Food Republic

Fire? Check. Knives? Check. Copious amounts of alcohol? Check. What could possibly go wrong when grilling outdoors, you ask. Well, now that you mention it -- a hell of a lot. "I once treated someone who stomped out a campfire in flip-flops and fried off the soles of his feet,"...

Thirty years ago, the concept of a craft-beer power ranking system was inconceivable. Back then, there were only a handful of breweries pumping out suds that deviated from the watery-lager norm.

Related: How To Drink Craft Beer Smarter »

Fast-forward to 2012, and there are more than 2,000...

It's around that time again, when we freshen up our Coffee Power Rankings. Like a jolt of mid-morning caffeination, we're shaking the old list up this month with a sprinkling of new players. In case you're wondering just what complex algorithm we use to gauge the hottest coffee folks, well,...

The time to break out your slightly rusty, charcoal-laced grill has come. And while Americans are busy firing up their swank, larger-than-life cookers and grilling up organic bison burgers and flame-kissed baby back ribs, other cultures heat up their own version of a barbecue.

Related: Where Food Goes...

Beer in the ballpark used to be even more boring than a scoreless pitchers' duel. The scant offerings included the usual suspects like Bud, Miller, Coors and their watery, innocuous kin. I'll grant that these beers have their place during hot, sweaty summer afternoons. However, they're...

Garden burgers. Power bars. Protein brownies. Bottled water that makes you thin, young and smart. And we used to wonder what they put in Pop Rocks...

These days it's hard for even die-hard foodies to know what they're eating or drinking. That's because food has changed from something that didn't...

By Eleanor West

Can eating today's overweight and often deformed industrial chickens be contributing to our obesity epidemic? Is it possible that the white lean meat we've been told is better for us than heart attack-inducing red meat is actually full of fat? According to a 2009 British study --...

In my early, drunken twenties, not long after I shook my cost-driven affection for forty-ouncers of malt liquor, I fell under the sway of a tall boy. Well, perhaps I should say tall boys, because there's no way I could glug just one 16-ounce can of beer -- and this...

If you haven't eaten your way across Italy yet, consider the advice of someone who has. Italian food varies dramatically from region to region, but you can rest assured that you will find pasta, wine, espresso and gelato wherever you go.

We, however, suggest stepping out of your culinary comfort...

They say it's not easy being green. But, honestly, it's gotten easier lately, especially with so many great restaurants making efforts to operate sustainably. But these days it's more than just serving foods sourced from local, organic farms.

Sustainability in 2012 is about designing an efficient, eco-friendly environment,...

No matter how many times that you hear Champagne isn't just for special occasions, most of us don't get around to buying it until we have something to toast -- be it the New Year, an anniversary, professional tennis, or some other momentous occasion. Why? Well, for starters,...

Everyone has their favorite pizza place, whether it's the dollar-slice joint serving up saucy cardboard (hey, you don't need to defend yourself) or the brick-oven spot that's so hot right now you couldn't get a perfectly charred pie if you waited two hours. Dedicated food enthusiasts have more than one...

The weekend's news of the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il shook the world. Kim had been revered as a god by his people thanks to his, and his father's, iron grip over the populace. What's going to happen next? Can Kim's youngest son consolidate power? Will he...

Exotic and McDonald's don't really belong in the same sentence, do they? Words more commonly associated with the burger giant tend to be "obesity" and "suburbia," unless, of course, you hit the road. Discover how McDonald's personalizes burgers with these 20 international Mac attacks across the globe.

What do...

We always make sure to spatchcock our capons on the plancha while we make salmagundi on the side. Don't know what any of that means? Then you're in luck, because we're here to help you bone up on your kitchen vocabulary. Learn these 50 words and soon you'll be running...

Once upon a time, beer was beer. Quantity mattered over quality, with flavor riding backseat to booze and gimmicks. How else would you explain Phat Boy, the thankfully discontinued malt liquor made with ginseng?,

But in the last three decades, America has undergone a slow seismic shift in...

Kentucky may tout the best bourbon around, and we hear Washington has great apples (and therefore great cider). New Mexico is famous for its proprietary hatch chiles and Maine for its succulent lobster (although there are other things to eat there).

Nowadays, showing off your wine IQ is less about rattling off fancy chateau names and more about knowing good value -- both environmentally and in the wallet. Here are some quick tips for drinking wine smarter:

1. Try a biodynamic wine

• It may sound a little kooky...

Frugal vs. Cheap Eating

• First,...

The formula for beer is relatively simple: Water, starch, yeast and hops, the flowering cone-shaped plant that gives beer its sharp, bitter bite. Many brewers swear by the four varieties of "noble hops," with mellower, sweeter flavors. But if you love that tongue-curling bitterness that we firmly believe denotes a...