Where Death Lies
Each year, the Japanese government expects dozens of people to die from eating ill-prepared blowfish, and yet the dish remains a delicacy.
food
A collection of 83 issues
Reconsider the Oyster
Tracking a single oyster from the Gulf to Bourbon Street, to a 1,300-ton pile of shells, provides a tour through Louisiana’s precarious coastal economy.
This Bird’s Life
Leave the pardoning to the president. For one budding farmer, some truths are self-evident: that turkeys are stupid, dirty, and very mean.
The Slaughter
To produce food in the form of meat, an animal will be killed. Obvious but significant: You will realize you are about to end a life.
Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle
Sometimes a bowl of noodles is big enough to absorb conversation, literature, and the love lives of those nearby.
Around the World on 18 Plates
We asked people around the globe—in Uganda, Ecuador, Fiji, and more—to make food from the opposite side of Earth.
Knead for Naught
After decades of perfecting a homemade bread recipe, a single experiment transforms a home cook into an artisan.
Cafe Azteca
Love of food can be love’s most sincere form—especially when avocados are involved—but also bittersweet if paired with departure.
Of Fish and Farmers
Consider the Delta smelt: an old fish in California, endemic to the upper Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary, now caught between its home and thousands of drought-stricken acres.
We Don’t Eat It Here
People living in countries that aren’t the US explain the meaning of Thanksgiving, from the splendor of “harvest day” to the tradition that is gun violence.
Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar
In the city of Irvine, in the county of Orange, in the state of California during a season of sports, sometimes America reaches maximum volume.
The Dosa Gentrification
Indian culture is under siege by Westerners enamored with yoga, authenticity, and convenience. The dosa—a beloved, inconvenient tradition—could be next to fall.
Fallon and Byrne
Continuing our series where we ask novelists to write restaurant reviews that are absolutely not restaurant reviews, the author of the Southern Reach trilogy meets his match in a Dublin brie.
The Vegan Love Palace Bike Tour Test
Nobody stands between one cyclist and her cheese on a vegetable-fueled bike tour through Eastern Europe.
Café de La Esquina
Between love and tacos, sometimes it's better to choose tacos. Our series continues where we ask novelists to dine out, then write us something that 1) is a restaurant review; 2) is not a restaurant review.
Radio Maria
A new series where we ask a novelist to eat in a restaurant, then write us something that meets two criteria: 1) it is a restaurant review; 2) it is not a restaurant review.
The Übersinner
Reddit's “Ask Me Anything” interviews—edited for the seven deadly sins—provide an Idolatry of Self so big, it produces Zen koans.
Chrissy Smoked
Twice a year, a group of friends gathered in a coal-mining pocket of Pennsylvania—friends in their twenties with fragile identities, who didn’t know yet what would happen.
Day of the Goose
Small towns around Europe host goose-pulling days—contests to snap the necks of birds at high speed. In the name of sport and pride, a tradition from the Middle Ages prospers, criticism notwithstanding.
My Scummy Valentine
The only thing worse than Valentine's Day is a crappy Valentine's Day. A handful of TMN writers and editors dish (anonymously) on their worst dates—crying men, rugby brawls, and a dislocated sacroiliac joint.
Having to Do With the Price of Onions
A sharp rise recently in the price of onions in India is about a lot more than just sandwiches. When onions are up, even governments are at risk.
Where the Himalayan Moss Grows
Going on a five-day cleanse—subsisting on a diet of shots, smoothies, very few actual foods, and no caffeine—leads to visions of apocalypse. From 2013, a quest to find the seven billionth child on Earth.
There Will Be Waitresses
Radio advertising has gotten ridiculous—incendiary spots for monster-truck rallies and ladies’ nights at clubs. But surely the most appalling ads are for brunch.
To Kill and To Eat
Farming chickens takes care and concentration, and a deal with the birds: We give you a life of safety and comfort, and you die for our food. Until a murdering predator arrives and gives lie to the vow.
Everything in This City Must
After six months in Leipzig, a German reporter asks the novelist what he’ll miss. But it’s back here in the United States where more dangerous questions take shape, none easily answered with good beer.
Rainy Night in Georgia
Even in the most forsaken corners of the Caucasus, daily life can boil down to domestic turmoil, hip-hop videos, and arguing over Bryan Adams’s nationality.
Hey, Bear
The great American wilderness is home to hungry stomachs, including some that reside in animals weighing 600 pounds more than you.
The Death of Farmbrain
These days, everyone seems to enjoy tending chickens and eating local. But lifestyles are rarely ways of life, and the grain that goes into our daily bread is still easiest to obtain from giant operations. Visiting a dying small farm shows why.
