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"Bon Appétit" or "Gourmet"?


Chad

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Bon Appetit or Gourmet?

After a couple of fast and furious rounds of school fundraising (scented candles anyone?), my wife and I find ourselves with a couple of magazine subscription vouchers. I don't even have a clue as to what the money went for. Arming rebels in Togo, I think.

Anyway, I haven't picked up either magazine in a couple of years. I checked out recent issues of both and was less than impressed. Saveur is not on the list, so it's between those two. Any opinions? Or should I just get a subscription to "Discover" and be done with the whole mess?

Chad

Chad Ward

An Edge in the Kitchen

William Morrow Cookbooks

www.chadwrites.com

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A cold or a rash? Or neither?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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I saw Intermezzo for the first time last week. Can someone tell me about it?

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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I looked at both and decided to subscribe to Bon Appetit mainly because of the recipes.

I'm surprised there's not a monthly digest for it here on eGullet.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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Um, Toliver, you might have just taken on the role of eGullet Contributor.  :raz:

The first rule of eGullet is that you never complain about eGullet.

Not a complaint...uhm...just an observation? :unsure:

I just started doing the digest for Chile Pepper Magazine.

I guess I could tackle Bon Appetit, too.

I'll have to mull it over.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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Toliver, read Bon Appetit so no one else has to.

Take a bullet for the team.

No greater love hath man than to give his life yada yada yada.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Toliver, read Bon Appetit so no one else has to.

Take a bullet for the team.

No greater love hath man than to give his life yada yada yada.

Why, you make it sound so appealing...it may as well be called "Head Cheese" magazine. :biggrin:

I've always said that God has the most ironic sense of humor. Guess what I found waiting in my mailbox this evening after I got home from work?

Yep, the "Thanksgiving" issue of Bon Appetit. :laugh:

Someone is trying to tell me something...

OK, I will commit. Give me some time to shake out all the subscription card inserts and I'll post the digest.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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A Digest of Bon Appetit..... You'll be challenged to cull out the articles from the slim areas between the "Special Advertising Section"s. Those sections drive me nuts. Gourmet has been increasing the number of them, but Bon Appetit still takes the prize, I think.

Does anyone else find those long sections of ads as annoying as I do?

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Does anyone else find those long sections of ads as annoying as I do?

Not anymore. :wink:

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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I'll admit it. I like Bon Appetit. Always have, and have gotten it for over 10 years now. I will say, it can get dull at times, and there aren't always recipes that make me rush right over to my stove, but hey. It keeps me from getting in a rut, and I like the writing for the most part.

Martha Stewart's new one -- what's it called? Everyday Food? What a pleasant surprise! I am no Martha fan, but it's a decent pub, and had some really great recipes.

Edited by newsbabe (log)
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Well, I hope you're happy.

It's done.

This is the last time I will ever pipe up with an observation again. :hmmm::laugh:

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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Holy shit, that's a lot of recipes. And this comes out every month-what's a person supposed to do with all those recipes? Yeah, I know, stack 'em up on a shelf for "someday." :hmmm: Yeah, right.

Yes, I do keep every issue and they do stack up. I wish Bon Appetit would wise up and offer a year-end recap on CD so I can toss the magazines. It would be ideal to be able to pop in a CD and print out a recipe. They could even leave the ads in...I wouldn't care. They can call it an "enhanced subscription" and charge an extra buck for it.

I know I will make some of the recipes in this issue. Some that looked especially good: The “Italian Sausage and Parmesan Cheese Stuffing”, “Creamed Corn Gratin with Fried Onion Rings and Bacon”, "Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar and Pancetta”, “Haricots Verts with Goat Cheese and Warm Bacon Dressing”, “Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust”...oops that last one didn't have a pork product in it. I may have to skip it. :laugh:

I look forward to the Thanksgiving Issue and the Barbecue issue every year.

Mmmm...Barbecue. :wub:

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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All Bon Appetit (and Gourmet as well) recipes going way back are on the epicurious.com website. So, you can let your mags stack up, but if you want a quick way to pull up a recipe you remember reading, just go to the website. It's really easy.

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I looked at both and decided to subscribe to Bon Appetit mainly because of the recipes.

I'm surprised there's not a monthly digest for it here on eGullet.

Actually there was a digest back in the summer months and it was done by me. I ran out of time for it and dropped the ball. Glad to see someone has picked it up... I love that magazine.

Good job Toliver! :smile:

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All Bon Appetit (and Gourmet as well) recipes going way back are on the epicurious.com website. So, you can let your mags stack up, but if you want a quick way to pull up a recipe you remember reading, just go to the website. It's really easy.

Thanks for the info.

Of course, cynic that I am, I'm thinking the minute I toss all my magazines out, they'll start requiring a membership fee to access their recipes on the website (see the "Cook's Illustrated" web site). Then I will be SOL.

Actually there was a digest back in the summer months and it was done by me.  I ran out of time for it and dropped the ball.  Glad to see someone has picked it up... I love that magazine.

Good job Toliver! :smile:

Oh, so you're the ball-dropper. That's okay. My schedule was clear at work so I did the digest in the afternoon (don't let my boss know!). It's finding the time to dedicate to it that's a killer as it does take up a good chunk of time to write the digest.

I'm just surprised that the digests don't get more of a read given the traffic that this site is supposed to have.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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I say "a pox on all their houses". I do not find the recipes in Bon Appetit or Gourmet of the slightest interest any more. I dropped Food and Wine and Bon Appetit a few years ago and keep going with Gourmet only for sentimental reasons (I have been a subscriber for 30 Years). Recent issues of Gourmet have contained more ads than food writing. To my mind the only interesting food magazines for the non-professional are Saveur and Cooks Illustrated. On a loftier level Art Culinaire and the Art of Eating both make wonderful reading and there are great recipes in Art Culinaire. One can also get a lot of ideas from Food Arts.

Ruth Friedman

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