I remember working at Jean-Georges restaurant when I was 22 and someone asking me what my ideal job would be. I had failed to get any kind of real writing career out of college, and most nights I stayed out late with my coworkers spending what little money I did have on food I couldn’t afford. So of course, without hesitation, I said I wanted to be Anthony Bourdain.

Could there have been a different answer? For a writer obsessed with food, Anthony Bourdain represented the very best life. He did everything: He was at one point a chef, a writer, a public speaker, and a host of one of the best travel and food shows that ever existed. And, damn, was he good at all of this. He was a storyteller that made the world feel a little bit smaller. He gave voices to people and cultures that otherwise might not get that voice, and he did it in such a way that never felt gross or appropriative.

READ MORE »

Forget your astrological sign and whether you’re a Carrie or a Miranda, because these days it’s all about what LaCroix flavor you are. Are you a Pamplemousse or a Peach-Pear? People love LaCroix so much that some even want to dress up as their favorite flavor at the beach all summer in LaCroix swimwear.

I have a can of Grapefruit LaCroix in my hand right now, and I’m eyeing the matching swimsuit, so I have my answer – and it looks like I’m in good company, because Grapefruit is apparently the most popular LaCroix flavor by a large margin. (It also makes the cutest swimsuit.)

READ MORE »

Google announced this week that in a move towards greater inclusivity, it would be changing its salad emoji to remove the slice of hard-boiled egg, thus making the salad vegan-friendly. It’s part of an update that includes 157 new emojis and updates to some of the existing ones. Now the bacon is crispier, the goat looks less angry, and the salad is vegan.

READ MORE »

Travel is exciting and adventurous, but let’s be honest — it can also be exhausting. Even worse is when you catch a cold after a long flight and have to battle a snotty nose in addition to that backlog of emails. You might think the guy with the wicked cough three seats down is to blame, or just sharing air with a couple hundred other humans for hours, but the real reason you get sick may surprise you.

READ MORE »

If you’re already obsessed with all things Target (Threshold! Project 62! Hearth & Hand! Archer Farms!), you might want to mark your calendar for June 23. That’s when Target will launch its newest home brand, Made By Design, featuring all sorts of everyday items with a sleek, elevated design.

In the meantime, we got an exclusive sneak peek that you can check out.

READ MORE »

Chicken salad is one of the most deceptively tricky foods in the world. It seems like a simple sort of thing — like it’s just a utilitarian recipe to use up leftover chicken, or something to buy from the deli counter and keep around for the kids’ lunch boxes — but there is a world of difference between good chicken salad and bad chicken salad, and probably the vast majority of chicken salads in the world could best be described as just OK.

READ MORE »

It’s time to grab the sunscreen and the novelty pool floats, because summer party season has officially started. Costco’s boozy, 100-calorie vodka ice pops are back for the summer, and it’s time to have some fun.

READ MORE »

Walk into just about every grocery store or fish market and you’ll find tilapia. Somewhere along the line it became as common and as popular as salmon. The fact that it doesn’t taste too fishy, is versatile to cook, and isn’t expensive probably has something to do with it. Most tilapia also sustainable, since it tends to be farmed pretty responsibly these days — especially in the U.S. and Canada.

So yes, tilapia is all well and good, but, excuse the pun: There are other fish in the sea. In fact, there are other fish that have similar characteristics as tilapia — mild, flaky, and easy to please the whole family. Whether you’re just getting sick and tired of tilapia or simply want to expand you horizons, here are five other fish to try.

READ MORE »

Everyone knows that tired joke about vegans: How do you know if someone’s a vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you. And the same has been said about people who do Paleo (except they’ll tell you right after they describe their Crossfit WOD in excruciating detail). But when it comes to a combination of the two — Peganism — one doctor says followers won’t have to tell you, because they’re the ones who look well-adjusted, healthy, and satisfied.

READ MORE »

Here’s how you make a pork chop that can truly rival a great steak at home: Brine it with brown sugar, pan-fry it, and then baste it with butter. If that sounds a lot like how you cook a steak at home, you’re right — this is basically pork chop steak!

There are a number of reasons you might want to serve pork chops instead of steak (cost and effort chief among them), but our favorite is this: A steak-fried pork chop is incredibly tender and juicy, bathed with brown, garlicky butter, and just as satisfying as its beefy brethren. Here’s how to cook a pork chop like a steak on the stovetop.

READ MORE »