A profile of wine critic Robert Parker.

“Good espresso depends on the fourM’s: Macchina, the espresso machine; Macinazione, the proper grinding of a beans; Miscela, the coffee blend and the roast, and Mano is the skilled hand of the barista, because even with the finest beans and the most advanced equipment, the shot depends on the touch and style of the barista.”

Visiting his daughter in San Francisco, the author longs for food delivery in Manhattan.

The man who made millions selling counterfeit wines.

On Jenny Craig’s European expansion and how dieting differs in France and the States.

A history of the fowl.

The story behind “the best brisket you’ll ever eat.”

The world of high-end wine gets conned.

How one man made millions with a fancy hamburger.

“That learning to cook could lead an American woman to success of any kind would have seemed utterly implausible in 1949; that it is so thoroughly plausible 60 years later owes everything to Julia Child’s legacy.”

How KFC brought fried chicken to China and Africa as U.S. sales slumped.

One man’s dream to turn America into a post-prohibition wine utopia.

Don’t call them “foodies.”

“My name is Jackie and I am addicted to waitressing.” An essay on waiting tables.

Inside a restaurant lawsuit.

Michael Chow’s complaint, which sought $21 million in damages, alleged that the team behind Philippe, including chef Philippe Chau, restaurateur Stratis Morfogen (also behind the well-received Ciano) and several codefendants, appropriated the Satay recipe and 11 other Mr Chow standbys, the “modern” decor of Mr Chow’s restaurants and even the name Chow—thereby engaging in deceptive trade practices, swiping trade secrets and infringing on the Mr Chow trademark.

A profile of New York chef and fisherman David Pasternack.

On Manoj Bhargava, who says he’s “probably the wealthiest Indian in America,” and his ubiquitous product.

A profile of Gordon Ramsay.

The history of “‘50s-era market-tested USDA White Pan Loaf No. 1.”

Law enforcement vs. local fishermen in Massachusetts.

The case for why a cup of joe is about to become a luxury item.

The absurd scale of McDonald’s’ economics suggests a company more like a commodity trader than a chain of restaurants.

At this volume, and with the impermanence of the sandwich, it only makes sense for McDonald’s to treat the sandwich as a sort of arbitrage strategy: at both ends of the product pipeline, you have a good being traded at such large volume that we might as well forget that one end of the pipeline is hogs and corn and the other end is a sandwich. McDonald’s likely doesn’t think in these terms, and neither should you.

Two weeks spent walking across Provence.

There is something about entering an ancient town on foot that's radically different from entering the same place by car. Keep in mind that these old French towns were all designed by people on foot for people on foot. So when you walk in, you're approaching the place as it was intended to be approached—slowly and naturally, the way Dorothy came upon Oz (spires rising in the distance, a sense of mounting mystery: What kind of city will this be?).

You know this one: German guy heads into tribal jungle deep upriver, sends the company crazy reports full of radical ideas—and then goes totally rogue. Only this time it's not ivory he's after. It's a secret lost for centuries: the finest cacao on earth.

The history of Trader Joe’s.