Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Pass the Polenta by Teresa Lust has some great essays, especially the one on how to grade a wine. Love most of the books mentioned. Reichl's humor and food description is very witty, earthy, and sensual. I adore Steingarten's humor. A Devil in the Kitchen by Marco Pierre White showed the extent to which serious cooking and cooking knowledge put a chef over the top. Although that can go a bit too far as seen in The Perfectionist by Chelminski, about Bernard Loiseau, the 3-star Michelin chef when he took his life for fear of losing a star. I use both Heat and Kitchen Confidential in order to teach narrative and description in my beginning writing class. Even Bourdain's Les Halles is a fun read. Elizabeth David also writes sensually, poetically, and aptly about food and is one of my favorites to return to again and again. Marlena di Blasi's sensual food descriptions are definitely worth reading in bed. And for a real killer that has almost endless literary and cooking references to food, read Reckless Appetites: A Culinary Romance by Jacqueline Deval. Peter Mayle, yes, especially the essay on eating at the French truck stop, which also appeared in Gourmet Magazine. I adore Ruhlman, found amusement in Julie and Julia, felt like moving to Paris after reading My Life in France, and appreciated the history and passions of Judith Jones in The Tenth Muse. I also liked Alice Waters and Chez Panisse. Flinn's The Sharper the Knife the Less You Cry kept me interested for several days. And finally, anything by Angelo Pellegrini is always a pleasure to read.