all of the country, and doing it exceptionally well. One of the city’s newer establishments, Q39 was opened by CIA graduate and national… Read More →
Crafted, Cultivated & Curated Gear for the Adventurous Life For decades, I’ve traveled the world experiencing culture through food. It’s the best job on the planet. Along the way I’ve collected gifts, kitchen gear, clothing and gadgets that I can now share with you through the revamped Shop Andrew Zimmern. We pride ourselves on finding and… Read More →
Where to Eat in the Heart of Burgundy By Bob & Sue The most interesting food is not always found in the Michelin-starred restaurants, but often in the local bistros. During our six days in Burgundy recently, we had many memorable experiences in the city of Beaune and surrounding areas: Le Bistro At the gathering place for many… Read More →
