I'm not sure what it is about magazine subscription deals, but they all seem to come out of the woodwork in January. I couldn't begin to count how many special subscription offers I've gotten in the last few weeks alone. My inclination is to always trash them: time is valuable, and I already receive what I like. But maybe there are a few new periodicals worth considering.
I really love Saveur for its longer-form narrative and international pieces and I think Food and Wine is a great resource for solid dessert and cocktail recipes. I turn to the highly visual Fine Cooking which is fantastic for basic and revamped standards. Then there's Lucky Peach. I really want to like Lucky Peach. I appreciate the design and irreverence of it, but I'm not quite sure I totally get it just yet (do you?). Gastronomica is a great brainy food read with poetry, fiction, and original artwork. Remedy Quarterly is a sweet publication that blends recipes, neat design, and shorter form pieces within the umbrella of a theme each issue.
There are many, many more we could discuss. Some mainstream, others small and independant. But I'd really love to know which food magazines you enjoy reading enough to actually subscribe to them. Do you find yourself reading food content online more than in print these days?
Related: Can You Recommend Some New Food Magazines?
(Image: Megan Gordon)
Straw Mat from The ...

Lucy peach totally hooked me with that sous vide egg chart in the first issue. I was sort of wandering through the issue until I found that page.
I'm still looking for that kind of epiphany in Issue 2.
Saveur is my fav,,.:)
Can anyone suggest some gluten-free magazines? I'm not looking really for baking, but just a collection of gluten-free ideas all in one place.
Thanks!
I found a copy of the first edition of Kinfolk, which is a lot about food and gatherings, at my used bookstore. Without all the advertisements that so many magazines had, there was a simple quietness to it. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more.
I absolutely LOVE receiving magazines. I like Lucky Peach, it's growing on me. The stickers were my favorite part. haha
Kinfolk is definitely my favorite these days. I found a print version of Volume 1 at a used book store for $2! I have the Volume 2 iPad app, and it is AMAZING!
I really enjoy reading Cooking Light, and tend to find at least 5-8 recipes in each issue to try. CL food styling and photography has come a long way too.
I also really enjoy Cooking Light. I recently subscribed to Clean Eating and I think it's kind of eh. I'm not sure if I'll keep it.
To Zaydia -- who was looking for gluten free magazines. My favorite it Easy Eats, which is an online publication (also on iPad). Great recipes!
EKF99 - I subscribe to Clean Eating, and I find it can be hit or miss. Though there's enough to keep me coming back each year, I've gotta say it can be a bit redundant at times (enough with the Greek yogurt raves, already!), and Chef Jo bugs the bejeezus outta me.
I LOVE Lucky Peach. I wasn't aware there was anything to "get," but I would describe it as more of a food-writing magazine than a food magazine.
I've been looking for Kinfolk ever since it came out, and none of my local haunts have been able to get it yet. Any advice on where to find it in the East Bay?
For more traditional "cooking" magazines, I read Cooking Light, Cook's Country, and Sunset.
I've been toying around with subscribing to Culture magazine because I love cheese. It's a bit pricey for 4 magazines but I'm liking a lot of the reviews for it. And it's just 4 issues each year, which makes me really want to get it and peruse at my leisure.
Zaydia,
Try Easy Eats: http://www.easyeats.com/
Not clear if it's printed, but available as PDF download.
You know that scene in Girls Just Want To Have Fun where a gang of punks raids the debutante party and starts singing and crashing the place all while the richies are just aghast and beside themselves with the display of disorderliness? That's what I want to do with the Kinfolk website. I desperately want to get some spray paint and chocolate sauce and just splash it all over their insanely restrained, perfectly hipsterrichcoolaesthetic.
Everday Food is really great. Their recipes are consistently yummy and doable for weeknights. I also love Cooks Illustrated. I have learned so much about the science of cooking from that magazine.
Alicelost,
Have you tried the magazine store Issues? They have everything. It's just off Piedmont Ave. in Oakland.
I love Lucky Peach, I especially thought that the article about apricots in the second issue was amazing.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE EatingWell. It has tons of easy, healthy recipes. Great articles about where our food comes from and why you should care and good nutrition and health advice. It's not all about diet and the recipes always work and are amazing
I am a Bon Appetit fan.
EB1982, Issues is one of the local haunts I was referring to that doesn't have it! Granted, I haven't been there since mid-December, but at that time they told me that they were still trying to get it, but didn't have it yet.
I do most of my reading online (my lunchtime is usually spent browsing a dozen food blogs) but am also subscribed to Vegetarian Times.
The subscription was a Christmas present a couple of years ago and I've been hooked ever since! The recipes are fantastic and really inspiring, the ingredients are easy to find, and the content is a perfect (for me) mix of easy to make on a weeknight and learning new skills and techniques. Plus, going through a new issue each month with sticky bookmarks in hand is so much fun!
I love Chickpea, the vegan quarterly. A lot of fun crowd-sourced recipes.