ferdlisky

No, not that unusual. October is their restaurant issue. They had Mario Batali on the cover last year, I think, and Rocco Di Spirito (holding a big fish) the year before last, if I'm not mistaken.

Just got my copy. Holy crap. What is it with making chefs dress up and do stupid stuff? Bon Appetit did something similar in their September issue, but at least they didn't put it on the cover...

This is the best thing I've ever read about AW.

California Brittle.... mmmmmmmm..... (drooling)

have you looked at BA recently? after reading your post, I looked through the last few issues, and they are the one magazine that almost never does 40-ingredient recipes. In fact, their food seems deliberately middle of the road, get all the stuff at the supermarket, make it in an hour. A little dumbed down IMHO I get all the food mags (OK, I'm obsessed), and I am just not understanding Gourmet. I want to like it, and often I do, but I have to agree with Fresco on this issue. Editors run amok; the magazine sacrificed on the alter of "hey, we're bored. let's do something cool." And kind of behind the curve, don't you think? That whole retro things seems so... I don't know, last century. And I don't think newstand is the reason they did this. When I saw this on the newsstand, it just made me scratch my head. Newstand sales have to appeal to the lowest common denominator, which in the epicurean category, means people who want to cook (or eat) luscious food. The people who read it for the articles are already subscribers. So, say I'm a browsing food lover, why would I give a rat's ass about TV?

OK.I don't get it. What's up with the TV issue? I like several of the articles in this issue, but the food is stupid. Are the editors just bored or what?

wow... I think Julia misinterpreted this. Julie took the whole thing really seriously. I'm surprised at JC's (love the initial's...) reaction.

That sounds a tad high.... (the newsstand, that is, not the circ). My feeling about what's going on at Gourmet is something that I think you (Fresco) said a while back: no one really seems to be paying much attention. Trying to figure out the editorial vision of the current iteration of Gourmet is almost impossible. One month it's investigative journalism, another the old 1980s style Gourmet. They are very sloppy in their headline and caption writing (although I think attention to detail is getting better), and they don't seem to think about the editorial mix much in each issue (referring to winter in a summer issue is just downright sloppiness and totally unforgiveable. Where are the copy editors????). They do a lot of "special issues" that are very poorly signposted. If you didn't read the spine copy, you'd never know the issue was supposed to be a travel issue, or "islands" issue, or whatever. I don't think the bottom line is doing well at all, so I wonder how long S.I. Newhouse will let Reichl continue at the top. She seems more commited to being a writer than an editor...

Guelaguetza (on Palms/Sepulveda) for to-die-for Oaxacan food. Try the black mole tamales. For a more upscale vibe and superb food, Josie on Pico, Melisse in Santa Monica I had a fabulous meal at Joes in Venice recently, I'd forgotten how good the food is--and it's a cool neighborhood. In fact, strolling around Venice and then having dinner at Joes would be a fun thing to do. Drive up PCH to the Malibu/Ventura county line and have lunch at Neptune's Net. Biker Bar/seafood palace. AOC definitely--what a fantastic place; Angelini Osteria is also wonderful. I'd skip Spago. Enjoy the Getty! You don't need reservations on weekends. Edit: Oh yeah, Sona is great, too.

I'm pretty sure I saw a capsule review of Axe in the roundup... Anybody eaten there, by the way? The menu looks good.

what neighborhood is this?

I'm heading out that way, in a few weeks, too. Any Dublin recommendations????

couldn't agree more--ditto all your points. I was astounded to see this picked as number one.

I've been waiting for someone to bring this up. My feelings exactly

Oh, goody, my favorite topic!!! Here's what I think about food mags (whether or not you want to know). Readers seem to fall into two camps: The ones who want lots of recipes (Bon App, Cooks Illustrated, Fine Cooking) and the ones who want lots of good writing about culinary topics with a few recipes included (Saveur, Gastronomica [spelling?], etc). Gourmet these days is kind of hanging out in the middle... In many ways, we really need to have two names for these two types of books, since "food magazine" doesn't really cover all the variations. Me? I love to cook. No, what I really mean is, I LOVE TO COOK. So while I adore reading great food writing, which to paraphrase another eGullet conversation, is usually found in magazines like the New Yorker, Vogue, Elle, and the Atlantic Monthly, what I want to get in my mailbox each month is recipes. I agree with the comment that BA is not creative enough (in fact it's downright boring at times), but I do like a lot of their food; Cooks Illustrated is getting more middle American by the month, but plenty of stuff to cook; Gourmet has terrific recipes, but has become such a dull hodgepodge. I think we need a new recipe-driven magazine. Something that addresses the way we cook now with the ingredients we use now: fresh, simple, and super high quality. Something that addresses the fact that there is a generation of people now who love to cook, have sophisticated palates, and are willing to spend money on equipment and ingredients. Any publishers out there listening? [edited for spelling]

I used these guys when I lived in SF and loved the service. it was like getting a present every week. Then I moved to LA and there's no service with equivalent quality. I've tried a few, but the veggies/fruit aren't very good. It's done more for health or political reasons here then for culinary reasons. It's strange there's no good veggie delivery service down here when you consider how wonderful the farmers markets are.

To me, this is a great newspaper feature. Consumers really aren't well served by it, and obviously restaurateurs without the right connections are not well served. So who benefits? (or is that a rhetorical question?)

This week's section was great. Fun to read, informative, good food... Charles Perry's watermelon curry story was delightful. Why doesn't he do more?

Hmmm, no recommendations for Aberdeen or thereabouts... It seems that's where I'll be for a few days for family reasons. Tell me it isn't a gastronomic wasteland...

I think most imports die horribly painful deaths, usually short, but sometimes long and protracted (American Men Behaving Badly, anyone?) As I recall Rosanne bought the US rights to Ab Fab. It never saw the light of day, THANK GOD. The Dame Edna/Vanity Fair flap should prove for good that comedy doesn't survive the trip across the Atlantic (or Pacific, I guess, in Dame Edna's case...)

I'm planning a trip to Scotland in a couple of months and am hoping for some good dining advice... I'll definitely go to Edinb. and Glasg., haven't decided where else I'll go. If you have any recommendations for places to eat or stay, could you PM me? Thanks!!!!

ah, one of my favorite films. Will they be showing in the US anytime soon?

Pasta of any sort, sauced with peanut butter (Skippy, Jif, anything hydrogenated), rice vinegar, soy sauce, a little sugar. Yum. I might have to go have some now.

with my first daughter, I craved dim sum. I worked in a high rise in Northern Cal. that had a great dim sum place next door, and every day I would lumber down and have dim sum for lunch. With the second, I craved Ocean Spray ruby red grapefruit juice, but nothing Asian. I remember getting a whiff of Kim Chee and nearly barfing. (edited for Basildog's benefit)