Magazines

Why Jewish Food Disappoints

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 29th 2011 @ 2:00PM

Jewish food, kugel Photo: Alamy

We'd be too afraid to knock Grandma's matzoh ball soup (and, seriously, it is delicious), but Josh Ozersky has no such qualms. He argues in his TIME magazine piece that Eastern European Jewish food just isn't that tasty.

Dissing on kugel? He should probably watch out for all those bubbes out there--they're fierce when wielding wooden spoons.

Filed under: Magazines, Food News

Vegan Magazine Apologizes for Meat Photos

COMMENTS 50

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 20th 2011 @ 4:00PM

VegNews apology Photo: VegNews

"We screwed up." So begins the letter of apology (its second) from vegan-lifestyle magazine VegNews to its readers after the mag was found to be using photos of actual meat in its spreads.

Yes, it was "symbolic imagery," according to the letter from publisher Joseph Connelly and his management team. But from now on, the letter assures readers, it will "never again use non-vegan photographs" in the magazine. The staff outlines the following additional claims:

Recipes in VegNews will be represented only by custom vegan photography. Count on it.

All stock images used in the magazine and website will be vegan. We will make sure so that you can be sure.

VegNews will build and host a vegan photo bank to assure the availability of vegan stock images. Look for details in the coming days.

Based on the comments, the readers have largely accepted the apology and the world of vegan photography will now be forever changed for the better.

Filed under: Magazines, Online

Vegan Magazine's Faux-Meat Recipe Photos Actually Real Meat

COMMENTS 8

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 14th 2011 @ 12:00PM

Photo: VegNews

VegNews, the "premier magazine to focus on a vegetarian lifestyle" according to its website, has been using real meat photos to accompany its recipes, as vegan blogger QuarryGirl (blog tagline: "Meat is Murder") discovered and documented. QuarryGirl has posted several examples of stock photography of meat dishes in which VegNews has used as an image of a vegan dish.

The "Vegan Spare Ribs" recipe used a photo of actual meat ribs, with the bones photoshopped out, and a picture for Seitan Stew was actually an iStockphoto titled "Chicken Breast Soup." Other examples include hot dogs with actual meat and macaroni and cheese with actual cheese. One commenter and former VegNews intern said that everyone on the VegNews staff is fully aware of the "meat and dairy photo policy." A former copy editor echoed the intern's sentiments.

The VegNews Facebook page has a slew of disappointed commenters as well, some of which are claiming that their comments are getting deleted. Green gossip blog Ecorazzi reports that VegNews has yet to comment on its photo policy. Moral of the story: Magical Meatball Burgers are in fact not the same thing as your everyday (or, non-magical) burger.

UPDATE: VegNews posted a detailed letter on its website addressing the photo controversy and admitting to using stock photos. The letter states that "there are very few specifically vegan images offered by stock companies" and as a result of financial constraints, VegNews will sometimes use a non-vegan image.

Filed under: Magazines, Food News

Top Ten Fast-Food Breakfasts

COMMENTS 0

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Feb 15th 2011 @ 5:00PM

IHOP veggie scrambled eggs Photo: IHOP

About to grab the usual Egg McMuffin from Mickey D's for your fast-food breakfast fix? According to Health magazine's March issue, you might want to grab the McDonald's oatmeal with fruit instead. You'll get less fat, more fiber, and fewer calories.

Health has come up with their top-ten list of the healthiest fast-food breakfasts under 400 calories, says USA Today. The list includes not only that oatmeal, but a simple and fit veggie omelet from IHOP (pictured here), and, for fruit lovers, Jamba Juice's berry topper ideal meal, of yogurt, fruit, seeds, and granola.

For all the full list, with calorie counts, see the story at USA Today.

See our Starbucks vs. Dunkin' Donuts Breakfast Sandwich Taste Test

Filed under: Magazines, Health & Medical, Fast Food

Rachael Ray's Hot List for 2011

COMMENTS 1

by Jason Best, Posted Dec 14th 2010 @ 2:30PM

artisanal hot dogs Photo: LarimdaME, Flickr

'Tis the season for lists. No, we're not talking about the one compiled by you-know-who with two distinct headings: "Naughty" and "Nice." We're talking about those annual round-ups made by tastemakers and armchair prognosticators that let us know what we should be wearing, eating or doing in the coming year and what, alas, is so 2010.

The editors at Every Day with Rachael Ray are in on the action. Editor in Chief Liz Vaccariello and the Rachael Ray crew have compiled a list of what's in and what's out for foodies in 2011. Among the items on Every Day's hot list ("every day" not necessarily meaning "down to earth" here): If you're still quaffing coconut water, you're so 2010. Cheribundi brand tart cherry juice is anointed the new super-fruit drink of the year.

What about good old orange juice? Well, that appears to be the equivalent of driving a Pinto. In fact, Every Day recommends that if you feel a cold coming on in 2011, trade that glass of Tropicana for a glass of wine. (We're sure your doctor would say the same thing.)

