Laura Weiss a journalist (www.lauraweissauthor.com) who writes about food, travel, and lifestyle. I also blog at Food and Things.My credits include: The New York Times, New York Daily News, Travel + Leisure, Interior Design, Food Network, Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End, Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink and many others. I'm an editor for Zagat's LI Guide to Restaurants and I'm writing a culinary history of ice cream (Reaktion Books, University of Chicago Press, forthcoming) For more information, visit www.lauraweissauthor.com.

Blog Entries by Laura Weiss

Hunger Groups Wield Tech Tools In Obama Inaugural Service Day Push

Posted January 16, 2009 | 04:25 PM (EST)


Borrowing a page from President-elect Obama's reliance on high-tech tools to win the White House, hunger groups are launching their own tech-heavy drives to feed America's hungry.

It's all in response to Obama's call for a national day of service to take place on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 19,...

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From Cupcakes to Cocktails -- Foods to Be Inaugurated By

5 Comments | Posted January 6, 2009 | 05:53 PM (EST)


Want to know what's cooking with the incoming Obama administration?

The nation's chefs, bakers and restaurateurs aren't waiting to find out. Whether it's for profits or patriotism, chefs are crafting food creations--from cupcakes to cocktails--to honor the incoming 44th president's historic January 20th inauguration.

For inspiration, many food professionals...

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Holiday Food Faux Pas -- And How to Avoid Them

Posted December 2, 2008 | 01:00 PM (EST)


It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas -- the 2009 version that is.

With stocks swooning, layoffs spreading, and visions of the Great Depression supplanting any thoughts of dancing sugar plums, this holiday seasoning is shaping up to be a sober one.

Even the time-honored corporate practice of bestowing...

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What to Eat and When to Eat It on Election Night

Posted October 31, 2008 | 05:42 PM (EST)


When it comes to selecting which foods to serve election night, there are as many schools of thought as there are positions ranged across the political spectrum.

Whether to chill the champagne before election returns even start to scroll across the TV screen can be a hotly debated topic. To...

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Kicking That Dining Out Habit: What to Cook During a Financial Meltdown

Posted October 6, 2008 | 02:54 PM (EST)


When the stock market tanks, you may be forced to pass up that long-planned Caribbean vacation. And the kids may be asked to make do with less pricey back-to-school outfits.

But one thing you can't easily go without is food.

With growing numbers of budget-conscious Americans cutting back on restaurant...

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Umami Comes to a Pizzeria Near You

Posted September 9, 2008 | 06:20 PM (EST)


What does the science of taste have to do with pizza?

A lot it turns out, since one of the five basic tastes--umami--appears in Parmesan cheese and cooked tomatoes.

Umami is a hot topic in the food world these days. One of of five distinctive tastes--the others are salt,...

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Is Going Local Going Too Far?

Posted August 19, 2008 | 04:00 PM (EST)


Like all trends, going local sometimes goes too far. If you need evidence of this, read the story in the Times last week about the Brooklyn couple who tried to grow their own lettuce -- only to find that it had rotted before they finally picked it.

Why...

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The Grocery Man Says It Isn't a Barbara Kingsolver World

Posted August 6, 2008 | 09:17 PM (EST)


Last week, famed grocer and cheesemonger Steve Jenkins held forth on the world of food in an interview with Leonard Lopate on New York public radio station, WNYC.

Jenkins was there to flack his new book, The Food Life, but along the way he had some refreshingly forthright...

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Starbucks: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Posted July 29, 2008 | 05:06 PM (EST)


Who would have guessed that Starbucks would be missed in a place like Southold?

Situated on the picturesque North Fork of Long Island, the 368-year old village harkens back to simpler times. There's Rothman's Department Store, the 90-plus year old family-owned emporium where vintage guitars and banjos hang amidst...

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Why the Italians Get it Right When It Comes to Local Food

Posted July 22, 2008 | 04:15 PM (EST)


The local food movement is hot stuff in the U.S. In Italy, at least in the off-the-beaten-track Le Marche region, locally produced food, is well, just food.

I'm just back from a week in this verdant rich agricultural area, which lies between Italy's Appennine Mountains and the Adriatic coast. You...

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Old School Vies with New School at the Fancy Food Show

Posted July 9, 2008 | 01:07 PM (EST)


"We're old school," declared Marble Pop sales rep James Kosuge, a grin spreading across his face. "We use artificial ingredients."

Marble Pop, a popular Japanese soda, was making its U.S. debut at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York. That's the gathering of specialty food producers which takes...

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Is Locally Grown Food Going Corporate?

Posted June 27, 2008 | 02:41 PM (EST)


Is locally grown food about to go corporate?

That's what I've been wondering as I've pondered Whole Foods' new deal with a small sustainable Long Island vegetable grower. The grocery chain is aiming to bring high quality locally grown salad mix, produced by Long Island-based Satur Farms, to several...

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