Serious Eats - The Amateur Gourmet

Win A Copy of The Serious Eats Book

Flipping through the pages of the new Serious Eats Book, I’m in total awe. It’s the kind of book that could only be written by a team of passionate, ambitious food folk–the kind of people who care very deeply about issues like “What’s the best pizza in the country?” (#1 on their list: Apizza Scholls in Portland, OR) or “What are the various regional burger styles?” (the list includes smashed burgers, steamed cheeseburgers, cheese-stuffed burgers, and so on). Led by the spirited Ed Levine, the Serious Eats team have assembled a book choc full of great advice on where to eat, how to eat and what to eat (including many brilliant recipes developed by the incomparable J. Kenji Lopez-Alt). Now TWO OF YOU lucky Amateur Gourmet readers are going to receive a free copy of the Serious Eats book. To win, simply put your name, location and favorite local haunt (a Serious Eats-worthy destination) in the comments with a one-sentence description that makes me hungry. Make sure to enter a valid e-mail address too so I can notify you if you win (I’ll post the winners here tomorrow morning in this same post). Good luck!

UPDATE: The contest is over! All of your submissions made me hungry, but the two that made me the hungriest were Angela Shepard’s (pork belly sandwich at Butcher in New Orleans) and Broderick’s (baked farm egg in a bath of celery cream at Miller-Union in Atlanta). Congrats to the winners.

Someone’s In The Kitchen With…Ed Levine (PLUS: Win Free Tix To The Serious Eats All-Star Sandwich Festival)

The man, the myth, the legend, Ed Levine–creator of Serious Eats–stopped by my kitchen on Monday to chat with me all about his career; from his book “New York Eats,” to the TV show he hosted with Jeffery Steingarten (and a surprising moderator) to the creation of Serious Eats itself. We also talked about the big Serious Eats sandwich festival coming up on Governor’s Island on July 23rd. There’ll be sandwiches from Torrisi, Locanda Verde, Gramercy Tavern, Salumeria Biellese, Taim Mobile; plus our friends from the Big Gay Ice Cream truck will be there too. Oh and lots of booze. Tickets are $65 each (buy them here) but Ed generously agreed to give away TWO pairs of tickets to Amateur Gourmet readers. So: to win, write a recipe for your favorite sandwich in the comments (make sure to use a valid e-mail address). I’ll pick the two best sandwiches and those folks will each win a pair of tickets to the event. And I’ll be there too, so see you there!

Previous Episodes: Matt Armendariz, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, Big Girls, Small Kitchen, Emeric Harney & Rachel Wharton.

6 Years

No need to make a fuss, but today’s the 6th anniversary of my blog. Six years ago, on January 14th, 2004 to be exact, I wrote the following words: “Are you sick of competency? Of food blogs run by competent people with flawless track records and no history of salmonella? Are you tired of not having salmonella? You’ve come to the right place.”

Six years later, I can’t believe how that small gesture changed my life so dramatically. Thanks to everyone who’s supported me along the way (mentors, friends, colleagues, designers, illustrators, you know who you are) and, most importantly, thanks to you–yes YOU–for reading me. What do the next six years hold? I’m not sure, but if they’re anything like the last six, I’ve got a lot to look forward to.

[P.S. Check out this Serious Eats interview where I reveal my top 3 favorite posts from the past six years.]

Winning Hot Dog Limerick

Congrats to KJR, the winner of our Hot Dog limerick contest who gets two free tix to the Serious Eats Hot Dog Hootenanny this Sunday (please e-mail Alaina Browne with your info.) Here’s the winning limerick:

“There once was a hot dog named Frankie / Whose bun was as thin as a hankie / So he rolled up just so / In some crescent roll dough / Now kids call him “Pig-in-a-Blankie.”

Be A Weiner Winner

Serious Eats has generously offered to give away two tickets to Amateur Gourmet readers for its Hot Dog Hootenanny this Sunday at 3 PM at Astor Center. Tickets are $25 but if you want yours free, write a hot dog limerick in the comments (please keep it clean!) and the funniest one will be published here tomorrow, May 1st, at 5 PM and its author and a guest will nosh for free.

Check Out The Sexy New Serious Eats

Remember when Olivia Newton John goes all bad in “Grease” and John Travolta’s got chills and they’re multiplying? You may feel the same way when you check out the new design of Serious Eats.

(Lobster) Roll Your Own

I am so excited–I finally get to share with you the lobster roll video Craig and I made for Serious Eats. It features Rebecca Charles, owner of Pearl Oyster Bar, who shares all her trade secrets so you can recreate a Pearl lobster roll at home! If you like this video, please let ’em know over on the Serious Eats page: