Two upscale, see-and-be-seen Il Fornaio restaurants are ending their tenure, including the Palo Alto location — a prime spot for years for Silicon Valley power breakfasts and deal-making dinners.
After 36 years, that Cowper Street restaurant will shut its doors Sunday night. The Beverly Hills Il Fornaio closed a week ago after a 43-year run.
“Both locations were fixtures in their communities for the last four decades but unfortunately are closing as their leases conclude,” the company said in an announcement. The news was first reported by Palo Alto Online.
For the Palo Alto restaurant, the era from the 1990s through Dot-com 1.0 was a heady time, with tech titans huddled over tables and whispered talk of deals and the next new thing. David Packard. Steve Jobs (sometimes on in-line skates). John Doerr. Jim Barksdale. John Sculley. David Kelley. Guy Kawasaki.
A 1997 Mercury News squib called Reality Check summed up the scene that played out on early weekday mornings: “Price of buying a venture capitalist a power breakfast of juice, eggs and coffee at Il Fornaio in Palo Alto: $10. (Price does not include tax, tip or the VC gaining control of your company.)”
That Il Fornaio long ago stopped serving breakfast. The restaurant’s final hours of service will be noon to 9 p.m. today and Sunday at 520 Cowper St., Palo Alto.
“We are saddened that we will be saying goodbye to many of our wonderful employees, many of whom have been with us for decades, while some will be moving to our other locations in California,” the company statement read.
Founded as a baking school and retail bakery in Italy in the early 1970s, Il Fornaio launched its dining concept — chef-driven, white-tablecloth restaurants with a regional Italian focus — in the 1980s. The original, which opened in 1986, is still operating in Corte Madera, where the restaurant group is headquartered.
Il Fornaio still owns restaurants in more than a dozen California cities plus Las Vegas. Besides Corte Madera, the company’s other Northern and Central California locations are in San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Burlingame, Walnut Creek, Carmel, Sacramento and Roseville.
New year, new me? I’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions or Dry January routines, though I do lightly aspire to go to bed earlier, drink less wine and eat more vegetables in 2026. I very much want to just stay home and cook a lot this month, incidentally a great way to be healthier and more present in your daily life.
If you need recipes for healthy meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner, anything — you’re in the right place. I’ve got five dinners for you below.
1. One-Pan Spicy Chicken Thighs and Mushrooms
A fried pepper condiment of puréed bell peppers and onions known in Yorùbá as ọbẹ ata dín dín is common across West Africa as a base for stewed greens and meat. This sauce is an expression of balance in a pot, often packed with fresh, dried, fermented and hot ingredients, each rich and distinct in flavor. Here, mushrooms and chicken thighs are the lucky recipients of this mother sauce. The pivot is to simply chop jarred roasted peppers instead of crushing fresh vegetables with a grinding stone, which is a traditional yet lengthy process. Oil-packed anchovies and miso deliver exactly as expected, adding savoriness to the depth of mushrooms. A squeeze of lime lends a tart zing to the sauce; a scatter of chopped basil adds a piquant burst.
By Yewande Komolafe
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small red onion, peeled and chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the side of a large knife
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, minced (without seeds for mild)
8 to 10 oil-packed anchovies
2 tablespoons white or red miso
12 ounces mixed mushrooms (any kind), wiped clean and sliced
1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped (2 cups)
1 cup chicken broth or water
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus leaves for garnish (optional)
1 lime, cut in wedges, for serving
Preparation
1. Pat the chicken dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over high and add 1 tablespoon oil. Place the chicken smooth side down and cook without moving until dark golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for an additional minute. Move the chicken to a plate, browned side up.
3. Reduce the heat to medium, heat the remaining 2 tablespoon oil in the skillet and add the onion, garlic, cumin, chile, anchovies and miso. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, the miso is broken up and the anchovies have completely broken down, about 4 minutes.
4. Increase the heat to high and stir in the mushrooms and red peppers. Cook, stirring frequently to allow the mushrooms to soften and release their liquid. Add the broth and continue to cook until the liquid collects toward the center of the pan, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Use a wooden spoon to create divots in the sauce. Nestle the chicken in the divots, browned side up.
6. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes, adding an additional 1/4 cup water if the sauce begins to dry out. The mushrooms and peppers should be soft. Top with chopped basil if using.
7. Serve immediately over rice with lime wedges and top with basil leaves if using.
Cilantro lime rice and salmon. Spicy chicken thighs and mushrooms, seared tofu with kimchi and turkey chili start the year with flavor and ease. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. (Julia Gartland, The New York Times)
2. Cilantro-Lime Salmon and Rice
Bright and vibrant cilantro and lime liven up this weeknight-friendly, one-pot meal. Start by toasting rice in butter in a skillet to create a flavorful base, then, when the rice is almost finished cooking, add green beans and briefly marinated salmon to steam. Like many one-pot meals, this one is carefully calibrated so that each of the ingredients finishes cooking at the same time. Give the beans a head start to ensure they tenderize in the short time it takes the delicate salmon to cook through. To serve, garnish the finished dish with more cilantro and lime juice.
By Yossy Arefi
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
4 limes
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
Salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
2 3/4 cups water or low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
8 ounces green beans, trimmed
1 pound salmon, skin removed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
Black pepper, to taste
Preparation
1. Zest and juice 3 of the limes into a medium bowl until you get about 1/4 cup lime juice. Stir in the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reserve half of the juice and zest mixture in a small bowl. Cut the remaining lime into wedges.
2. In a large skillet with a lid, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the rice and stir until the rice is opaque and light golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the water or stock and bring to a simmer. Cover with the lid and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until the water is mostly absorbed and the rice is al dente.
3. When the rice is al dente, turn the heat to low, add the green beans to the pan in an even layer on top of the rice (if the pan seems dry, add a couple of tablespoons of stock or water). Cover and cook the beans for 5 minutes.
4. While the beans are cooking, add the salmon to the medium bowl with the lime mixture and toss to combine.
5. Uncover the skillet and shift the green beans to one side of the pan, then add the salmon to the other side, drizzling any remaining liquid from its bowl on top. Put the lid back on and steam until the salmon and beans are just cooked through, 10 to 15 more minutes.
6. Remove the salmon and green beans to a platter, then add the reserved lime mixture in the small bowl to the rice, along with all but 2 tablespoons of the cilantro. Stir gently to combine, then season the rice with salt and pepper.
7. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro over the top. Serve rice, salmon and green beans with more lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the top.
Ras el Hanout chickpea and spinach stew. Spicy chicken thighs and mushrooms, seared tofu with kimchi and turkey chili start the year with flavor and ease. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards. (Christopher Testani, The New York Times)
3. Ras el Hanout Chickpea and Spinach Stew
This warming one-pot stew delivers the depth and comfort of a long-simmered meal in a fraction of the time. Chickpeas and spinach braise in a richly spiced tomato base, creating layers of warmth and complexity. Ras el hanout, a fragrant Moroccan spice blend, gives the dish its signature aromatic depth; gently toasted tomato paste intensifies its flavor even further. A splash of soy sauce provides an unexpected but welcome hit of umami, rounding out the dish with a richness that mimics a stew that’s been bubbling away for hours. Served with a generous spoonful of yogurt (or a squeeze of lemon) and a drizzle of harissa oil to cut through the richness, it’s perfect with crusty bread or spooned over grains like rice, barley, bulgur or quinoa.
By Nargisse Benkabbou
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the Stew:
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to serve
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons ras el hanout (see Tip)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup vegetable stock, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Fine sea salt
3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
5 cups/5 ounces packed spinach leaves (stemmed and roughly torn if large)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or lemon wedges (optional), for serving
Crusty bread, couscous, bulgur or rice, for serving
For the Harissa Oil (optional):
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon harissa paste
Preparation
1. Prepare the stew: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add the garlic and ras el hanout and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until the tomato paste darkens slightly in color, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the stock, soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce slightly darkens in color and its flavors have melded.
3. Add the chickpeas and simmer until they are warm and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and stir until wilted and fully incorporated into the stew, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. If the stew starts getting too thick, feel free to add a few more spoonfuls of stock or water.
4. If using, make the harissa oil: In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and harissa until well incorporated.
5. Serve the stew warm, with a dollop of Greek yogurt or lemon wedges on the side, and a drizzle of olive oil (or harissa oil), if desired. Enjoy with crusty bread or over grains like couscous, bulgur or rice.
Tip
Ras el hanout is widely available online and in larger grocery stores. If you’d like to make your own, stir together the following ingredients: 1 teaspoon each ground turmeric, ground coriander, ground ginger, ground cumin, ground cardamom and ground nutmeg, plus 1/2 teaspoon each ground aniseed, ground caraway seeds, ground fennel, ground cloves and ground black pepper. (This blend makes about 3 tablespoons ras el hanout.)
Seared tofu with kimchi. Spicy chicken thighs and mushrooms, seared tofu with kimchi and turkey chili start the year with flavor and ease. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. (Bryan Gardner, The New York Times)
4. Seared Tofu With Kimchi
A simple, meatless weeknight recipe, this tofu and kimchi braise has deep flavors but comes together in just 30 minutes. The two main ingredients are tofu and kimchi. Equally delicious warm or at room temperature, this tofu braise makes a fun addition to meal prep. Serve it with rice, to soak up the delicious kimchi sauce, or tuck the tofu and kimchi into a sandwich. Store-bought kimchi vary in flavor and salt level and the more fermented kimchi will be softer, juicer, and a bit more sour. The recipe can take all levels of fermentation, but adjust seasoning as you see fit, sweetening with sugar or salting with extra soy sauce.
By Sue Li
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
1 (14-ounce) block firm tofu, drained and cut crosswise into 8 equal slices
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 scallions, root ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
2/3 cup store-bought or homemade napa cabbage kimchi, coarsely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons kimchi juice
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
Cooked rice (optional), for serving
Preparation
1. Pat tofu pieces dry between sheets of paper towel.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium. When the oil is shimmering, add the tofu in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until lightly golden on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook another 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the scallions and kimchi to the same pan with the tofu and gently move the tofu pieces around to incorporate them into the kimchi mixture. Cook until the kimchi wilts a little, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the kimchi juice, soy sauce, sugar and 1/2 cup water.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then adjust heat to medium and simmer until the tofu has absorbed some of the flavors but the mixture remains saucy, 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Serve with rice or on its own.
Turkey chili. Spicy chicken thighs and mushrooms, seared tofu with kimchi and turkey chili start the year with flavor and ease. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. (Armando Rafael, The New York Times)
5. Turkey Chili
You might not think of chili as an easy weeknight dish, but this turkey version from Pierre Franey will change your mind. It’s fabulous, it’s healthy and it can be cooked in about a half hour. A combination of dark and white meat really adds depth and richness of flavor, so try to find a mix, but all white meat (or a mixture of ground beef and turkey) will yield a stellar batch, too.
By Pierre Franey
Yield: About 6 servings
Total time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds ground turkey, white and dark meat combined
2 cups coarsely chopped onions
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 large sweet red pepper, cored, deveined and coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 jalapeño, cored, deveined and finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth, fresh or canned
Salt and black pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup sour cream (optional)
Sliced lime, for garnish (optional)
Preparation
1. Heat the oil over high in a large heavy pot and add the turkey meat. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, chopping down and stirring with the side of a heavy kitchen spoon to break up any lumps.
2. Add the onions, garlic, sweet pepper, celery, jalapeño, oregano, bay leaves, chili powder and cumin. Stir to blend well. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
4. Add the drained beans and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes longer. Serve in bowls with cheddar, and sour cream and lime wedges, if desired.
Long-running Denver lunch spot Mr. Lucky’s Sandwiches, which closed in December after Denver’s Department of Finance seized its two locations, owes more than $40,000 in unpaid taxes, according to the city agency. Galen Juracek, who owns the shops in Capitol Hill and the Highland neighborhood, specifically owes $40,556.11.
Multiple notices posted to the door of Mr. Lucky’s Capitol Hill location showed that the city demanded payment for the back taxes starting in July. But the city’s “distraint warrant” — a legal notice that a business owner owes a specific amount, and that the business could be seized if they don’t pay it — notes the shops, at 711 E. 6th Ave. and 3326 Tejon St., were forced to close on Tuesday, Dec. 23.
Mr. Lucky’s had already decided it would close its two locations by the end of 2025, said Laura Swartz, communications director for the Department of Finance. But the city’s seizure of the business shows that it had not been keeping up on basic requirements, with a $39,956 bill for unpaid sales taxes and $600.11 in “occupational privilege” taxes, which fund local services and allow a business to operate within a specific area.
“When businesses charge customers sales tax but then do not submit that sales tax to the city, the city is responsible for becoming involved,” she said in an email to The Denver Post
Juracek did not respond to multiple phone calls from The Denver Post requesting comment. His business, which is described on its website as a “go-to spot for handcrafted sandwiches since 1999, roasting our meats in-house and making every bite unforgettable,” is listed on the documents as G&J Concepts.
Westword last month reported that Mr. Lucky’s was closing because Juracek decided to move on from the food industry for personal reasons. “Life is about timing,” he told the publication, saying the leases on his spaces were ending.
City documents show that his unpaid taxes go back at least to this summer. He purchased the business, which opened in 1999, in 2017 and opened the second location in 2019.
“We’re not a chain, but we also work very hard to avoid the $20 sandwich and becoming the place people think twice about because of the price point,” Juracek told The Denver Post in 2023. “We can fulfill your basic needs for $6. And if money is no object, we can sell you a $17 sandwich.”
A note written on a brown paper bag, and posted to the Capitol Hill location’s door last month, reads: “We are closed for the day! Sorry.”
Fortune cookies promise wisdom, clarity, and sometimes motivation. What they usually deliver is ocnfusion, accidental comedy, or advice that feels oddly specific.
Whether the message makes sense or not, it landed it your lap, so do what you please with that information. Even if it is forgetting it the minute you bite into the cookie, because most of the time the fortune has a way of stealing the desserts spotlight.
Rootstalk and Radicato founder Matt Vawter said he doesn’t view his newest venture as just a bakery, it’s a culinary collaboration with friends that he said they plan to build on.
Threefold Bakery, which opened Sunday, Dec. 28, is backed by a team who have their fair share of accolades in the culinary field, making for shelves stocked with truly elevated baked goods.
The bakery tucked around a corner of Breckenridge Main Street brings together Vawter, who won a James Beard Award, Sean McGaughey, who managed a Michelin three-star restaurant, and Melissa McGaughey, who won the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship in 2019. Additionally, Melissa and Sean own a bakery that’s been recognized by the New York Times as one of the best in the nation, Quail & Condor, and one recognized by the Michelin Guide of recommendation restaurants, Troubadour Bread & Bistro, both in Healdsburg, California.
Vawter said the name Threefold defines their operation threefold. First, a croissant, a staple item at the bakery, is folded three times. Second, the bakery has three owners. And, lastly, this is Vawter’s third business venture with his business partner Patrick Murphy, who is also a partner in Vawter’s other restaurants, Rootstalk Breckenridge and Radicato Breckenridge.
Vawter said he and Murphy wanted to do something different with their third venture.
A pair of 19-year-olds reveal how they cut their Tesco bill from £100 to a much more reasonable number, explaining the often forgotten method that could save you hundreds a month
Danielle Kate Wroe Senior Social News Reporter
15:27, 01 Jan 2026
They shared the haul they got £30 off (Stock Image)(Image: Isabel Pavia via Getty Images)
A young couple have revealed how they managed to slash a significant amount off their weekly grocery bill. With food prices seemingly on the rise, shoppers are seeking innovative methods to cut costs.
Two 19-year-olds showcased their week’s shopping haul, which included proper meals such as fajitas, pizza and pasta, with an expected cost of roughly £100. Yet, being shrewd shoppers, they decided to “find a way to find it cheaper,” and their efforts were rewarded when the bill arrived at the checkout.
Following their post displaying photographs of the items they’d secured in their haul, they advised fellow Tesco Clubcard holders to check something important. They explained: “If you have a Tesco Club Card remember that you probably have coupons you haven’t used, and get Club Card Plus for a 1-month trial to get 10% off.
“My shop was supposed to be £100, but I made it £69. (There are also things for my car, such as de-icers that aren’t in the picture, and a late Christmas present, which added £1,7 but I don’t think I did too badly)”.
