The One Food Magazine You Should Buy in May

Food & Wine has been a magazine in transition over this past year. Last June, it was announced that Hunter Lewis would take over as Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, replacing Nilou Motamed, whose tenure leading the magazine lasted only a year. (You likely recognize her name from Top Chef, where she appeared frequently this past season.)

It was clear that the magazine was struggling to find its voice under Motamed. To two long-time readers like us, it seemed confused editorially, not sure what it wanted to be.

But the magazine seems to be finding its footing again under Lewis — and if you only pick up one food magazine this month, we think it should be Food & Wine.

That’s largely due to Jordana Rothman’s excellent feature showcasing the magazine’s “Restaurants of the Year.” The feature will make you want to hop on a plane ASAP — actually, multiple planes — hightailing it to any of these 10 restaurants.

And we love that the list highlights businesses headed by the kinds of personalities who have been underrepresented in restaurant culture: women, minority chefs, the children of immigrants. Yes, there are New York City and Los Angeles restaurants, but there are also restaurants in Oakland, California, and Braddock, Pennsylvania.

And of course the feature comes with accompanying recipes. The cover recipe, for the chicken liver Paris-brests with black honey glaze from Minneapolis’ Grande Cafe, is truly impressive. We dare you to make it. (Or better yet, let’s all book a flight to Minneapolis and meet up!)

We’re lucky enough to say that we’ve eaten at two of the 10 spots on this list – D.C.’s Maydan and Oakland’s Reem’s. Both are excellent. Now only eight more to go!

You can buy this issue of Food & Wine on newsstands, or digitally on Texture, Zinio, Flipster, and eMagazine digital newsstands.

Beyond Food & Wine, other magazines have a lot to offer as we head into summer.

Cooking Light has the best of the features on early summer produce (and there are a lot of features along these lines this month) — our favorite dishes are the double pea risotto and the rosé-poached berries. And we love cooking with miso, and we’re always on the lookout for good ways to use it. So we loved “Mad for Miso,” with ideas for incorporating miso into everyday cooking. We’ve bookmarked the red miso shrimp bisque and the miso deviled eggs.

Martha Stewart Living travels to Tangier Island, Virginia, a spot that holds a special place in our hearts. We profiled the island back in 2012 for a travel magazine. Since then, a few locals have launched a new company focused on sustainable oyster farming. It’s worth a read (and a visit!).

And don’t miss Bon Appétit‘s dreamy “Summer Like an Italian” feature. The online sample doesn’t do the full feature justice. Leafing through the feature with its vivid chapters — “Make Breakfast an Occasion” and “Long. Lazy. Lunch.” are especially lovely — will have you longing for Tuscan sunsets and an Aperol spritz.