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The Chef Who Cooks From Somewhere There is a dish on the menu and you have never heard of it. The server does not explain it like a concept or a riff. He explains it the way you explain something old and particular, something from a place with a name and a reason behind it. Not homage, not inspiration. A...

Bistecca alla Fiorentina: The Steak That Florence Still Gets Right There are two inches of Chianina T-bone between you and the fire, and the fire is the only thing that gets a say. No marinade. No oil before it goes on. No seasoning until after it comes off. You put the steak on the charcoal and you wait. That is...

Somebody Has to Know What They're Doing at the Fire Memorial Day weekend, every backyard in America, same scene. Someone is standing in front of a grill waving smoke out of their face. Tongs in hand. Three people have already asked when the food will be ready. The answer is a confident shrug and another poke at the meat with...

The American Kitchen Has Never Been One Thing The spice rack tells you more about a cook than the knife block. Open the cabinet in a kitchen that actually gets used and you might find gochujang next to a bottle of Tabasco, fish sauce tucked behind the ground cumin, a jar of preserved lemons from a Moroccan market in Houston,...