​America’s largest city is also one of its greatest food cities—maybe even the greatest (certainly if you ask a New Yorker this question). Look at things by the numbers and you can’t deny New York City’s formidable culinary bonafides. The five boroughs are home to over 21,000 dining establishments. Of those restaurants, 72 boast Michelin stars; the most of any city in the western hemisphere.. But New York’s food scene isn’t defined by tasting menus and white table cloths. This city of 700 languages is an atlas of options, with places to eat featuring cuisines from pretty much every corner of the world, with something to suit every budget.. But for any visitor looking to explore the vast culinary landscape of NYC, you should know: (Incredibly exhausted but unfortunately apt cliché warning) You can’t eat the Big Apple in one bite. There’s simply too much to explore. This is a good thing, but it means you have to be strategic about how you take on the city—and where you choose to stay will make all the difference.. In creating a hotel guide for people who travel with their stomachs first, we had specific criteria in mind. The list had to feature top-notch hotels across a range of price points that could serve as ideal home bases for travelers looking to eat their way through the city. Since some of the best food neighborhoods are scant on quality accommodations, we broke up the city into geographic chunks with superb hotels that are within walking distance of great restaurants and also conveniently located for taking the subway to explore farther flung locales.. The Western chunk of lower Manhattan has become an epicenter of buzzy, hard-to-get-into places to eat. You’ve probably heard of Via Carota, a West Village institution created by chefs Rita Sodi and Jody Williams that’s so in demand there are hours-long waits for its rich yet simple seasonal Italian plates (the green salad is somehow the most famous). The constellation of Michelin guide picks in this area includes the three-starred contemporary Korean spot Jungsik, and Semma, which has made it to the top of numerous best-of lists for its celebratory menu of South Indian cuisine. Yet somehow, it’s the Corner Store—a see-and-be-seen joint for steaks and fries—that’s become one of the hardest reservations to land in the city. Try your luck, but just know that there’s no shortage of alternatives.. For example, if you want a slice from L’industrie Pizzeria but don’t want to stand in line like a sucker, you can step inside its next-door neighbor Talea and order one to your table to enjoy with a locally-brewed sour beer. And Via Carota’s sister restaurant the Commerce Inn speaks the same simple-yet-exquisite vernacular, with a an American Shaker accent, and does take reservations. There’s also Shukette for shareable mezze, the Odeon for martinis and frites, and Don Angie for red sauce comforts.. Reserve the Corner Store on DoorDash Now. Wine nerds and aspiring oen  

​What happens when the restaurant widely believed to be the best in the world implodes? Seems like we’re about to find out.. Noma, which opened in 2003 and has earned a generous sprinkling of Michelin stars since 2011, opened its long anticipated Los Angeles residency on March 11. In the weeks leading up to opening night, discourse burbled along healthily. Angelenos’ eyes bulged at the $1,500-a-head price tag. They gossiped about the private school at which Noma might enroll its relocated chef’s children. Critics wondered how successful this next iteration of Noma might be. Simultaneously, a much more serious conversation came to a boil on Instagram as former chefs and interns at Noma posted allegations of abuse against founder René Redzepi.. This week we’re getting into the ins and outs of the Noma controversy. How did we get here, and where do things stand amid the public outcry against its founder and figurehead? —Sam Stone, staff writer. Noma announces LA residency to mixed reactions. The near-instantaneous sellout of tickets to Noma’s LA residency, where the team plans to transport its Copenhagen-born ethos to Silver Lake for four months, might suggest unanimous enthusiasm—in a vacuum. On the contrary, LA chefs expressed mixed feelings: optimism that the pop-up would bring visibility to the local dining scene, and apprehension that it could siphon reservations away from their restaurants.. Chefs who formerly worked under Redzepi took to social media with more troubled reactions.. Former workers allege abuse from chef René Redzepi, culminating in a New York Times investigation. The Instagram page of Jason Ignacio White, a former head of Noma’s fermentation lab, is plastered with screenshots of anonymous DMs, all allegedly from former Noma chefs who experienced abuse and exploitation at the hands of Redzepi. They began to flow in after White began sharing criticism of Noma and its head chef on his account in early February.. The New York Times followed the trail, publishing an investigation on March 7 (just four days before the pop-up’s opening) that “independently [interviewed] 35 former employees, whose accounts trace a pattern of physical punishment Mr. Redzepi inflicted on his staff,” writes reporter Julia Moskin. “Between 2009 and 2017, they said, he punched employees in the face, jabbed them with kitchen implements, and slammed them against walls. They described lasting trauma from layers of psychological abuse, including intimidation, body shaming and public ridicule. Mr. Redzepi, they said, threatened to use his influence to get them blacklisted from restaurants around the world, to have their families deported, or to get their wives fired from their jobs at other businesses.”. Redzepi responded in a statement to the Times, writing: “Although I don’t recognize all details in these stories, I can see enough of my past behavior reflected in them to understand that my actions were harmful to people who worked  

​Outside of the festive season, I’m not usually hand-washing much glassware, but I do clean my knives nearly every day. And let me tell you, this special sponge happens to fit perfectly around sharp blades too. It glides seamlessly along both sides of a knife (or kitchen shears) at once, neither tearing, snagging, nor slipping along the way. Once I realized it worked so well on my santoku (decidedly not a wine glass), nothing was safe. The Mitt left my little glass prep bowls, mini tongs, jiggers, measuring spoons, and thermometer probes sparkling clean. Honestly, the more I used it, the more uses I found for it. It’s like a precise extension of your hand in the sink. Bonus: it’s dishwasher-safe, so it’s a cinch to sanitize.. Now, you might be thinking, “I too can fold a sponge in half and approximate this utility.” And, yes, you can. But approximate is the keyword here. The Mitt’s open-cell foam structure means it dries quickly (less chance of mold) and, most importantly, it means it is precisely flexible enough to clean fragile things well. It doesn’t force you to squeeze too hard to fit the form of your glass. The shape is so intuitive to hold and use, it makes me wonder why all of my other sponges are just rectangles. It’s a Goldilocks sponge, not a unitasker, but it is still particularly great at the thing it is specifically designed to do.. So I will be keeping my Mitt sinkside, right on its handy little sponge rest, no matter the season. I will be spreading the word too. I think they make the loveliest hostess gift, paired with a bottle of your favorite drink, of course.. Keep those wine glasses shining  

