Two Different Worlds

The New York Times Magazine this week offers "THE FOOD AND DRINK ISSUE" -- see it here. Subject matter includes a discussion of restaurants of Paris run by non-French chefs, a portrait of a woman entrepreneur-restauranteur named Barbara Lynch,  another portrait of a 15-year-old upcoming chef (cover story), Mark Bittman writing on restaurants and meals he found memorable, and articles on craft beer and cocktails. Every restaurant mentioned is almost impossible to get into even if you happen to be in one of their locations. Every meal mentioned is beyond the most innovative and trendy world imaginable.

I've been reading a lot of food bloggers' posts recently. Food bloggers mostly write about home cooking, often about their own region or family styles of cooking. Some collect recipes from around the web and recycle them (at least one does this without any attribution at all, but most are more honest than that). They engage in group cooking events in their own far-flung kitchens, where by agreement they all try out recipes from a particular cookbook or author. Some are much more interesting than others. But I feel like they are worlds apart from the NYT magazine, and while not as well-written at times, I think I like the world they mostly represent better.