Thursday, July 31

Virtual Dining

I spend a decent amount of time on the Internet, and I would like to say that I spend it exclusively reading hard-hitting news and otherwise bettering my mind. In fact, I do check the Washington Post and the New York Times every day. Unfortunately, that's about it for my news consumption.

I spend the rest of my time on the Web looking for recipes, checking out restaurants, reading articles about eating and trying to stay abreast of food industry gossip. (Hey, at least it's not day trading.)

Since that's the case, I thought I might share some of my other favorite food sites. I like each of the sites listed below for something different, as you'll find out.

1. Best "Amateur" Food Writing: www.egullet.com

Egullet is a compendium of food information provided mostly by obsessed foodies and food industry professionals. While I've never tried a recipe from this site, I am impressed by the sheer volume and variety of articles available on it and would personally recommend that everyone read the pieces compiled as "Fat Guy World Tour 2002." Can you really resist a collection with that name? The discussion boards are fairly decent, especially if you are interested in Manhattan restaurant buzz.

2. Best Recipes: www.epicurious.com

This is hands-down the best recipe site on the Web if you have no dietary restrictions and are looking for recipes that reflect today's cooking trends. The recipes from both Gourmet and Bon Appetit can be found here, and there are thousands of them. An easy-to-use and comprehensive search engine makes it easy to find the recipes you are looking for, and users have the option of reading other cooks' reviews of each recipe. I particularly like the "Constant Comment" section, where the top twenty recipes (determined by number of user reviews) are posted each week.

3. Best Southern Basics: www.gritlit.com

I started visiting this site because it had a message board where all sorts of readers posted recipes and asked advice. The message board has been shut down – it got too unwieldy for the two guys who run the site to handle – but this site is still an invaluable resource for displaced Southerners. With a wide selection of groceries and cookbooks, gritlit can oblige whether you need a can of Steen's Cane Syrup or a copy of Lafcadio Hearn's Creole Cookbook. There's also a selected group of indispensable recipes, including pimento cheese and chicken bog.

4. Most Social Cooking Site: www.breakeggs.com

I love this little site, which clearly started as just a labor of love. The recipes are interesting and varied (and concentrate on the sweet side), and the design is clever. The best part of the site is the "Cooking Club" section, which encourages readers to start a cooking club and gives parameters and menus for doing just that. You can also turn to breakeggs' handy "Food Reference" section if you are stumped on a measurement conversion or need a quick definition of a basic food term.

5. Best Celebrity Chef Site: www.foodnetwork.com

There's no other site where you can access recipes from Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Jacques Torres, Paula Deen, Sara Moulton, Rachael Ray, and Martha Stewart, all with the click of a mouse. While I'm not interested in the recipe sections submitted by sponsors – Johnsonville Sausages, Kraft Foods – the variety of styles available is great. Not to mention that it is easy to get that recipe you saw on "Paula's Home Cooking" or "Everyday Italian": no need to watch your show with pen and paper, since you can download the recipe after you see it!

6. Sentimental Favorite: www.texascooking.com

For obvious reasons.

7. Best Site for Restaurant Gossip: www.jamesbeard.org

If you need to find out which chef recently turned in his tocque at one restaurant to start another, or which restauranteur just franchised a hit, this is your spot. The "Dateline" section of this site is updated every month with the comings and goings (and openings and closings) of chefs and restaurants all over the globe. If you get bored with the dateline, you can also check and see which events you could be attending at Beard House if you lived in New York. Sigh. Mr. Beard would be proud.

This is of course only a smattering of the hundreds of websites that pop up when one Googles "cooking," so I can't claim that this list is comprehensive. I do know one thing for a fact: the Internet has made it easy to add to one's repertoire. There's no excuse for being bored when you can so easily access sheaves of recipes. Now go forth, log on, and cook away!