www.thejoykitchen.com/

The Joy Website

Sure, we could interpret The Joy of Cooking's new website (!) as yet another sign of the cookbook publishing industry's demise, a near-certain Armageddon of the printed recipe word. If a book that has been in print continuously since the 1930s (and sold nearly 20 million copies) has jumped ship to go online, then maybe we really should all consider using our iPads as cutting boards in protest.

Not to worry, the website is more about The Joy of Cooking brand than about the book. And it's a pretty great place for novice home cooks to learn a thing or two.

More >>

Barbara Fairchild wrote on her Facebook page and on Twitter earlier this afternoon that Real Eats, the weekly digital food magazine she edits, is ceasing publication: "Sorry to report this issue of Real Eats is our last. Was fun while it lasted. Thanks to all my great writers, and the talented crew in NYC." Fairchild confirmed by email that today's issue is the publication's last.

Fairchild, longtime editor of Bon Appetit, was named editor of Real Eats last December, and had been a columnist there for roughly a year before becoming editor. Real Eats has been published by Nomad, which since 2010 has made digital-only publications designed for mobile devices like the iPad. Yesterday Nomad also stopped publication of BodySmart, its health-oriented magazine. It has one magazine remaining, Uncorked, which focuses on wine.

More >>

Screenshot of Yelp.com

Yelpy Insights

Thirtysomething vegetarian looking for restaurants that other thirtysomething vegetarians also enjoy? Now, there's a Yelp! for that: The site recently rolled out two new filters called "Yelpy Insights," which narrows search results based on eateries "liked by vegetarians," as well as those liked by users in their 20s, 30s or 40s.

As Yelp's Official Blog explains, the filters were created based on feedback from vegetarian Yelpers who wanted a better way to search for vegetarian-friendly eateries. While the site does have "vegetarian" and "vegan" categories, they're often under-inclusive, omitting vegetarian-friendly restaurants that aren't categorized as such. A general search for the word "vegetarian," though, is over-inclusive (Yelp's example of a typical unhelpful review: "I'm so glad I'm not vegetarian, the bacon-wrapped filet mignon was great.") To find the happy medium, Yelp analyzed its database of reviews to identify certain patterns. As an engineer explains on Yelp's Product & Engineering Blog, "By combing through our vast review data, we're able to pick out folks who share a vegetarian perspective in their reviews and highlight the businesses that they like."

More >>

Simone Paz

Sara O'Donnell in her kitchen

"You don't take perfectly awesome Oreo cookies, scrape out the cream filling and refill them with toothpaste," pontificates a well-lit Sara O'Donnell. She's looking into the camera, warning against the stupidity of food-related April Fools' pranks. "Here's a better idea -- why not refill them with cement? 'Oh! I broke all the teeth in your mouth. April Fools'!' "

In another video clip, she rapidly peels, chops and parboils potatoes. "Today I'm channeling my inner Napoleon Dynamite," she says wryly. "It's a little more difficult to mash these potatoes, but no pain, no tots."

O'Donnell is a new kind of food star. A pretty, cheerful brunette with a refreshingly understated wit, she operates under the brand name "Average Betty." That's meant, obviously, to conjure a nonelitist vibe, as the 35-year-old instructs from her suburban-rustic Tarzana kitchen on such doable food projects as white bean crostini, red velvet cupcakes and potato gnocchi with brown-butter mushroom sauce.

But unlike Bourdain, Ramsey, Ray, Fieri and other nationally known food stars, O'Donnell is solely an Internet phenomenon, a self-created culinary personality finding an audience without the benefit of a book deal, magazines or a TV show.More >>

R.E.~/Flickr

Cup of coffee

If you're one of the more than 3 million or so proud owners of the new iPad, you also are the proud new owners of a coffee warmer. All you need to do is visit the HotPad website and hit Run; the site then will run a script to purposely overclock your iPad's processor and make the tablet nice and toasty. Place your cup of coffee on the virtual heat coils, and your coffee will stay warm for hours and hours. Well, until you need to use your iPad, anyway.

The site is actually a bit of a joke, set up by Primary Coffee Company to turn apples into applesauce after reports that Apple's newest generation of iPads have a problematic overheating problem. If you do take HotPad seriously, rest assured that the site will not "break, melt or otherwise destroy your iPad." Unless, of course, you spill the coffee on it, in which case the liability is all yours.

More >>

Epic Meal Time

The Epic Meal Time crew

Epic Meal Time has gotten big. The YouTube channel boasts almost 2.5 million subscribers. High school students wear shirts emblazoned with the fatty food gross-out mavens' "bacon strips" mantra. And now, Epic Meal Time is about to be big in Japan.

According to Reuters, the Montreal-spawned show's producer, Next Time Productions, is partnering with Japanese management firm Yoshimoto Kogyo to produce episodes of "Epic Meal Time Japan" in "the Japanese market for domestic and global distribution."

More >>

If you follow food sites and current cookbooks, you'll doubtless be aware of Food 52, the website run by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs. You will perhaps also know about their annual cookbook tournament, The Piglet, in which a number of this year's best cookbooks are pitted against each other in a kind of March Madness bracket system. Cookbooks are paired up and judged by guest judges, with each round narrowing the contenders until a winner is named.

This year's third annual Piglet started this week, with Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi going up against The Family Meal: Home Cooking With Ferran Adria by Ferran Adria, judged by San Francisco culinary bookstore owner Celia Sack. And the winner? Tosi's book, which will go up against Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, which was picked over Andrea Reusing's Cooking In The Moment by guest judge Nigella Lawson.

More >>

Barbara Fairchild has a new place to hang her editor's hat. Almost exactly a year after stepping down as editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit, Fairchild has been named editor of the weekly digital food magazine Real Eats.

Fairchild, who has been a columnist at Real Eats since last February, was named the successor to founding editor Sean Elder on Wednesday. Real Eats has been published by Nomad, which makes digital-only publications designed for mobile devices like the iPad, since 2010.

"When Sean told me he was leaving, he asked if I'd be interested," said Fairchild by phone this morning. Fairchild will officially take over on January 1st, but says she already has ideas on how to expand the coverage. "Travel and restaurants, and more recipes," Fairchild said. "My new mantra is, I need content. Exclamation point!"

More >>

Anne Fishbein

Cut's Japanese and Kobe beef

In Westlake, there is an establishment called the Silver Platter. The name brings to mind slabs of prime rib served on shining plates with ornate handles. However, if you go, you'll find no beef, just plenty of wriggling flesh on the dance floor. Over on Wilshire in Beverly Hills, there is Cut, Wolfgang Puck's steakhouse and one of Jonathan Gold's 99 Essential Restaurants of 2011. Yet, if you didn't know better, you might show up expecting washboard abs and house music instead of Kobe steak.

Gay bars and steakhouses tend to attract different clientele -- especially in places like Texas -- but naming protocol can be similar. Both often attempt to evoke both manliness and opulence. What's a feller to do if he's seeking one and worrying about accidentally stumbling into the other? Gosh forbid! That's where Steakhouse or Gay Bar? comes in.

More >>

T. Nguyen

Screenshot of the How Long Will My Coffee Last? website.

If you had more space in your already cluttered head, surely you would have a general idea of how long your 12-ounce bag of coffee lasts. And you would know exactly when to restock so you won't wake up on that one morning when you really need that one cup of joe, only to be sorely disappointed by not one bean left in the bag. Luckily, James Olney created How Long Will My Coffee Last?, an online bean counter that does all the math for you.

More >>