Everyone loves pierogies—but have you tried sweet pierogies?
Despite the fact that I’m not Polish and hadn’t visited the country until my late 20s, I’ve long been a fan of the…
Acquired Tastes
In Acquired Tastes, The Takeout explores the food and drinks we can’t live without.
Tacopaj is the culinary love child of Sweden and Mexico
As I read the ingredients to my Norwegian mother-in-law, Inger, I sensed apprehension. I prefaced the call with a brief…
In praise of the plain hot dog
In Chicago, the rules are firm and shouted from rooftops: absolutely no ketchup on hot dogs. It’s a popular (albeit…
Rib rolls are the tacky appetizer South Florida will defend to the death
Florida is a special type of tacky. And few foods illustrate this more than rib rolls: Fried to a crackly crisp, rib…
The country’s best chili dog is New Jersey’s deep-fried Hot Texas WeinerÂ
I may call the Washington, D.C. region home these days, but I spent the first 93 percent of my existence in northern…
Stinky tofu is a celebration of the beautiful stank
In the pantheon of food that smells worse than it tastes, the tradition of stinky tofu (yes, “stinky” is the adjective…
How do you like them scrapple?
Last summer, five years after moving to New York City, I went looking for scrapple. I don’t mean in the form of an…
Of the highest odor: Time to respect the durian
If there’s any food that’s proof our reactions to different smells are culturally determined rather than biological,…
Why the Montreal bagel is the superior bagel
Rivalries run deep on the East Coast, and one rift that’s less visible—but every bit as heated—is the bagel feud…
Every refrigerator needs a jar of pickled okra in it
Pickled okra is the perfect snack: Salty, briney, with a satisfying snap and a stalk of juicy, spherical seeds to burst…
Beef, salt, and elbow grease: The simple smashed burger is an engineering marvel
Roughly 10 years have passed since the great national burger freakout took hold. No one knew when or where it began,…
The fried-cheese burger is a marvel of flavor and architecture
As a state, Connecticut is so small, it barely warrants a professional sports team (no offense to the Hartford Yard…
Liverwurst is the liverbest
Growing up, I loved going to the deli, an errand my mother and I usually completed after church on Sunday mornings. My…
Hainanese chicken rice may be nature's one perfect dish
Hainanese chicken rice may be the quintessential chicken dish, superior to any other—and I’m including fried chicken.…
In South Florida, people think Cuban coffee is superior—and they're right
All coffee is not created equal. I would know because I live in Miami where people drink a dark-roasted blend from…
St. Paul’s “Hot Dago” sandwich offers no apologies, few explanations, and a half-pound of sausage
Deep in the beating heart of what is probably America’s politest state lies an edible contradiction. The Hot Dago…
Wedge issue: Jojos are the paragon of fried potatoes
I like to think I’m a connoisseur of fried potatoes. French fries or tots, curly or waffled, seasoned or plain, mayo or…
God bless ranch dressing, and may God bless the United States of America
White gold. The spoils of the Hidden Valley. The Midwest’s ketchup. You guessed it—we’re talking ranch dressing. In…
Ketchup sandwich? Only if it’s from India
Twenty-three million people ride India’s train system every day, sardine packing themselves into tiny train cars—and…
Shrimp paste is so funktastic it’ll make George Clinton jealous
Umami Issues is The Takeout’s exploration of cooking food with the rich, savory, mysterious taste sensation known as…