This indicated that the actual food shopping itself likely set the pair back approximately £50, which represents decent value.
However, some Reddit users criticised the duo for their lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, encouraging them to prepare their own sauces from scratch.
One individual commented: “Learn to make pasta sauce, it’s easier, cheaper, better and healthier. Don’t buy those old El Paso kits; buy the spices (you’ll have them for ages), then buy the wraps separately and salsa/avocado as you go. Fruit and veg are good..”
However, someone countered that despite attempting numerous alternatives to replicate the El Paso kits, “you can’t beat” them. They insisted they’d “tried a lot”.
Another chimed in: “All those pre-made spice mixes are filled with an unholy amount of sugar, well worth learning a few spice/herb combos to achieve the flavours you want without all the extra c***”.
One Redditor came to the young couple’s defence, stating: “When I was 18 and 19 I did rely on Dolmio sauce jars and curry jars to be fair, partly because I didn’t know how to make a sauce or curry from scratch, partly because I thought it was cheaper too.
“Pasta sauces are super easy and cheap to make from scratch, and much healthier than the jars. I make bolognese sauce from scratch for around £3, it has fresh veg in it and genuinely takes about 15 minutes to prep, and makes 4 good sized portions.
“With curries, there can be an initial outlay to purchase the ingredients and spices, but once you have them, they’ll make loads of batches. Asian supermarkets are especially good for getting fresh and dried ingredients cheaper and more authentic than big supermarkets, if you know what you’re looking for.
“My best advice would be to buy a few cookbooks and just spend time in the kitchen. I’d recommend Bosh and Delia Smith books. While you’re learning, ignore TikToks and YouTube reels”.
Another savvy consumer suggested that, despite the Clubcard offer, Aldi would prove a “better and cheaper” option for the weekly food shop.
One man commented: “Good shop! That’s how much we spend too, pretty much the same, but we get protein from the butcher. If you can’t be bothered with fresh veg just get frozen broccoli and cauliflower and just chuck it in a steamer as a side!! I’m in my late 20s, but I’ve lived on my own for a long time. My shop is pretty similar”.
Lab-grown meat could be widely available in supermarkets across the U.S. in 10-15 years.
Advocates say the product offers consumers more choices, boosts food security for a country with growing demand and increases sustainability for a world with already stressed resources.
However, some states have already answered this question – with a hard “no.”
Seven states have banned the manufacturing, sale or distribution of lab-grown meat, and more have taken steps to restrict its labeling. Many of these steps happened in 2025, and the Department of Health and Human Services lists them on its website as examples of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s movement to “Make America Healthy Again.”
The latest ban in Texas started in September and lasts two years, though lawmakers can choose to extend it. Violators could face civil and criminal penalties.
“This ban is a massive win for Texas ranchers, producers and consumers,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement. “Texans have a God-given right to know what’s on their plate, and for millions of Texans, it better come from a pasture, not a lab. It’s plain cowboy logic that we must safeguard our real, authentic meat industry from synthetic alternatives.”
But supporters of lab-grown meat are not going down without a fight. Lawsuits challenging bans have been filed in both Texas and Florida.
In its lawsuit against Texas, the Institute for Justice and cultivated food producers Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods argued the ban is “nothing more than unconstitutional economic protectionism.”
“This ban slams the door on choice, when all we’re asking is the freedom for Texans to decide for themselves,” Wildtype co-founder Aryé Elfenbein said in a statement.
State and federal action over the next several years could determine much about the future of the budding industry. And despite the pushback in recent months, some see reason for optimism about its future.
What Is Lab-Grown Meat – and Is It Safe?
The Good Food Institute, a think tank working in “alternative protein innovation,” says that “cultivated meat is identical to conventional meat at the cellular level.”
Lab-grown meat comes from animal cells, so it’s not vegetarian like the “Impossible Burger” and similar products derived from plants.
Animal stem cells are placed in bioreactors and mixed with a blend of water, sugar, fats and vitamins to grow more cells and build the muscle and fat otherwise grown inside an animal. Growth factors and other proteins are typically added as well. The cells are then harvested and shaped into final products like a chicken fillet.
The product is completely safe, says David Kaplan, a professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University, and approvals from the Food and Drug Administration underscore that. The agency has approved five companies’ cultivated meat products, ranging from chicken to salmon to pork fat.
“All their data is publicly available through their filings, and there’s nothing in there that says it’s anything but at least as good, if not better, than what consumers eat today,” Kaplan says.
But consumers won’t be seeing it on the shelves anytime soon. David Block, a professor at the University of California, said it will be at least 10 to 15 years before lab-grown meat could be widely available in supermarkets.
The timeframe depends on everything going right for building a big manufacturing facility from scratch.
“I would argue that nobody has done this at a really large scale yet, so nobody knows exactly what they want to see in a very large-scale facility,” Block says.
Where Lab-Grown Meat Restrictions Stand Across the U.S.
Access to lab-grown meat thus far in the U.S. has been extremely limited, consisting of brief appearances in select restaurants like Bar Crenn in San Francisco and China Chilcano, in Washington, D.C.
But that hasn’t stopped states from banning the product.
Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and Texas have passed bans (some of them temporary) on the manufacturing, sale or distribution of cell-cultured meat. Additional states have taken steps to regulate labeling of the product.
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The related debate has been both heated and highly politicized.
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the ban in Florida, he described it as “fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.” He added that his administration “will save our beef.”
But the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association isn’t worried about competition.
Sigrid Johannes, the association’s senior director of government affairs, described the bans as state legislators “responding to their own constituents, it’s as simple as that” in a statement to U.S. News.
“Plenty of Americans from both sides of the aisle have serious concerns about yet another ultra-processed, artificial food landing on grocery store shelves, masquerading as whole-ingredient beef,” Johannes said. “NCBA has never pushed for a federal ban because we’re not afraid of competing with these products in the free market, but we will continue advocating for appropriate labeling rules so consumers know exactly what they’re eating.”
Though Kennedy and the Trump administration have cheered these states on, they haven’t proposed any similar federal action on the subject.
A Fight for the Future
Of course, the nature of the product means the lab-grown meat industry faces more challenges than just government bans.
“There’s still issues, probably most notably the cost of those products,” says Block, who serves as director of the Integrative Center for Alternative Meat and Protein.
Production is expensive and has only been done in small quantities thus far. But Block says there is potential to bring the price down.
“If you were to produce these materials at really huge scale, then the cost would come down,” he says. “But that’s not really happening on any of these products yet.”
Whether the demand is there for such a scale-up is unknown, but there are some signs of interest. A 2024 survey from Purdue University found that 60% of consumers are willing to try cultivated beef, chicken and pig, with chicken garnering the most interest.
While most headlines will refer to the product as lab-grown meat, researchers prefer to call it cultivated meat.
“In terms of the way it would be perceived by consumers, if you say lab-grown, it has a very different connotation,” says Kaplan.
Experts say they are optimistic about the industry’s future, but they are worried about investing during the Trump administration.
“I’m very bullish about what we’ve gotten to and where things stand,” Kaplan says. “I’m just very uncertain on how quick the next step will be, and I’m very worried that we will be left behind by other countries because we’re not doing the investments.”
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They say we eat with our eyes first, but I’m not sure my eyes were ready for appetizers served on rusty garden tools.
Let’s dive into the strange world of avant-garde gastronomy where practicality is optional and the humble ceramic plate is nowhere to be found. What happened to the beauty of simplicity?
These restaurants tried to innovate by any means necessary, and while some of the results look creative and fun, others… well, I’ll let you be the judge!
When’s the last time you poured a perfect glass of Pinot Noir in your own home? If you’re like me from three weeks ago, probably never. Red wines should be served somewhere between 58 and 68 degrees (opinions vary). That’s a bit cooler than room temperature, but unless you want to dedicate money and space to a special refrigerator, you don’t have many good options. Our colleagues at Bon Appétit have, in fact, advocated giving up on life and just keeping your red wine in the fridge and then pulling the bottle out about a half hour before you plan to drink.
Enter the Rocco, which will hold your Gamay at a perfect 58 degrees on a lower shelf while holding your Stella Artois at a perfect 38 degrees a few shelves below. (I used a wireless thermometer to check the temperatures on various shelves; they were dead-on.)
