One of our favorite local websites, which is more of a web series than a blog, is 1 Minute Meal. Videographer James Boo profiles establishments across the city whose stories add diverse depth to our local food and drink culture. See more of his videos here.
Caroline Lange: My Name is Yeh
These days, I usually go right to Food52 when I’m looking for a good recipe; I really trust those recipes. I’ve only made one that didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped or better (speaking of which, if anyone has an amazing chocolate loaf cake recipe, send it my way). And Food52 is where I found Molly Yeh, of My Name is Yeh. Goodness gracious, this blog is sweet. The photographs are beautiful, and the writing is funny and genuine. Yeh’s blog strikes a good balance between everyday-doable and aspirational, so I like to read it when I feel like I’m in a cooking rut — but also when I feel like I want someone to talk to me. And also, of course, when I need a spiffy challah recipe, or a Nutella-inspired/Larabar-inspired recipe, or if I want to fuse Chinese food and Jewish food together, which I occasionally do.
Ariel Lauren Wilson: Phickle
I recently wrote about my personal goal to learn more about fermentation, and while I’ve found plenty of good books with expert guidance, I’ve been especially taken with a blog called Phickle. I was put in touch with the blog’s author, Amanda Feifer, while trying to adapt one my family’s recipes to the a city environment. Within a few hours of drafting her an email, she replied with detailed notes on important fermentation variables ranging from water filtration to ideal storage temperatures; it seemed like she truly cared about the contents of my crock! I’ve been following her blog since our correspondence began and have enjoyed learning about everything from DIY cantaloupe water kefir to the wrath of kahn. If you have even the mildest interest in this field, get to know her site — your ferments will be better for it.
Rachel Wharton
I honestly don’t read many food blogs that religiously — unless you count Eater or Grub Street, which I think these days have grown into official web-based publications rather than blogs. Eater is really still my go-to for what I think of as industry news, meaning openings, closings and other errata, plus reviews by Robert Sietsema and now Ryan Sutton. Otherwise, I tend to consume blogs like appetizers at a party: a taste of this, a little of that, then on to the next thing that happens to catch my eye.
Gabrielle Langholtz
Hands-down my favorite food blog is the first one I ever remember seeing. 101cookbooks.com has been delighting and inspiring me for a decade. Its creator, San Francisco Bay Area photographer and cookbook author Heidi Swanson, is basically who I want to be in my next life — or who I wish I were in this one. For now, I just try to eat like her for dinner. Luckily, that’s easy. Her recipes star natural foods — think cultured butter, coconut oil, amaranth, quinoa, miso, sesame seeds and lots and lots of vegetables. When things are sweetened, it’s with agave, date sugar or molasses. I love just about everything I’ve ever made from her pages, but beyond providing some of my favorite recipes, the blog provides something just as valuable: visceral inspiration on how to live.
Eleonore Buschinger
Being from Paris, I usually read French food blogs. It’s one of the rare moments of the day when I actually read something in French — it’s my Proust moment. However, when I’m cooking, I always take a look at Food52. I am particularly drawn to Food52’s bottom-up and incorporating approach to food journalism. I strongly believe in community building while sharing food and storytelling. As long as people do not know what parsnips are and what to make out of them, they will be unlikely to purchase and cook them. Helping others discover their flavor and nutritional value has the possibility of changing people’s habits.
Featured photo credit: My Name Is Yeh
