Saveur (1-year auto-renewal)

I say "fun" because food should

be a pleasure, as well as an

exploration of the new and

different. One of the great strengths

of this magazine is that you

can get most of the ingredients

without having to visit a particular

store somewhere in the depths of

New York City. The people creating

the recipes are making the effort

to make preparing the food easier

for American cooks.

"Coffee table" magazine? I don't

think so... "Food and Wine": now that

is a magazine more devoted to showing

breathless closeups of beautiful

food. You can't eat it, and you can't

find the ingredients, but it looks

lovely. Yes, the photography in

Saveur is very nice, but that

just enhances the experience for me.

I am a former subscriber to a LOT

of food magazines. Gourmet lost it

when they went PC, and you can never

find the very special ingredients

they mention, unless you live

on a particular street in NYC. F&W

already mentioned. Williams/Sonoma had a

nice magazine, but now sadly gone.

I also like the travel aspect to

the articles, which is generally

much more "real" travel than you get

in other food magazines. As an

example, Gourmet will send a reporter

to the most expensive hotel/restaurant

in Italy, while Saveur will explore the

wonderful food and drinks to be found in

the Italian countryside.

I think the best compliment is that

other food magazines are stealing

ideas from Saveur, in hopes of grabbing

the same audience. A theme shows

up in Saveur, only to be repeated

a month or two later in Food and

Wine.

Perfect? No, but Saveur is working

on it, having had some ups and

downs in the last few years. I

think that the patient is recovering

nicely at this time (6/03).

To me, Saveur is almost more about travel than it is about food. The articles tend to be about cuisines set in the context of their geographic and cultural origins. Rich photography and personal stories give you a flavor of the people and places behind familiar and new dishes. Articles in Saveur have inspired me to take several trips, to places I would not have otherwise considered, and seek out amazing little hole in the wall shops and restaurants.

If you love to travel, cook, and eat, you will love Saveur!

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I have received almost all of the cooking and travel magazines out there and have to say that Saveur is by far one of the best. Not only are the recipes unique and delicious, the beautifully written articles on the cities and countries where the recipes are from are mesmerizing. The photo essays capture the food and culture of the city of focus, bringing the reader closer to the experience of the recipes shared. Some months focus on a particular region, while others pick out an ingredient of the season (such as apples in the most recent addition). After living in Japan for many years, a recent article on Sumo brought back to life the exquisite culture and cuisine I once shared.

I was afraid that the ingredients might be difficult to find given that it is based on international locations, but I have not found this to be a problem. They even took the time to create an 'where to order the food' list at the back for ingredients that aren't at the corner store. This would make a perfect gift for the cook in your life who has an interest in international cuisine and culture.

Read Best Reviews of Saveur (1-year auto-renewal) Here

Saveur got a new Editor-in-Chief in 2006, when Colman Andrews (one of the original founding crew from the magazine's inception) stepped down after long-running battles with the new corporate ownership (World Publications out of Winter Park Florida.) Andrews was a curmudgeon, and a brilliant iconoclast. For years, he refused to run an image of a turkey on the cover of the November issue, to the displeasure of the newsstand sales dept. He was replaced by James Oseland, a contributor and Associate Editor at the magazine (one of his first acts was to run a picture of a turkey on the cover of the November issue get it?) Saveur has fallen on tough times. Since most ad budgets for the food category are gobbled up by Rachel Ray, Gourmet, BonAppetit, Food and Wine and the like, Saveur is left with table scraps, and issues are skinny. Photography and art direction have always been first rate, and Oseland builds on this tradition with his passion for food photos that border on pornography, they are so luscious) But a shift in focus from Andrews' euro-centric vision to Oseland's more pan-asian outlook (he is the author of an excellent book on Indonesian cuisine, "Spice Islands") leaves something in translation as these themes don't resonate as heartily with Saveur's core audience. But he does seem to be attracting some younger, more urban readers. (Somehow, images of sweaty, grimy cooks behind-the-scene in a Bombay restaurant doesn't stir my soul for Indian food, though.) There is one bright spot a greater focus on Asia has lightened up Saveur's previous artery-clogging fare. The editorial staff write for themselves mainly, so if you share their vision, then you'll love Saveur. (A special issue in 2007 was all about Chicago for instance, which happens to be Oseland's home town.) And other reviewers are spot-on about the recipes if you don't live in NYC, you'll have trouble handily finding ingredients such as chicken feet, although they do reference websites for you to source things via mail-order. Wine coverage since Andrews left has been improving but still not back to where it should be Oseland isn't a wine drinker, and wine stories compete for precious editorial space in these lean times for magazine advertising. I give Saveur high marks for uniqueness. If you do subscribe, broaden your palette and pair Saveur's mineral, flinty undertones with a more practical, off-dry recipe holder such as Bon Appetit, Southern Living, or even Everyday with Rachel Ray (especially if you are the type that likes to hit the "Easy" button!)

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I love this magazine because it gives the background and history of food. When I get the magazine each month,I have to read it right then and there. I finally found out where Salisbury Steak originated. In Ohio, by a doctor during the Civil War. Not in England. The photography is beautiful and some of the stories are memories of what the certain food means to them. They make you want to try everything in the magazine. Saveur is not pretentious as "Food and Wine" or "Gourmet." It is nice to read about regular people that make great food at reasonable expenses. Subscribe to this magazine!

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