Did I mention it’s gorgeous? In a world of wine fridges that look like Holiday Inn minibars and mini gridges that look like they came out of a dorm, the design-forward Rocco has a distinctive look that’s also neutral enough to fit into rooms with midcentury and modern furniture.
The “smart fridge” branding is perhaps a bit of bluster. Other than the design, which is incredibly thoughtful and flexible (there’s room for both cans and 750 millilitre bottles), it has an app-based lock, and can allow you to prioritise chilling over volume for when it’s being opened constantly (Party mode) or be quiet in your home theater (Quiet mode). There are other things the app is supposed to do, but I’ve had no luck getting the fridge connected so far—a commonproblemitseems. There is no Android version of the app, and it also doesn’t work with older Macs, but my iPhone 15 Pro Max and M1 laptop also failed to connect after more than an hour of trying. I’ll report back if I get it working.
What you do get with the Rocco is a very good-looking spot to store drinks behind a triple-thick layer of reeded glass, a choice of several eye-catching colors, and the ability to hold several types of drinks at perfect serving temperature. Oh, and a little branded serving tray and a deck of round playing cards.
The winter holidays are nearly here, which means it’s a great time to gather with friends and family for some festive celebratory drinks. But where to go? If cozy kitsch, the glow of Christmas lights and an abundance of tinsel are your vibe, head for one of these 11 pop-up holiday cocktail bars around the Bay Area.
Sippin’ Santa and Miracle — two pop-up bar organizers — work with existing bars to offer their seasonal cocktail menus. The Sippin’ Santa concept is generally more tropical and tiki-drink focused, while the Miracle bars also offer professionally developed cocktails “and the nostalgic energy of the best office party you’ve ever been to.”
Originally launched in 2014 in New York City, the Miracle pop-up has grown since then, and now brings its seasonal pop-ups worldwide, according to its website. Meanwhile, the first Sippin’ Santa started in 2015 in New York City and has since expanded to over 60 locations across North America, especially following the creation of a 2018 partnership with tiki connoisseur, writer and bar owner Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Generally, the menus are the same across the different locations for each concept, and each has a number of collectible cocktail mugs as well.
There are five of each concept open now or very soon around the Bay Area.
Santarex mugs are a popular item at Miracle’s pop-up holiday experience in participating restaurants and bars. (Photo by John McCall, South Florida Sun Sentinel)
SIPPIN’ SANTA LOCATIONS
Beer Baron, Pleasanton
Open 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 15-Jan. 4, at 336 St. Mary St., Pleasanton; beerbaronbar.com
Open 5 p.m.-midnight Tuesdays-Saturdays, Nov. 28-Dec. 31 (closed Christmas Day), at 32 Third St., San Francisco; konastreetmarket.com
55 South, San Jose
Opens at 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 20-Jan. 3, 55 S. 1 First St., San Jose; the55south.com
Flamingo Lazeaway Club, Santa Rosa
Open 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and 2:30-10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 31, at 2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa; lazeawayclub.com
Additional California locations are in Hollywood, Paso Robles, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
The Snowball Old-Fashioned cocktail made with rye whiskey, gingerbread, aromatic and wormwood bitters and orange essence will be served during the Miracle pop-up bar experience at participating restaurants and bars this holiday season. (Courtesy of Miracle)
MIRACLE LOCATIONS
You’ll also find Miracle pop-up bars at the following bar locations. These cocktail bars are less tiki-themed, more.
Pop’s Public House, Gilroy
Open 4-9 p.m. Mondays, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays, 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturdays and 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 31, at 1300 First St., Gilroy; popspublichouse.com
The Fat Pigeon, Livermore
Opens 2 p.m. weekdays and noon weekends through Dec. 31, at 2223 First St., Livermore; fatpigeonbar.com
The Double Standard, Oakland
Opens 4 p.m. weekdays and 2 p.m. weekends through Dec. 31, at 2424 Telegraph Ave., Oakland; doublestandardbar.com
Brewsters Beer Garden, Petaluma
Open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 1, at 229 Water St., Petaluma, brewstersbeergarden.com. The location is also hosting Santa visits each Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m., starting Dec. 2.
The Waterhawk Lake Club, Rohnert Park
Open 11:30 a.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. weekend through Jan. 1 at 5000 Roberts Lake Road, Rohnert Park; thewaterhawk.com
ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS
Making Spirits Bright, Los Gatos
Los Gatos Soda Works will also be hosting its own seasonal pop-up with a new, independent holiday cocktail menu and extravagant decorations. Opens daily at 4 p.m. through Dec. 31 at 21 College Ave., Los Gatos; reservations encouraged. losgatossodaworks.com
Enjoy a special Black Friday brunch with bloodys, oyster shooters and regional Mexican dishes like Huevos a la Cazuela, Chilaquiles and Chalupas Divorciadas in Flora’s chandelier-studded dining room and lush patio overlooking the bayou.
Bas’s Cheesesteaks pop-up at Third Place
Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (or until sold out)
420 East 20th
Bas’s Cheesesteaks is bringing Philly flavor to the Heights neighborhood with a special pop up at JUN’s Third Place, slinging halal ribeye cheesesteaks on seeded hoagie rolls with melty white cheese, mayo and your choice of grilled onions and peppers. Add fries or a Pudgy’s deli cookie to seal the deal. Follow along @basscheesesteaks for updates and future events.
The Heights hangout is getting into the holiday spirit with festive cocktails, s’mores and holiday movies each night this season. Sip drinks like the Cookies and Cream Espresso Martini, or Space City Christmas Margarita while sitting fireside on the patio with S’more Boards and movie screenings of The Grinch (Friday) and The Santa Clause (Saturday).
A Christmas Carol Cocktail Experience at Garage HTX
Friday–Saturday, 6, 8 and 10 p.m.
1201 Oliver
Step into a darkly festive Victorian London with A Christmas Carol Cocktail Experience, a 90-minute immersive show reimagining Dickens’ classic and pairing four holiday-themed cocktails with key scenes from Scrooge’s ghostly journey. Tickets are 21+ only and can be booked for your preferred time online.
It’s your last chance to get in on the fiery burger collaboration between food influencer Shawn the Food Sheep and PINCHO Burgers and Kebabs. Available at all Houston locations, the burger features a duo of smashed Angus patties stacked with Tillamook cheddar, jalapeños, grilled poblano peppers, diced shallots, and a generous drizzle of Shawn’s signature super-spicy sauce.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to use leftover turkey, this may well be the ticket. The original recipe was nabbed from cookbook author Mark Bittman’s book, “Eat Vegan Before 6:00.” A couple of years ago I started adding leftover Thanksgiving turkey to the mix. Of course, that changes the vegan status, but it is a darn tasty soup.
When I first saw the recipe I questioned the addition of a quarter-cup tomato paste. It seemed like it was too much. But guess what? I made it and loved it. The soup is as delicious as it is simple to prepare.
Leftover Turkey and Vegetable Soup
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup tomato paste
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
6 cups vegetable broth or water, plus more if needed in step 4
3 cups chopped firm vegetables, such as carrots, winter squash, cauliflower, broccoli or root vegetables
3 cups chopped soft vegetables such as zucchini, bell peppers, green beans or any greens
3 cups cooked or canned beans or fresh or frozen corn kernels or peas
1 1/2 cups cooked turkey, boned, skinned, cut into medium dice
Garnish 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
DIRECTIONS
1. Put oil in large pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook until it dries out a bit, a minute or two. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Add broth or water and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add firm vegetables and bring to a boil. Adjust heat so the mixture gently bubbles. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the kinds you’re using.
3. Add zucchini or other soft vegetables, along with beans or corn or peas. Return to boil, then lower the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Cook, stirring once in a while, until everything is quite soft, another 10 to 15 minutes, adding the diced turkey after 8 minutes.
4. If soup is too thick, stir in additional broth. Stir in basil; taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Source: “Eat Vegan Before 6:00” by Mark Bittman (Clarkson Potter, $26)
Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at @CathyThomas Cooks.com.
For nearly 16 years, María Irma Pérez Padilla set up her tamale cart at a busy intersection in Pilsen, selling the beloved Mexican dish to help support her family. The 52-year-old mother worked long days to pay for her diabetes medication and provide for her children after her husband’s death two years ago.