​Performance can tell you something too. You might notice suboptimal baked goods when using past-their-peak whole grain flours, for example. Bread dough can feel different as you knead it, or cookies might spread more as they bake. Determining when flour is past its prime takes a bit of baker’s intuition, Jampel says. Overall, if there’s any evidence of the above, toss it in the compost bin.. One complicating note about clumps: Gluten-free flours can be prone to clumping because of their high starch content. Don’t be deterred—if you can whisk out the clumps and it doesn’t smell off, it should be fine.. How long do different types of flour last?. All-purpose and refined flours: 12–18 months. Refined flour includes most white flours (all-purpose, bread, cake, pastry, 00). It has the most forgiving shelf life of all flour types, provided it is kept dry and free of insect infestation.. Self-rising flour: 12 months. Self-rising flour is the exception among refined flours. Baking powder, the leavening agent in self-rising flour, can lose potency starting on or after the flour’s best-by date. As a result, Jampel cautions, your cakes or biscuits might not rise properly.. Whole grain flours: 3–6 months. The term whole grain covers a variety of milled flours and grains, including rye and spelt flours, as well as buckwheat (which is technically a seed). All whole grain flours contain the bran and germ (the bits processed out of refined flours). These are what make whole grain flours distinct in flavor and rich in nutrients—but they are also why whole grain flours deteriorate at a faster rate. Different grains spoil at different rates, which is why the shelf life of whole grain flours can vary from bag to bag.. Nut flours: 4–6 months. Almond flour, walnut flour, and other flours made from ground nuts, as well as coconut flour (the pulverized dried meat of a coconut), also have a higher fat content than refined flour. Jampel stresses that the expiration dates on this type of flour are worth heeding. Once turned, old flour will smell and taste off (often compared to the smell of wet cardboard or Play-Doh). And that flavor will carry through to anything you bake with it.. How to store flour for maximum freshness. Refined flour is fairly shelf-stable. Stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry pantry, most white flours will keep for a year or more without major changes in flavor or performance. Whole grain flours are more perishable and usually last only two to three months in the pantry.. Colder storage can extend that timeline. Refrigerating flour slows oxidation and helps deter pests like weevils and pantry moths. If you go this route, transfer the flour to an airtight container first so it doesn’t absorb moisture or stray fridge odors.. For longer-term storage, the freezer works best—especially for more volatile flours. Many bakers store whole grain, nut, or coconut flours in a zip-top bag in the freezer to slow the natural oils fr  

​Extra flavorful vegan chili. In my years on this earth, I have made a lot of bean chili. Sometimes black beans, sometimes pintos. Sometimes tomatoey, sometimes tomatillo-y. Sometimes a lot of veg, sometimes very little. They’ve all been fine. Good for the freezer but nothing to write home (here) about. Then I tasted my coworker Jesse Szewczyk’s Vegan Chili in the Test Kitchen. With smoky chipotles and cocoa powder, it’s just as satisfying as a chili with meat. It’s also just as easy as the vegetarian versions I’ve been making, but approximately 17 times more flavorful. To stretch the mixture even further (and because they were languishing in the pantry), I threw in a couple cans of lentils. A nourishing meal I’ll look forward to thawing for lunch for months to come. —E.L.. Vegan Chili. All the smoky savoriness of chili con carne, without the meat.. View Recipe. Sweet corn in winter. For those nights when the winter blues hit a little too hard, I turn to my freezer for some out-of-season brightness. Mine is mostly filled with fruit and veggies (crammed in alongside a tower of butter sticks) and, among the assorted bags, I always keep some charred corn. While senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s Miso-Brown-Butter Rice Cakes With Corn absolutely shines in late summer with fresh kernels, it’s equally satisfying to pull together during a once-in-a-decade blizzard with the frozen stuff. Paired with Korean rice cakes, almost a stick of butter, and a pantry powerhouse sauce (miso, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil), each bowl tastes like a ray of sunshine. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor. Miso-Brown-Butter Rice Cakes With Corn. Crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside rice cakes play well as a pasta substitute in this comforting vegetarian one-skillet meal.. View Recipe. Repeat-worthy chicken and couscous. My weekly comfort meal is this One-Pan Garlicky Chicken Couscous by Carolina Gelen. I make it like clockwork. But this week my oven broke, so I needed to split the dish up, making the chicken in the air fryer (which unlocked a new level of crispy goodness) and the grains on the stove (I opted for rice since I was out of couscous). Both elements get topped with a tangy dill sauce, which I like to double and mix into salads the next day. Though the schmaltzy edge was missed, it was still chef’s kiss. —Abi Lieff, assistant to the editor in chief. Bitter veg season. There are only a few weeks left to enjoy peak bitter vegetable season, a joyous time of year! Wanting to take advantage of radicchio’s vibrant offerings, I turned to this hearty salad. I used Castelfranco leaves since it’s a sweeter and milder variety, and substituted the brussels sprouts with red endive for even more crunch. The subtle bitterness is complemented with creamy cheese and a mouth-puckering lemon dressing. Any white bean will do—I opted for cannellini since it has a delicate bite. —Marisa Alia Malanga, resea