Food & Wine January 2020

HEPPLE GIN ($44) Maybe it’s because of juniper’s wintry scent, but I’ve long been a fan of martinis when it’s freezing out. With gins now defining themselves by the oddest botanicals (bladderwort, anyone?), it’s nice to find this one, which truly focuses on juniper by featuring three different types: Italian, Macedonian, and wild green juniper from northern England. 2017 TABLAS CREEK GRENACHE BLANC ($30) Jason Haas’ 2017 Grenache Blanc is my idea of a winter white—full-bodied but not heavy, with notes of pear and melon and a faint hint of honey, ending cleanly on chalky minerality. If you want to get fanciful, it tastes the way it feels to watch snow fall outside when you’re inside and warm feels. Either way, I like it. 2017 THE HILT ESTATE PINOT NOIR ($45) The seductive texture of…

RESTAURANT EMPIRES like Tom Colicchio’s Crafted Hospitality, which stretches across New York City, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, don’t survive without a solid leadership strategy. For Colicchio, it all boils down to self-care. He believes that work-life balance is a prerequisite for a successful career in the kitchen. (Case in point: Colicchio doesn’t take meetings before 11 a.m.) And across his restaurant group’s seven locations, the New York City–based chef encourages senior leaders to have open conversations about addiction, mental health, and well-being—an ethos that trickles down to the entire kitchen. Mastering the art of delegation, he says, has proven to be one of the most critical lessons in his career. “If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to trust the people around me,”…

CONNOISSEURS HISTORICALLY HAVE shunned instant coffee as a heavily processed shadow of the bean, lacking in both aroma and flavor. But change is brewing. Many of our favorite roasters are gently freezing, dehydrating, and crystallizing their offerings to preserve those subtle, sweet notes that attract us to their coffee in the first place. The result? You can enjoy a high-quality, ethically sourced cup on a busy travel day, a camping trip, or one of those particularly hectic weekday mornings. With the help of Reagan Petrehn, cofounder of 1900 Barker in Lawrence, Kansas, outside of Kansas City, and head of brand at New York City’s Felix Roasting Co., we taste-tested 10 instant coffees to determine which options are just as delicious and satisfying as the real deal. FOOD STYLING: MARGARET MONROE DICKEY; PROP…

WHETHER YOU’RE pulling together a quick weeknight dinner or have a full snowy Sunday stew going, the right soundtrack can set the tone in the kitchen. We put 10 different speakers to the test in the Food & Wine kitchen, and ultimately fell in love with the small but mighty Harman Kardon Go + Play. It’s easy to connect via Bluetooth; powerful enough to fill large spaces with crisp, clear sound; has a handle for easy transport; and is resilient even when faced with splashes and splatters. We asked some of our favorite chefs for the artists and songs they listen to in the kitchen. Follow along and get in the zone right from home. BUY IT Harman Kardon Go + Play ($450, harmankardon.com) GO WITH THE FLOW “Usually something chill like Wooden…

MATZO BALL REMIX While it might seem impossible to compete with your bubbe’s matzo ball soup, these chefs’ riffs on the tried-and-true cold-weather classic are worth writing home about. 1 DIRT CANDY (NEW YORK CITY) Amanda Cohen crafts matzo balls from kale puree to serve in an herbaceous broth of fennel, kale, ginger, dried shiitake mushrooms, and celery (shown above). 2 RAMEN-SAN (CHICAGO) At Ramen-San’s Streeterville location, a mash-up of Japanese fish ball soup and Jewish penicillin uses miso, ginger, wakame, and sesame to make matzo balls. 3 JUNE’S ALL DAY (AUSTIN) Ward off the winter blues with June’s matzo ball soup studded with peppered avocados, corn, and poached chicken drumsticks. It’s just what the doctor ordered. 4 CHEU NOODLE BAR (PHILADELPHIA) Thick slices of brisket make this bowl especially indulgent, and a kick of kimchi in sesame–red chile broth adds just the…

SINCE EVERYONE ALWAYS ASKS, Cheryl Day jokes about selling T-shirts that say, “Yes, Cheryl is in the back!” at her beloved Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia. She runs the 17-year-old bakery with her husband, Griffith Day, and the two have also written best-selling cookbooks together. I spoke with Cheryl about what drives her and what measures she’s put in place to ensure longevity. We can all learn a lot from someone who shows us day in, day out that biscuits matter just as much as boundaries, and heritage just as much as legacy. JT: What’s your focus, 17 years in? CD: Getting back to our roots and the reasons we got into this in the first place. I recently found out that my great-great-grandmother was a slave, and she…