Like many older immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission, Pérez relied entirely on street vending to survive. But on a Friday morning in October, masked federal agents in an unmarked vehicle detained her as she prepared an order of tamales. Within minutes, the familiar presence who anchored the corner for more than a decade was gone.
“They were just standing between her and her cart — they didn’t even let her finish her job,” her son, Jaime Montano, said. Despite having no criminal record, Pérez was taken to a detention center.
She is one of at least 15 vendors immigration authorities have detained from Chicago’s streets since the Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz in September, according to the Street Vendors Association of Chicago and immigrant rights groups. While the operation was promoted as an effort to target people with violent criminal records who didn’t have legal status, the families of detained vendors say most have no such history.
As longtime vendors quietly disappear from the corners they’ve held for years, community organizations and neighbors are scrambling to support those taken, their families and those still working on the streets. A new local effort has emerged to provide financial assistance, helping vendors avoid working outdoors under fear of arrest or to ensure someone else can temporarily run their stands.
The Street Vendors Association of Chicago launched a fundraiser last month to collect donations now being distributed to vendors who apply for emergency support. Maria Orozco of SVAC said the campaign gained momentum following Tribune reporting that highlighted the toll ICE raids have taken on street vendors citywide.
Salvador Salas, center, 75, who sells elotes from a cart, accepts a $500 check Nov. 2, 2025, in the Little Village neighborhood from the Street Vendors Association of Chicago. The group collected donations to help during a time of decreased sales because of immigration enforcement. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Street vendors are uniquely vulnerable because of the public nature of their work, Orozco said. The fear generated by recent raids has forced many to forgo the income they rely on to sustain their families and small businesses.
For Montano, community support made the difference. Donations collected through a GoFundMe allowed him to hire an attorney, who secured his mother’s release a week after her arrest. He drove to Indiana, near the Kentucky border, to bring her home.
For now, Pérez remains inside their apartment. She has a court date later this month that will begin a long legal process. She hasn’t stepped outdoors since returning, though she keeps a printed copy of her judge-ordered release by her side in case agents approach her again.
The family has lived in Pilsen for more than two decades, and Pérez’s sudden disappearance shook the community. Montano, who once split household expenses with his mother, said she was always determined not to burden him.
“She said she was here to work, so she wanted to get out there and do her job,” Montano said.
That determination was shared by many of the detained vendors, their families say. Most continued working despite warnings that agents were nearby, believing the raids would focus on “the worst of the worst.” Instead, many vendors were questioned about their birthplace and nationality and detained without explanation, a practice community leaders say has become routine since Border Patrol arrived in Chicago.
“We aren’t the criminals they said they would target,” Laura Murillo told her fiance, Jaime Perez, before masked agents arrested her at her tamale stand in Back of the Yards. Even after hearing “la migra” was close, she kept working the morning of Sept. 25.
After Murillo’s arrest, the community rallied. Neighbors, friends and family helped keep her stand open, selling tamales to support her legal defense and her three children. Murillo, who has run her business for nearly 20 years, is now being held in a Texas detention center as she awaits a court date.
“We are fighting her deportation because she is not a criminal, she is a business owner that has paid more taxes than some people, and an exemplary mother,” Perez said.
Every morning, he sets up in the same spot where she was taken. He sells tamales to help keep Murillo’s eldest daughter in college and to ensure her youngest, who has autism, continues receiving care.
Across the city, similar scenes are unfolding. On the North Side, just days before Pérez Padilla’s arrest, another tamale vendor was taken from her corner at Belmont and Kimball.
Since then, Francelia Lagunas, a close family friend, has stepped in to run the cart. A few yards away, “Abolish ICE” was spray-painted in large white letters across a brick wall, a stark reminder of the tense atmosphere.
Street vendor Francelia Lagunas retrieves tamales for a customer in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood on Oct. 15, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
The business owner who makes the tamales sent someone with legal status to recover the cart and try to learn what happened. Bystanders later told Laguna’s sister that masked agents arrived about 9 a.m., grabbed the vendor by the hand and forced her into a van. The woman did not speak.
On a recent Tuesday, Lagunas worked from 6 a.m. to noon, hoping sales would help the tamalera’s daughter as she tries to understand what comes next. According to a rapid response volunteer in contact with the family, the vendor is being held in a Texas detention center while awaiting deportation to Peru.
Sometimes, family or friends make it to the scene in time to save a vendor’s belongings. Other times, carts, coolers and fresh produce are left behind.
After agents detained Edwin Andres Quinones at his fruit stand under the bridge at Cicero Avenue and I-55, they left behind crates of bananas, oranges and mangos. His family only learned of his arrest after he stopped answering his phone and a video of his abandoned stand circulated online.
Boxes of fruit are left on the median in the 4200 block of South Cicero Avenue in Chicago, near the entrance to the northbound Stevenson Expressway, after fruit vendor Edwin Andres Quinones reportedly was detained by immigration officials on Oct. 2, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Quinones had been selling fruit for more than six months while waiting for his work permit and asylum case, his wife said. Now, as he sits in a Texas detention center awaiting deportation to Venezuela, she and their child struggle to buy groceries and pay rent. She also has an ongoing asylum case and has not left her home since enforcement ramped up, fearing their child might be left alone.
In Berwyn and Cicero, a neighborhood watch group is raising money to help the family, but finances are tight, and uncertainty grows as the holidays approach. Like the Quinones family, many others now face the compounded burden of lost income and the urgent need to hire an attorney.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights has been contacted sporadically by families of detained street vendors, said Brandon Lee, the organization’s communications director. Some need financial help. Others are navigating the legal system. Nearly all are desperate for answers.
“These are folks who are community staples, who interact with their neighbors every single day, their presence is part of the vibrancy of so many neighborhoods,” Lee said. “What’s happening to street vendors is just one of the many examples of the cruelty and disregard, the disdain, that ICE has for our immigrant communities.”
Meanwhile, Orozco and other volunteers hope they can provide support as the holidays near — especially amid expectations that Border Patrol and ICE enforcement will continue.
In Little Village, many corners once filled with vendors selling elotes, fruit, vegetables, empanadas, snacks, and eggs now sit empty. Some vendors were swept up during enforcement sweeps; others remained indoors.
“But eventually, they have to eat,” said Elizeth Arguelles, a community organizer, street vendor advocate, and SVAC member. Arguelles is helping build a volunteer network to take over vendor shifts or accompany vendors throughout the day, offering support and monitoring for suspicious activity.
SVAC’s GoFundMe, which set a goal of $300,000, reached its target Nov. 5 — and donations continue to come in. As of Friday, 979 vendors have applied for a $500 emergency check. Orozco said that in the first week of accepting applications, a line stretched out the door of their office.
Orozco hand-delivered the first 160 checks last week and is waiting to receive 800 more checks to resume distribution. The group prioritized elderly applicants and will continue to distribute based on need, including medical conditions, lack of food or medicine, and households where the vendor is the sole earner.
“My parents are street vendors and I don’t allow my mom to go out right now,” Orozco said. “It’s a tough choice because when you’re a street vendor, you get an income basically daily. It gets very depressing when there is nothing coming in.”
Other grassroots groups are organizing “buy-outs” so vendors can earn money without staying outside for long periods. Neighbors are pooling money to bulk-purchase tamales, elotes and candy to reduce vendors’ exposure to enforcement.
On the Monday after Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino said on X that agents would be returning to Little Village; the Edgeville Community Rapid Response Team launched what they called a “tamale train.”
“We (suggested to our community) that if we raised $1,000, we could buy out four vendors immediately,” said Quinn Michaelis, a member of the Edgewater/Andersonville group. “Within a half hour, we had $1,300.”
At 6:30 the next morning, a volunteer in Little Village bought out as many vendors as they could find and distributed half the tamales to protesters gathered near the 26th Street Arch. Michaelis brought the remaining tamales back to Edgewater for their community. The group bought out vendors again the following day.
“It was such a wonderful, uplifting way for us all to get involved in a very real way,” Michaelis added.
Even though there are many options on our Thanksgiving table, we pay attention to the breadbasket. And every year, one of the non-negotiable items is cornbread. This year, it’s going to be this nicely cheesy version, with shredded cheddar incorporated into the batter, and then some more strewn across the top before baking for good measure.
