Bon Appetit February 2022

WE’VE HAD OUR holiday excesses. Too many parties—yes, that’s a thing! Too much rich food. Too many cocktails. Now we’re making promises to ourselves. Raise your hand if you’ve made any of the following pledges: I’m going to eat healthier and maybe even pursue a dry January (“Cook, Eat, and Drink Healthyish in 2022,” page 36, to the rescue). I’m going to cook more meals at home so I can save for that vacation I’ve been craving (enter “Family Meal” on page 20, with four quick and flavorful weeknight recipes developed by our test kitchen). I’m finally going to renovate my kitchen (designer Elizabeth Roberts’s design advice on page 18 is just the thing). I’m avoiding my local restaurant’s Valentine’s Day prix fixe and will cook instead (“For the Love of Food” on page…

JUST BEFORE THE PANDEMIC I took over a bar and wine shop in Chicago’s West Loop with two partners. Juice@1340 is what Chicagoans call a “slashie”: part bar, part shop. Buy something and take it home or drink it here. We’re a neighborhood joint and definitely a stylish one. What we sell is a reflection of what we like. I rotate by-the-glass pours that highlight what I’m currently excited about: an unexpectedly sweet Malbec, say, or a skin-contact Pinot Grigio. Typically, when you build a wine list, you’re beholden to making the highest margin or finding wines with the broadest appeal. By-the-glass options give me freedom to be whimsical, unbound by the barriers of business. If distributors lead with the fact that a wine is Black-or woman-owned, I get annoyed. I don’t…

IF YOU LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR Washington, D.C., the Beltway—also known as Interstate 495, the highway that encircles the nation’s capital—is synonymous with traffic jams and gridlock. If you don’t live near the D.C. metro area, the Beltway is a metaphor for a whole different kind of gridlock and political unpleasantness. But this 64-mile stretch of asphalt does have one very special thing going for it: a whole network of suburban communities in Maryland and Virginia that are as diverse as they are delicious to explore. Truly, to travel the Beltway is to sample the flavors of the world. Cheesy, crisp-edged pupusas, lamb-fragrant hand-cut noodle soups, fiery Korean-fried chicken wings, and aromatic jollof rice, all on one tank of gas. Who says driving in circles has to be a bad thing? Eden…

Rock Creek Park The park’s 1,754 acres wind through the northwest quadrant of the city, with tons of trails and historical sites to explore Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens This peaceful refuge on the eastern edge of D.C. is beautiful year-round but especially so in July when the lotuses are in bloom. Winkler Botanical Preserve Located southwest of the city, this verdant 44-acre oasis offers easy strolling, babbling streams, and a waterfall. Wheaton Regional Park Featuring a miniature train and a 107-year-old wood carousel, this is the spot to reward car-cranky kids.…

Center Stage “Islands are getting boring,” Roberts says. Rather than matching the cabinetry, she mixes it up with designs sheathed entirely in stone, like the marble one at fashion designer Ulla Johnson’s Brooklyn brownstone. (“I like a big block of something,” Roberts notes.) Other islands have been detailed to look like furniture, with meticulous joinery in the woodwork. For a kitchen on the North Fork of Long Island, she added eight inches to the legs of a vintage farm table to make it counter height. Room With a View When laying out your kitchen, Roberts advises, “always think about what you want to be looking at.” A sink by the window, for instance, makes washing dishes a scenic experience, whereas a sink on an island allows for interactions with family or guests. Knowing…

CARAMEL SAUCE makes everything better—ice cream, popcorn, and even…fish? Seafood may not have been where your mind wandered, but associate food editor Kendra Vaculin swears the turmeric-packed caramel on page 22 is the ultimate condiment for coating a fillet of flaky cod or any other whitefish. “Those fish are so delicate and plain, they really want some kind of high-octane sauce to punch them up,” Vaculin says. This sticky, savory-sweet dressing is a harmonious marriage of soy sauce, sugar, and a heap of ground turmeric. “Use your best turmeric,” Vaculin says, citing BA-beloved brands like Spicewalla, Diaspora Co., and Burlap & Barrel. “You’ll really taste every last bit of it.”…