Under the Bridge Downtown
When you’re a competition-level grocery-store bagger, it’s easy to overlook the messy lives of your co-workers. But when one of them goes missing, and you start to grow up, the picture changes.
Bagels, Toasted
Risen from the streets of Eastern Europe and squalid New York City, bagels now hold a seat at middle- and upper-class breakfast tables everywhere. A look back from a baker with 50,000 “golden visions” under his belt.
The Art of Choking
Some people require the Heimlich Maneuver a bit more than the rest of us. A report on the four times—so far—that the author has relied on the assistance of others.
Herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore
A grocery visit or dinner out in Israel can sometimes leave your stomach churning, but not for the reasons you might think.
Nipples at the State Fair
The state fair puts on display the usual cornucopia of wonders both natural and synthetic, all ready for your sampling. A young man gets in touch with his appetite.
Mastering the Art of American Eating
The USDA recently replaced the almighty food pyramid with a color-coded pie chart. To celebrate our nation’s mixed metaphors about healthy eating, one man decides to spend a month attempting to follow every government recommendation he can find. Nowhere is pie advised.
The Hand That Feeds You
Though you can still count on it for antibiotic-free cheese, the farmers' market has become a macrocosm of first-world food neuroses. True stories from behind the rustic wax-paper-lined baskets.
Trust Me
A century ago food vendors were often confidence men, cutting their products with inedible substances. A study of the history of food adulteration reveals hucksters at every turn.
To Make the Mouth Water
Integral to America's food obsession are the stylists who make it look good. Our panel of industry experts talks about photography and the art of arranging spaghetti strands.
Eat Yr Veggiez
There’s nothing better than kicking back with your friends and tearing open a bag of Doritos Late Night: Cheeseburger Carrot Sticks—or so some farmers hope.
The Dinner Party
Your roommate, your girlfriend, and her (and your) boss: It’s a tough table, and they’ll scrutinize your food—and your dwindling frame.
She Ordered Sausage
After his job is jeopardized by unwanted advances toward a co-worker, a writer revises a porn script while undergoing harassment-prevention training.
Brief Scenes From Our Marriage
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the Opposite of Feng Shui. A marriage, told in four parts.
The Treatloaf® FAQ
The only thing better than meatloaf is meatloaf with a surprise tucked inside. Common questions about the original mystery meat.
Bringing Home the Bacon
In order to survive in today's world, you need to make a lot of dough--but a family cannot live by bread alone.
Marked Man
The tricky part about blogging is knowing where to draw the line about what’s revealed. After his last post raised some eyebrows, the Golem addresses the whole eating thing.
The Author and the Wonderful, Horrible, No Fun, Very Good Day
Nothing is finer than getting your book published. Nothing is worse than the day it comes out. Our food writer documents the misadventures, highs, and woes of publishing (recipe included).
Breakfast, Lunch, and Winners
Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal has been picked to lead the war in Afghanistan, and on only one meal a day. One week spent in the general's reduced-calorie footsteps.
La Vache Qui Rit and Another Cow Altogether
A passion for French cinema turns into an offscreen romance. Never mind the language barrier, because the cultural barriers are so much funnier.
Fallen Heroes
Every day, on street corners and in shopping centers across the nation, hungry mouths get their fill of authentic, toasted Italian cuisine. A one-act play.
Fall Food
From wild mushrooms to alcoholic tea, Thanksgiving casseroles to the perfect pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, here are the TMN writers' favorite foodstuffs for autumn.
Frothing at the Latte
Politicians use stereotypes to lampoon and persuade. But what if they’re actually right? Our writer hits the road to answer that burning question: How well does a latte identify political preferences?
Food Network Kicks Its Programming Up a Notch
An adventurous new show proves you can’t boost your ratings without breaking a few eggs.
Here's the Beef
In February, the largest beef recall in history capped weeks of speculation about sick cows, then prompted many to wonder where all that meat went off to.
Known for Her Crumb Cake
Staten Islanders are an insular crowd; but once the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge connected them to the rest of New York, everything changed. Well, maybe not everything.
Potluck Supper
The best Thanksgivings are the ones where all the guests bring their own specialties to the table. We serve up our best, potluck-style.
Plain Air Dining
Americans love their cars--as chariots, mobile offices, and teenage make-out spots. But when did they become dining tables?
Amuse Bouche
To butter or not to butter: That is the question, and gluttons with high cholesterol should know the correct answer. But when friends organize a gastronomic tour of Paris, who am I to say no?