This recipe is everything I want in a cornbread: moist (dry cornbread is a no-go for me, unless we are talking about stuffing), a little crumbly in the best way, and loaded with sharp cheddar cheese so you get that pop of flavor in every bite.
There is a reason that cooks have long reached for their cast-iron skillets when making cornbread. The dark, heavy metal gives the crust a wonderful color and a wonderful crispness on the outside. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can absolutely use any other heavy ovenproof pan. Just make sure it’s about 12-inches in diameter and has sides that are at least 2-inches tall.
Leftovers are great toasted the next day, with a smear of lightly salted butter or hot honey, or butter and hot honey mixed together.
If you want to make the cornbread ahead of time and freeze it, that’s a great plan. Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Then wrap the bread well in foil and freeze it. You can freeze the whole circle of cornbread, or if it’s easier (and I think it is), cut the cornbread into 4 quarters and freeze them separately. Defrost at room temperature; it will take about 12 hours to thaw. If you want to warm the bread before serving, just place it, still wrapped in foil, in a preheated 350° oven for about 10 minutes. Unwrap, slice and serve.
Cheddar Cornbread
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Hefty pinch cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus 1/2 cup for sprinkling
2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the butter in 12-inch cast iron skillet and put the pan in the oven until the butter melts and starts to very lightly brown.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt and cayenne. Stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese.In another smaller bowl use a fork to stir the eggs with the buttermilk.
3. When the butter is melted, twirl the pan a bit so that the butter coats the sides as well as the bottom, then pour almost all of it, except for a couple of tablespoons, into the buttermilk mixture and stir quickly to combine. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, just until combined (you want to see lumps; don’t overbeat or the cornbread will become tough). Scrape the mixture into the hot butter-coated pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle over the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
4. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until a wooden skewer or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cornbread just starts to pull away from the outside of the pan. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, until warm or room temperature. Serve in squares or wedges.
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Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at https://themom100.com. She can be reached at [email protected].
BERLIN (AP) — Traditional Christmas markets were opening across Germany on Monday, drawing revelers to their wooden stands with mulled wine, grilled sausages, potato pancakes or caramelized apples.
In Berlin, the famous market at the city’s Gedächtniskirche church opened with service open to the public on Monday morning. Other openings included the Christmas markets at the Rotes Rathaus city hall, Gendarmenmarkt and Charlottenburg Palace.
Christmas markets are an annual tradition that Germans have cherished since the Middle Ages — and successfully exported to much of the Western world. Vendors sell not only snacks and drinks but also handmade candles, wool hats, gloves and shiny Christmas stars in all colors and shapes. Children enjoy rides on chain carousels, Ferris wheels and skating on ice rinks.
Security is an issue at all markets across the country.
In the western city of Cologne, the Christmas market in front of the city’s famous double-domed cathedral was packed with big crowds on Saturday.
“We sense a very good atmosphere here, so we feel that in these difficult times we are currently experiencing, we can give visitors a little moment of respite here,” said Birgit Grothues, the spokeswoman for the market. “We see many smiling faces under our illuminated tent.”
Nonetheless, she said that after last year’s attack in Magdeburg, the city created a special security plan for its markets in close cooperation with police. It includes an additional anti-terrorism barrier and private security, she said.
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Associated Press writer Daniel Niemann in Cologne, Germany, contributed to this report.
Now that the holidays are here, it’s time to start planning your upcoming family feasts — including what beer you’re going to serve. Over the years, I’ve offered advice on tasty ways to pair beer with a variety of things, such as salads, candy, grilled meats, ice cream, cheese and even Girl Scout cookies. While I’ve been experimenting with pairing food and beer for three decades, there’s really no magic to it. Here are some basic concepts to help you successfully find the right beer for whatever you’re eating. The simplest way to approach pairing beer and food? Consider the three C’s: complement, contrast and cut.
Complement
Beer can complement food by harmonizing similar flavors, like chocolate notes in chocolate brownies with the chocolate in a dark stout. Try matching a spicy dish with a hoppy IPA, or a Rauchbier (smoked beer) or porter with barbecue. When two similar flavors combine, they’re often better than the sum of the parts, leading to a more pleasurable dining experience.
You can look at this from either direction. You can start with a beer and then decide on what food to make. Is your beer malty with caramel or toffee notes? Maybe order a thick steak. Or, if you already have your food, what are its signature flavors? If it’s spicy, maybe drink a spicy beer.
Contrast
The second “C” is contrast. Start by looking for opposites. For instance, a classic contrasting pairing is oysters and stout. A dry Irish stout, with roasted chocolate notes and strong coffee bitterness, meets its match in the sweet, briny flavors of oysters. If you’re having something sour, like sauerkraut or kimchi, try a sweeter beer, especially one with fruit flavors to emphasize that contrast between sweet and sour. Or pair a sour beer like a Lambic or a Gose with something like beef stew.
Basically, hop bitterness, roast malt, carbonation and alcohol can all balance sweetness and fatty richness in food, and the malty sweetness in certain beers can balance the acidity and hot spiciness of foods with those characteristics.
Adding just the right beer to a special meal can help bring out the flavors and textures in each bite in mouth-watering ways. Here’s a guide to get started with pairing food and beer. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Cut
Lastly, the third “C” is cutting. Many beers, especially ones that are highly carbonated, are well-matched for food that is fatty, rich or sometimes even spicy, and can cut through and cleanse the palate between bites. A rich creamy cheese will be no match for a fruit Lambic, for example, and an amber ale will slice through a spicy chicken wing like a hot knife through butter.
This concept works especially well with fried foods, because frying intensifies the food’s caramel flavors, while the beer’s carbonation and acidity (from the yeast) will cut right through the fat.
Other considerations
There are a few other factors to consider when creating pairing combinations. The most important is the strength of the beer. You wouldn’t want to drink a barley wine over 10% ABV with your salad; a more delicate, lower alcohol beer would be a better match. If you’re having a multi-course meal, it’s usually best to start with lighter beers and move up as you go. That will make pairing your dessert with a big sipping beer all the more appropriate and tasty.
More generally, you want to keep in mind the relative strength of both the food and your beer. Neither should overpower the other. Whether contrasting or complementing, they should remain in balance. Other considerations might be: What is the weather like? What’s the occasion? What mood am I in?
There are, of course, tried-and-true lists of good pairings. Pizza and lager is a classic for a reason: Simply, it works. I also like to pair brown ale with shepherd’s pie, sour beer with cheesecake, and pilsner with fish and chips. While you can’t go wrong with any of those, it’s more fun to try and come up with your own perfect pairings. One of my absolute best happened by accident. I was at an event that served chili con carne alongside wheels of blue cheese. Adding the blue cheese to the chili (itself quite amazing) while enjoying a lightly spicy IPA cut through the spicy heat of the dish and complemented the tangy cheese indescribably well. It’s a combo I’ve returned to many times. But I never would have discovered how good it was unless I thought about it and tried it. Let me know what perfect pairings you discover.
It’s the start of Thanksgiving week, the time when home cooks across America suddenly recognize the daunting task ahead.
More than 90% of people in the U.S. celebrate the food-centric holiday and more than 1 in 4 attend meals that include more than 10 other people, according to the Pew Research Center.
Under that kind of pressure, what host wouldn’t want the best tools to make sure the holiday dinner goes off without a hitch?
With that in mind, we asked national food safety experts which kitchen devices and aids are essential to ensure a safe and tasty Thanksgiving meal.
Here are their top four suggestions for aids that can make or break your holiday dinner, plus two bonus tips for after the meal:
Our panel of experts unanimously agreed that an instant-read digital thermometer is vital to making sure roast turkey and other dishes reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) to eliminate the risk of food poisoning from germs like salmonella and Campylobacter.
“This is non-negotiable,” said Darin Detwiler, a Northeastern University food safety expert. “A reliable thermometer ensures you’re not guessing, because guessing is not a food safety strategy.”
Color-coded cutting boards
In the hustle of a holiday kitchen, the risk of cross-contamination is real. That’s when germs from one food, such as raw turkey, may be spread to other foods, such as fresh vegetables or fruits.
It’s best to use dedicated cutting boards for each type of food, and color-coding — red for meat, yellow for poultry, green for veggies — can help, said Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University.
“I try not to use wooden cutting boards,” said Kowalcyk, noting that they can retain bacteria that thrive and grow to large enough quantities to cause illness.
As an emergency medicine doctor who has stitched up many Thanksgiving injuries, Dr. Tony Cirillo urges home cooks to make sure their kitchen knives are sharp.
A sharp knife cuts cleanly, while a dull knife requires more pressure that can cause dangerous slips, said Cirillo, a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Pulling a hot turkey out of the oven is tricky, especially if the pan you cook it in is flimsy, Cirillo added. Use a sturdy metal roasting pan or, in a pinch, stack two foil roasting pans together for strength.
“I’m a big fan of double-panning,” Cirillo said. “Dropping the turkey is generally not good on Thanksgiving.”
Just as important as getting food to the table is making sure it doesn’t sit out too long, said Don Schaffner, a food safety expert at Rutgers University.
Use a cooking timer or clock alarm to make sure to pack away leftovers within two hours to prevent bacterial growth that can cause illness.
And when you’re storing those leftovers, make sure to put them in shallow containers, Schaffner said.
Measure using a ruler — or even the short side of a credit card — to make sure that dense foods like stuffing and sweet potatoes reach a depth of no more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) to allow for quick and complete cooling in the refrigerator.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Keen to enjoy homemade bread but put off by all the kneading by hand, flouring, and yeast-starting that comes with it? Then using one of our tested bread makers that does the hard graft for you—like the KBS Pro ($150) or Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus ($400)—may just be your ticket to carb heaven. A great way to liven up a club sandwich or add heart to a hot soup, homemade, unprocessed bread not only tastes great but can be easily made in one of the latest bread makers in just a few simple steps.
With a good bread maker, you can produce a generously sized 1-pound basic tin loaf in around four hours from start to finish, which is ideal for slicing up and popping in one of our recommended toasters. Bread makers come with various settings for bread styles beyond your standard loaf too—with French, gluten-free, whole wheat, and sweet options such as banana and date loaf all just a “set and forget it until it’s ready” step away. Some bread machines also have settings for making pizza and pasta dough or fruit jam, which is great if you’re feeling even more adventurous in the kitchen.
“Time and temperature are essential in bread baking, and consistency is one of the biggest variances we face as bakers,” Peter Edris, head baker at New York’s artisan Frenchette Bakery, told WIRED when we asked him how he creates the perfect loaf. “If you want to make good bread, then you need to have the right equipment for the job—invest in a good scale, a good thermometer, and time everything.” Without a team of professional bakery staff on hand, we embraced the shortcut solution to domestic bliss and called in a range of the latest bread makers to test. Here we’ve highlighted our favorite designs, included tips on what to consider before you buy, and shared expert advice on how to get the best from your home bakes.
Founders can find it hard to step away from work when their company rests on their shoulders. The concept of having “work-life balance” has sparked fierce debate among entrepreneurs, who question if it’s even possible to have the best of both worlds: scaling a multimillion-dollar business, with enough downtime to recharge. Two-time founder Nicole Bernard Dawes is a strong advocate of unplugging from the job—but only for her employees.
“I think I probably am a little bit of a hypocrite, because I don’t unplug. I never do,” Dawes tells Fortune. “I never want to be the person that’s holding up a member of our team.”
The serial entrepreneur encourages her staffers to totally disconnect from work once they’re off the clock, but doesn’t give herself the same breathing room. Having scaled two companies to success, she’s assumed the responsibility of always being on for decades. Dawes first founded organic, non-GMO tortilla chip brand Late July in 2003, which currently lines the aisles of Targets, Whole Foods, Krogers, and Walmarts across the country. Campbell’s acquired a majority stake of the business in 2014, eventually buying the rest of the $100 million company in 2017. In 2018, Dawes broke into another consumer packaged goods (CPG) market again, this time with zero-sugar, sustainably packaged soda line Nixie. The brand raised $27 million in new funding earlier this year, with its products being sold in over 11,000 major grocery stores.
With more than two decades of entrepreneurship under her belt at Late July, Dawes had pushed through economic downturns and many sleepless nights. But the hardships didn’t stop her from returning to the startup scene as Nixie’s founder—having grown up in the business world, Dawes is not so easily deterred. However, she doesn’t want work to overtake her staffers’ lives.
“I signed up for this. I am the entrepreneur, I did this to myself—a self-inflicted situation. [My employees] didn’t sign up to be entrepreneurs,” Dawes says. “I am very comfortable taking downtime, but also making sure I’m available.”
Dawes says never unplugging is “my life”—and she grew up in it
Many leaders out there, like Google cofounder Sergey Brin, expect their staffers to clock in more than the typical nine-to-five job. But Dawes doesn’t hold her her employees to have the relentless work-ethic of entrepreneurs who pride themselves on having no personal lives.
“I think that where a lot of [leaders] differ, is extending that to their team. I feel very strongly that it should not extend to the team,” Dawes explains. “But I also feel like that is how I grew up. My father missed a lot of stuff because he felt like that was what you had to do. So I was determined I wasn’t gonna do that. I wanted to be present at things for my kids, and I wanted [it] to be okay for our team to be that way, too.”
Dawes witnessed the pitfalls of entrepreneurship as a kid growing up in her parents’ food businesses. She spent her childhood years working the front counter of her mother’s health-food store, and roaming the floors of her late father’s $4.87 billion snack empire: Cape Cod Chips. As a kid in a family running two businesses, Dawes says it could be difficult for her parents to step away from the job. So when she decided to follow in their footsteps as a two-time founder of successful CPG brands, she knew exactly what to expect.
“When you decide to become an entrepreneur, there’s a lot of people [saying], ‘It’s stressful, it’s lonely, it’s all these things.’ And that’s true, but this is where I was really fortunate: I grew up in this business, so I entered eyes wide open,” Dawes says. “That’s why it’s really important to be passionate about your mission, passionate about your products. Because you do have to sacrifice a lot on the other side.”
Dawes still makes time for the important things
While Dawes admits she has difficulty stepping away from the grind, she still makes time for the things that keep her sane.
“You have to choose what’s the most important thing in that moment. I don’t think as an entrepreneur—at least for me—I’ve never really, truly, been able to shut off completely,” Dawes says. “But I also make time to have family dinner almost every night. There were things that were priorities to me, and I still make them priorities, like going out for a walk every day or exercising.”
The entrepreneur also loves hitting the beach, reading, and cooking—and despite it feeling like a chore to many, Dawes really enjoys going to the grocery store. She calls it her “hobby”: observing what new products are stocked on shelves, and what items shoppers are gravitating towards. It’s gratifying to witness people pick up a bag of Late July or a case of Nixie drinks to bring home to their families, something she feels immensely grateful for. While getting her brands into those grocery aisles has been no easy feat, it’s all been worth it in the end. Dawes says passion is what eases the weight of her work-life balance.
“Sometimes when I wake up in the morning like, ‘I can’t even believe I’m this lucky that I get to do this job,’” Dawes says. “And because I feel that way, it doesn’t feel like working. I’m getting to do something fun all the time.”
New West Knifeworks Joy Bauer 6-Inch Chef Knife for $225: Like my New West Knifeworks pick above, this luxe knife is absolutely gorgeous, with a bold red-and-white handle and an accompanying embossed leather sheath. Created in collaboration with nutritionist and TV personality Joy Bauer, this 6-inch knife is a Japanese Santoku-style knife with a downward blade and a sturdy top slope, made from American-made 440C stainless steel. I found that food stuck to the sides of this blade, and it dragged more with starchier foods, but it is absolutely gorgeous and better for smaller tasks.
Henckels Classic Precision 7-Inch Santoku Knife for $80: I’ve found this Santoku-style knife’s flat blade and straight edge are most effective for slicing and tap-chopping, with the low point and flat blade being effective for easy sliding and transport of chopped vegetables. This Spanish-made knife’s blade is made of German stainless steel with a satin finish, which also has divots to reduce food sticking to the sides. The Mannkitchen Santoku model below is a bit sturdier, but this is a more affordable, lighter Santoku option of those I’ve tested.
