"Bon Appetit" news and stories

Was it just us, or did everything about last night's Iron Chef America match-up scream "a lamb led to slaughter"? We were trying our hardest not to judge a book by its cover -- er, an eager challenger by her appearance -- really, we were.

But from the instant the producers threw up the hand-drawn visage of the night's competitors -- the little-girl-next-door-ish Dena Marino, wearing a dainty little bob and a downturned pout to match, versus the streamlined, intense stare of reigning Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto -- we had a bad, bad feeling.

When The Chairman announced the night's secret ingredient -- figs! -- Marino looked like a fearful little puppy who was about to get spanked with a newspaper. The contrast continued as the chefs got down to business: While Marino was gingerly slicing fig meats from their skins, Morimoto was crucifying an eel, driving a spike through its head and fastening it to the cutting board so he could better get at its flesh. Let's just say something told us this challenge wasn't going to be a fair fight.

• In a city where it seems most everyone drives everywhere, two sisters lead a taste tour, on foot.
• But a trip on the light rail can be just as delicious.
• Now that Gourmet is gone -- and with it, Ruth Reichl -- Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Barbara Fairchild steps into the spotlight at Condé Nast.
• A round-up of gravy and stuffing recipes from the Los Angeles Times' test kitchen.
• Drinking juice at breakfast? You might as well be chugging soda.
• Raising your child on a vegetarian diet? If so, meat may become the forbidden fruit.
• Even though the picks may not be perfect, it's lime season in California.
• Dining guide "EAT: Los Angeles 2010" hits bookstore shelves Dec. 1.

If cooking is the way to one's heart, Daniel Boulud should be able to attribute much of his success to his understanding of food. "I think that every restaurant is the chef's soul," he says in documentary "A Certain Taste for America."

In an ongoing series entitled "Art de Vivre: The Art of Eating Today," led by the French Institute in New York City on Monday, a screening of the film (very doting on Boulud) was followed by a panel discussion reflecting upon the art of eating and, more specifically, the importance of sustainability and sourcing food.

As a world-renowned chef hailing from a small hamlet outside Lyon, Boulud has achieved his veritable empire -- 10 successful restaurants based in New York, Palm Beach, Las Vegas, Vancouver and Beijing -- by striving to keep a strict culinary focus on seasonal cooking and high-quality ingredients.

More on Boulud's rise to fame, and the panel discussion on sustainable produce, obesity in America, seasonal cooking and its debatable expenses, after the jump.

Brunch menu at No 7. Photo: Arthurohm, Flickr

Bon Appétit's September issue has hit newsstands with its annual list of the nation's Top 10 Best New Restaurants. Featuring mouthwatering top dishes from Cleveland to Decatur, Ga., there are some interesting picks in the mix.

If you're located in -- or traveling to -- any of the cities mentioned, keep in mind that in this era of seasonally shifting cuisine, the dishes Bon App editors loved back when the issue was being put together might not be available right now.

We called Tyler Kord, chef and co-owner of No. 7, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to inquire about his pumpkin-seed-encrusted tofu, which editors sampled last winter and adored. A different rendition of tofu is on his current menu, but the pumpkin-seed version is gone. "I've never repeated anything," Kord says. Will he consider putting it back on? "Maybe."

Was Kord -- a fellow whose menu has featured luxe choices like bavette steak and grilled arctic char -- surprised by the editors' choice? "Yeah, definitely. I mean, they picked tofu. It's a delicious dish, but it was a little surprising."

The top 10 new eateries and dishes are after the jump.

I've always had a love/hate relationship with upscale cookbooks and food magazines. I enjoy flipping through them, ogling the stunning food images and imagining a life where I have the time and energy to create dishes that take 7 pots, 11 hours and 26 ingredients. However, it's that level of intensity that so frustrates me, as while those recipes are nice to look at, reality says that they aren't something I can tackle. It's one of the reasons that the only food magazine that I've consistent subscribed to over the last five years is Everyday Food (the recipes are just so darn accessible).

However, according to an article in today's New York Times, it appears that those more refined and haughty food magazines are changing their ways and including recipes that home cooks can make on a budget and in that window of time that exists between the end of your commute home and the start of the dinner (half) hour.

Gourmet is including a new feature in their monthly publication called "Cook Smart" that tries to help the folks at home with easy, budget-friendly meals that will produce leftovers and keep them from calling out for pizza in desperation. Other publications like Food & Wine and Bon Appétit are choosing similar paths.

As readers and consumers of food media (I'm guessing that at least a few of you still subscribe to some of the glossies), what are you looking for? Do you use the food magazines that land in your mailboxes each month? Would you appreciate it if those glossies started printing more useful recipes?