High School Nights Bite
Manhattan press events are like so many proms: the bold and beautiful dance all night long, and the rest of us hug the walls. So why does James Beard Award-winner David Leite keep pulling on his blazer?
Employees Must Double-Wash Hands
The recent E. Coli scare sent many bags of spinach into the trashbin. Now that the FDA says the outbreak is over, how will restaurants assure us what they're serving is safe to eat?
Kitchen Existential
What does your kitchen say about you? Worse, what does it say about your relationship? Our food writer opens his Manhattan galley to an expert on tiny kitchens—and the domestic squabbles that can explode inside them.
Gastroeconomic Indicators
On special today we have a sampling of menus and social strata. But before you order, remember: Who you are depends on what you eat.
Rachael Ray's Secret Travel Tips
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we help a reader combine travel and eating--with knowledge cribbed from the Food Network star.
Townie or Country?
City or country? Weekends of restoration or weeks of relaxation? With one renovated country house behind him, can our food writer take the plunge and finally open a preserves shop in the woods?
How to Hang a Cabinet
Nothing satisifies quite like home improvement, especially after you've ripped the wall out of your bathroom. A short guide to avoiding complete catastrophe.
Leaner and Meaner
The holidays are behind us, but on many people they’ve left the signs of second helpings. David Leite anticipated 10 to 15 pounds of damage—so how in hell did he actually lose weight?
I Am Not Your Average Family
When cleaning out your refrigerator, you may encounter a number of unexpected items at the back. But please note: It would be wise to leave unopened the jar labeled “catharsis.”
Weighing in About the Holidays
The holidays pose awful temptations for people watching their weight—especially if they’re gourmet cooks with families to entertain.
The Southwestern Canon
Harold Bloom is perhaps our finest Shakespeare critic and certainly one of literature's most passionate lovers. Who knew he's a big chili fan too?
I, a Discerning Food Critic, Have Discovered a Genius
A culinary legend is immortalized in the hearts of critics and parents alike.
Trick or Truffles
In New York, Halloween often sees parents guiding their kids on ransacking missions through enormous co-ops. Our food writer decides it’s time for childless adults to tip the tables and get their due.
Mr. Ugli Fruit or: How I Stopped Being Nice and Learned to Hate Fairway
The Grocery Wars have made Manhattan a battlefield strewn with fallen asparagus, and no turf is more contested than the Upper West Side, where battered heavyweight Fairway fends off competitors.
The French Paradox
The French diet is back in the news—how do French women manage to enjoy chocolate, wine, cheese and bread without gaining weight? Several top French food bloggers weigh in on the phenomenon.
A Few Bad Apples
Following the public outrage and scandal, after the hospitalizations and quarantines, the Unified Fruit Crop Corporation offers a helpful list of questions and answers to address your many concerns about the problem with its fruit.
The Art of the Cure
Using salt to preserve meat goes back to the Egyptians, but curing pork in a small New York apartment? A guide to making guanciale—including, do not plan to hang your jowls at your mother-in-law’s—with recipes for the finished product.
Confessions of a Hired Belly
Roaming Italy for a perfect risotto, or sampling the new Bordeaux while staying in four-star resorts—the life of a food and travel writer rarely evokes pity. But is that only because its hardships haven’t been explained?
Unexplained Snacks of America
“Grits” only sound edible if you know what they are; and even then you could argue otherwise. An Australian guesses what’s in the boxes of our popular foods.
How to Cook Thanksgiving Dinner
You’ve got less than two days to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Is the menu set? Do you have a cooking timetable ready? Uh oh. Sage advice for those whose stuffing isn’t quite ready for prime time.
Bacon
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we enumerate many new ways you can prepare your favorite breakfast meat. Look out, because we're makin' bacon.
Recipes for a Blackout
The Blackout of 2003 will certainly cost the country loads of money, but the condiment industry couldn't be happier. What to do with all those eggs when the lights go out.
Eating With Harley Spiller
SARS be damned: a search for the perfect dumpling in New York's Chinatown, guided through eight restaurants in two hours by the man known as Inspector Collector.
Cool 2B Real
The initiative: The cattle industry wants to promote beef to teenage girls online. The result: "Cool 2B Real." Our reporter sneaks into the boardroom and tells us how it really happened.
Dinner Is Served!
A never-quenched need for aged, obscure cookery manuals, preferably the kind with recipes for Tunnel of Fudge.
Juice
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we give you a few pointers on how to embark on a three-day juice fast. Bottoms up.
Lose 15 Lbs. in 20 Minutes a Day!
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we give advice on nutrition and exercise, topics we know everything about.