Henckels Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife for $70: This 8-inch, Spanish-made Henckels knife has a classic German-style blade made from German stainless steel. It just feels like a heavy-duty workhorse knife. The finely honed blade transitions to an ergonomic triple-rivet handle. Although only 0.28 pounds, this knife feels heavier than the comparable Zwilling, in part because of this handle, which is less comfortable with more severe, squared edges than some others I tested. The blade was super sharp and I quickly cut most produce with ease, although it wasn’t as clean a cut on denser foods like potatoes. Plus, the starchier produce seemed to stick a little more to this knife than others.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Männkitchen 7-inch Santoku MK71S for $130: This Santoku Japanese-style knife feels a bit heavier than the majority on this list, although the triple-beveled handle is ergonomically designed and easy to hold, despite its large size. The hefty handle seamlessly blends into the stainless steel knife, and despite being heavy, I felt in control while cutting. This heavy-duty knife has a lower point, which makes it easier to dice and chop quickly without too much arm/shoulder movement or exertion. The blade is also wide and thick, making it feel a bit sturdier and easier to transfer veggies from the cutting board. This isn’t going to be my go-to for everything I cut on the reg, but I especially loved it for quicker, rougher dicing and chopping of things like herbs and garlic cloves.
Hast Selection Series Japanese Carbon Steel 8-inch Chef Knife for $79: This sleek Hast knife is made of Japanese carbon steel (see above for more about carbon materials) from renowned steel maker Koike. It overall feels lightweight and svelte, and the ergonomic handle was very easy to grip, although it got a bit slippery (and potentially dangerous) when wet. Overall it doesn’t feel as heavy-duty as others tested, and flip-flopped a bit while cutting more dense foods like potatoes. It was able to make super smooth cuts on softer foods, and I felt able to control it easily while mincing garlic. This is a remarkably affordable option for a Japanese carbon steel chef’s knife that excels in making more precise cuts.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Material the 8-Inch Knife for $105: This hefty, beautiful knife from Material has quickly become my go-to large knife for bigger cutting tasks. I noticed vegetables don’t stick to the side as much as other models, and it was surprisingly able to make ultra-thin cuts with control despite its large size. It’s a little longer, at 13.5 inches total, making it bigger and sturdier to use than the smaller styles I tend to go for. Each knife is hand-polished, heat-treated at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and cryogenically tempered at -250 degrees to make the steel harder and more durable. The blade is made of sturdy Japanese high-carbon and stainless steel, with an oval-shaped, grippy, and matte composite handle, and the blade extends into the handle so weight is distributed more evenly. Plus, you can personalize this knife for a fun upgrade.
Misen 8-Inch Chef’s Knife 2.0 for $94: This chef’s knife is made from Japanese high-carbon stainless steel with a high chromium content to resist rust, and features a long blade over 8 inches. The handle has an ergonomic rounded spine, which is sturdy, but wasn’t the grippiest or easiest to hold from those I’ve tested. This knife works excellently if you need longer, more precise cuts (I would imagine it’d be good for making scoring cuts or filleting a soft fish), but things tended to stick on the sides, and the sheer length of the blade made things less fast as I dealt with drag.
I tested the only way I knew how: fumbling, cutting, slicing, and dicing in the kitchen, with a knife of the week, a cutting board (I used both wooden and plastic boards), and a variety of foods. I used each of these knives for a week while I made all of my meals, using them to do big tasks like cut through thick root vegetables, thinly slice cucumbers, roughly chop herbs, mash garlic, and even open plastic packaging. It’s also important to know how to do a few essential knife skills in the kitchen to make best use of your knives.
I’m vegan, so I had some of my carnivorous friends and colleagues use these knives to also carve beef and cut up a whole chicken, to make sure the blades could withstand all types of textures. As stated earlier, the best knife is a sharp one, and each of these came out of the package deadly sharp. I cut myself more than once in the process, all for the greater good to find which chef knife belongs in your kitchen. (But a lesson was learned: Be extra careful when using a new, super sharp chef’s knife for the first time.)
Let’s get this out of the way: The best knife is one that’s sharp. After duking it out in the kitchen for hours on end, I’ve found that what makes a knife truly great is a seriously sharp edge. A dull knife is dangerous—you’ll need to apply more pressure as you’re cutting, which means that when your knife slips, you cut yourself more deeply. Plus, a dull knife isn’t as precise or quick with cuts.
Especially with a pricier knife, you’ll want to make that investment last as long as possible. That means regular sharpening to keep it in tip-top slicing shape. Unfortunately, there isn’t One Sharpener to Rule Them All. Different blade materials and shapes require different sharpening techniques. For example, many stainless steel blades are too hard to effectively be sharpened by traditional water stones. Former chef and current WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson recommends water stones for carbon steel and loves these Shapton stones.
The majority of chef’s knives can be (relatively) easily sharpened when needed, which is typically done with a whetstone at around a 15 to 20 degree angle, followed by honing rod or leather for the smoothing knife’s edge. I’ve always used popular (and easy-to-use) pull-through sharpeners, which are more precise than steel and sharpen quicker than whetstones. But they are generally not recommended, especially for Serious Chefs™, because they shed quite a bit of metal in the process, weakening the durability over time.
Most home chefs will only need to sharpen their knives around twice a year and use a honing steel to keep the blades in shape at other times. Although a few years old, we keep going back to this article from Epicurious on how to sharpen a knife the right way in order to keep your knives in the best shape for as long as you can.
Should You Buy a Knife Set?
In a word: no. Despite what the door-to-door salesman or your MLM-loving cousin says, knife sets are usually not a good investment. You just need a few good knives. An 8-inch chef’s knife will work best for most tasks in the kitchen. I have a smaller hand, so I also like a small paring knife for some tasks, and a serrated knife for bread, in addition to the chef knife. Knife sets often cost double or triple as much as buying just one good chef knife. Not to mention, the wooden storage blocks also take up useful counter space, especially if you live in a tiny New York apartment like me. We recommend you save your money by skipping a set and investing in a solid chef’s knife instead. (Plus, one or two others if you want a bit of variety.)
What Makes a Knife a Chef’s Knife?
As said earlier, it’s multipurpose tool used used to cut meat, dice vegetables, chop nuts or smash garlic. A chef’s knife, generally, is made of many layers of forged steel and has a sharp end point and a prominent edge with a sloping curve, which helps with the fast rocking motion that allows chefs to cut food quickly.
A chef’s knife is among the most versatile knives in the kitchen and can be used for anything from chopping to cutting. Common uses for a chef’s knife include cutting meat, dicing vegetables, slicing herbs, and chopping nuts. The flat side of the knife can even be used to crush garlic. The versatility of this multipurpose knife makes it a must-have in any kitchen. It’s important to avoid any hard surfaces that would render the blade dull. In addition, learning how to hold a knife is an important first step to ensure the best results when using it.
Most Popular Knife Styles
Chef’s knives generally fall in two camps, Japanese Santoku and German. Both have their merits and you just may need both in your kitchen, depending on what you’re usually cooking. Japanese blades are extra thin and best for precision, while German chef’s knives are thicker and more utilitarian.
German knives: A curved blade means you’ll do the rocking back-and-forth motion to chop quickly. German chef’s knives can be used for everything from chopping fresh herbs to de-boning a whole chicken.
Japanese Santoku knives: With a straighter edge used for precision, you’ll cut straight down, using the whole blade at once. These are generally used for precision and specific purposes. They are usually made with harder steel, which can make them more brittle.
There’s also the material the blade is made out of to consider—these days, most blades are made from carbon or stainless steel.
Stainless steel: This material is resistant to moisture, can hold a razor-sharp edge for longer, and is more flexible than carbon, making it more effective at absorbing impact. However, stainless steel takes longer to re-sharpen, which makes it more difficult to maintain without a professional sharpening system.
Carbon steel: This material has a high carbon content, which makes it a very hard steel, and edges out stainless when it comes to general sharpness. Most often, they also hold an edge for longer and are easier to re-sharpen. Carbon steel is more sensitive to elements like humidity or water, so they require more timely and thorough cleaning and maintenance.
All of the knives on our list are measured in the Rockwell rating/measurement, referred to as HRC of the steel. HRC measures how much of a mark a diamond point can make in the metal with the amount of weight; so, the smaller the mark is, the harder the steel, and visa versa.
