The storm of blogs and websites offering approachable recipes for
home cooks has sparked a more
mindful approach to eating. And while these informal digital sources are often on par with those found on the newsstand, there’s still something to be said for the satisfaction of poring through the “pages” of a magazine, whether it be on paper or on an iPad. Hence, a mounting army of new food titles are preserving the spirit of the periodical while celebrating the DIY spirit of the Web.
Kinfolk: Kinfolk is proof that one need not display the homemaking swagger of, say, Martha Stewart in order to be the kind of entertainer from whom friends covet an invitation. The quarterly pub, available in both digital and print formats, revels in the elegance of simple,
intimate gatherings rather than fussy banquets only achievable by a catering company. Kinfolk is more than just a piece of reading material, however. It’s also a community of artists dedicated to promoting casual, yet still creative, assemblies of friends over a thoughtful meal. The Kinfolk
dinner series is bringing artisan feasts to different cities, including Brooklyn, Austin and San Francisco, every month.
White Zinfandel: White Zinfandel is run by downtown NYC art and design luminaries, but carries none of the pretension oft associated with the city’s gallery scene. As cheeky as its name (taken from the unfairly stigmatized wine) suggests, the magazine devotes each issue to an eccentric topic unlikely to be found in a typical culinary rag. The first issue was a paean to
Food, the performance art-slash-restaurant opened by Carol Goodden and artist
Gordon Matta-Clark in SoHo during the early 1970s. The second issue, last month’s “TV Dinners,” was an ode to the retro convenience meal, minus the tinfoil trays.
On deck for March is an exploration of the concept of food fights.
On Plate, Still Hungry: Details on forthcoming online magazine
On Plate, Still Hungry remain scant—we do know that it will cover food, drink and travel from the perspective of various creative types outside of the culinary arts—but founder Kat Popiel
has been busy seeding the brand in the real world in the months leading up to the launch. Her
Something I Ate event series, a collaboration with
Skimkim Foods’ Sam Kim, invites artists to create works documenting their diets over the course of seven days. Each work is anchored by a key ingredient or theme, which Kim then uses to design an eclectic, yet toothsome, menu of dishes served at the exhibition.