As usual, such time-based lists struggle with the fact that some things have had the audacity to endure long enough to be, well, timeless. What to do, for example, with that savory stalwart, pizza? Well, according to Vaccariello, "pizza for only lunch or dinner" is decidedly out; "pizza for breakfast" is in. But, apparently, not if it's "artisanal pizza," because artisanal pizza is so very out.

In it's place? Artisanal hot dogs! (Just don't call them "comfort food.")

Filed under: Magazines, Celebrities

Think Big, Stay Young, and Blog for Your Life

COMMENTS 1

by Jason Best, Posted Oct 6th 2010 @ 4:00PM

Sam Kass, White House Chef Sam Kass, White House Food-Policy Adviser. Photo: Kevin Dietsch-Pool / Getty Images

The November issue of Food & Wine is about to hit newsstands with the magazine's list of "40 Big Thinkers 40 & Under." These wunderkinder, say the editors, are "changing the way Americans eat and drink," which seems a tad exaggerated. (Though who knows, maybe 34-year-old entrepreneur Siggi Hilmarsson really will give Greek yogurt a run for its money with skyr, the yogurt of his native Iceland.)

Inevitably, depending on how old you are and what mood you're in, these lists are either inspiring or depressing. Either way, based on our reading of this current list, here are some tips that just may help you get on next year's:

• Do Something Green: It's no surprise that the same words that pop up on restaurant menus across the country (eco, local, sustainable) also crop up in this awards list, from a 39-year-old "urban-farm pioneer" to a 40-year-old "eco-wine" importer.

Filed under: Magazines, News

Condé Nast to Launch Magazine-Themed Restaurants

COMMENTS 6

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Aug 5th 2010 @ 4:00PM

Vogue Cafe in Tokyo Japan Photo: jon.keane, Flickr

Moscow already has the Vogue Café, GQ Bar and Tatler Club.

Now, magazine company Condé Nast is looking to expand its magazine-themed restaurant business across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move is part of the company's strategy to build its brands beyond print magazines, which have been suffering from drops in advertising.

"The idea involves only Condé Nast's international unit, so there are no plans for a Vanity Fair Café or a New Yorker Bar & Grill in the U.S.," says the Journal article. The licensing deal belongs to the company's international unit and U.S. magazines can reach their own licensing agreements for products, the Journal reported.

The company hopes to have one or two restaurants open in 2011 and as many as five per year after that, Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman of Condé Nast International, told the paper. At the top of the list are places like Hong Kong and Dubai. Istanbul and Kiev are also being considered.

Filed under: Magazines, Restaurants

Produce, Revealed

COMMENTS 1

by Lindsay Damast, Posted Jul 22nd 2010 @ 4:00PM

Photo: Andy Ellison

Human X-rays and MRIs are so fascinating because we're given a glimpse into that which we cannot usually see. But when fruit and vegetables were scanned in an MRI machine by lab research technologist Andy Ellison, the resulting images were entrancing due to their mystification -- not clarification -- of the inanimate subjects. The stitched-together image frames produce hypnotizing animations that are far more revealing than a simple slice and dice. We're not exactly eager to recreate Salon writer Francis Lam's claustrophobic MRI experience, but now we can't help but wonder what our animated insides might look like.

To see the animations of an artichoke, watermelon, broccoli and more check out Ellison's blog, Inside Insides.

Filed under: Science, Magazines, On the Blogs

How "Well-Done" Became a Dirty Word

COMMENTS 87

by Nadine Rubin, Posted Jun 18th 2010 @ 11:00AM

Photo: avlxyz, Flickr

Have you noticed how the centers of your steaks have become bloodier over time? Since, say, 1982, according to New York Times food writer Florence Fabricant?

Susan Burton has. In an essay on Slate.com, Burton publicly declares her meat preference as "cooked through, gray, no trace of pink." And while you may think that sounds like she's ordering up shoe leather, Burton says "that [her choice] signifies 'food safety.'" With that, she sets off on a fascinating historical journey of how the tradition of cooking meat well done has slowly slipped out of favor in American kitchens.

Filed under: Magazines, Health & Medical, Food News

New Food Magazine Counts on Home Cooks

COMMENTS 0

by Naomi Shulman, Posted Jun 14th 2010 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Parade.com

We've all heard the conventional wisdom: print media is doomed. Last fall's demise of Gourmet, shocking as it was, was only one of dozens of magazines that have folded in the past five years. But now a phoenix appears to be rising from those journalistic ashes -- and that phoenix is wearing an apron.

Meet Dash, a new magazine slated to debut this September (online to start, at dashrecipes.com). A preview issue of the print version will follow in November, with regular monthly issues beginning in February. While Gourmet focused on cooking that was, well, gourmet, Dash promises food that is "simple," "fast," and last (but hopefully not least), "delicious."

Turns out that while many advertisers were fleeing magazines, food purveyors have been quietly buying up their ad space, according to The New York Times.

Filed under: Magazines