Food & drink

Food & drink

So many features on Northern California hotels and inns topped our list this year, we decided to give them their own place to shine (8 Northern California Hotels + Inns We Loved in 2025). Many of our other most-loved stories celebrated the great outdoors, from the hip new pool club and upscale camping resort The River Electric in Guerneville to the newest California National Monument, Cotoni-Coast.

Since moving to Castelfranco Veneto this year, I've made the 45-minute train ride to Venice at least two or three times a month, sometimes just for a single bite: chef Daniele Zennaro's wafer of baccalà mantecato at Algiubagiò. I've been to the restaurant six times now and have never left without ordering it. Once, when a friend was running late for dinner, I snuck in a small plate of two wafers and an Americano before she arrived.

There's something magical about a really well-done buffet, and we're not even talking about the chance to pile all your favorites on a single plate. It's also a great way to try new dishes without making a commitment to ordering something off a regular menu that you might not love, and we're fans of anything that leads us to new foods.

Mazarine opened quietly at the start of December. Located on Hanover Square, in the same building as the new Mandarin Oriental (but unconnected to the hotel), the restaurant sits in the more understated end of the Mayfair design scale, with gentle curving walls and ceilings and a sleek neutral colour palette. It's cosy and quietly fancy without being overly flash.

The One Group Hospitality, which acquired international teppanyaki chain Benihana last year, has announced plans to open 10 new restaurants throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The hospitality group secured development rights for the restaurants with "an experienced operator," according to a news release, with plans to open two Benihana locations in 2026. Three more future Benihana franchise locations and five Benihana Express (Benihana's new fast-casual concept) locations are slated to open over the next seven years.

Ten years of feeding people we love. Ten years of regulars who became family, neighbors who became friends, and first-timers who somehow always found their way back. Ten years of memories made over babka, hot chicken, wings, beer, trivia, late nights, early mornings, and everything in between.

Finger food needn't be fancy, so New Year is a good opportunity to clear the decks. The only real rule is to keep things to just one bite no one wants to be manoeuvring a fork, after all. People just want a big hug of comfort food with a decadent twist, says Max Bergius, founder of Secret Smokehouse in east London.

Adam and Joanne Gallagher from the food recipe blog, Inspired Taste, has been documenting a lot of really painful and shameful tactics Google is using for its AI responses to some recipes. Adam calls its Google's AI Frankenstein recipes, where it pulls parts of the recipes from recipe bloggers, says it is the brand's recipe, but changes it enough where the recipe is not real and tastes horrible.

This candy is one of the many bottle-shaped gummies made by BonBon. It's a turquoise color with sour sugar coated on the exterior. Since the name had "sour" in it, I was bracing myself for something extremely mouth-puckering. To my surprise, it didn't taste sour at all. Instead, it had an oddly bitter taste that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

But can food actually be addictive? Now some neuroscientists and food behavior researchers are trying to understand if foodparticularly ultraprocessed foodscan be addictive in the same way as other known substances, such as cigarettes, alcohol and cocaine. For foods to be potentially addictive, they're created in a way that is most palatable and most delicious, says Alex DiFeliceantonio, an appetitive neuroscientist at Virginia Tech. When you look at the food environment, those tend to be ultraprocessed.

Chef Rock Harper closed Hill Prince on H Street and reopened it this fall as Hush Harbor, DC's first phone-free bar. To ensure everyone's actually unplugged, the bar uses Yondr pouches-the same ones that have become popular from schools to comedy shows-which allow you to carry your phone with you but not look at it. "All we're doing is giving people a little nudge to be supremely present and intentional about this hospitality experience," says Harper.

"Just trust us!" Red Robin states in a description of its Shortbread Chocolate Soufflé Cake on its official website, proceeding to claim the dish features "a rich and buttery shortbread cookie topped with a chocolate soufflé cake, hot fudge, whipped cream, [and] topped with powdered sugar." Sounds pretty darn tasty, but sadly, what arrived at our table was flavorless and disappointing.

was uneven and covered in bubbles and crisped bits of cheese [...] like it had just come out of a pizza oven.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol wants his cafés to feel like Central Perk from the TV show 'Friends.' During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, released Monday, Niccol spoke about his " Back to Starbucks" plan, a yearlong process of turning around the brand after several quarters of declining sales amid a deteriorating customer experience. He told Alan Murray, president of The WSJ Leadership Institute, that the name "Back to Starbucks" helped to give his baristas a "visual understanding" of the café experience he was trying to achieve.

Same goes for low-fat yogurts "made with real fruit," "organic" plant-based milks and bottled "superfood" smoothies. Buyer beware: Healthy grocery buzzwords like those often cover up an unhealthy amount of sugar. Added sugars are difficult to quickly spot because many companies use clever marketing to distract consumers, said Nicole Avena, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical School and Princeton University who has studied added sugars.

A 2026 paper published online in Aging reported that theobromine (a naturally occurring alkaloid derived from cocoa) is associated with slower epigenetic aging in humans. Researchers from King's College London analyzed data from two European cohorts comprising 2,600+ participants to examine the circulating blood levels of theobromine. Higher levels of theobromine were associated with reduced epigenetic age acceleration (slower aging).

If you've never had birria before, you're really missing out on not only a meal that's cooked for maximum flavor and tenderness, but one that's rich in history and has evolved over centuries. What's now so popular that even fusion dishes like birria ramen are a trend is a dish that, according to chef Rick Martínez, has deep roots in western Mexico.

They're a quick, easy way to get a good amount of protein, fiber, iron, manganese, calcium, and antioxidants, and are low-calorie - plus, for the pea lovers out there, they do in fact taste great and add toothsome pops of earthy, subtly sweet herbaceousness to any dish. That is, of course, as long as you choose the right brand. To help ensure you stock up on delicious and not disappointing peas, we ranked 10 brands of canned peas, from worst to best.

The year 2025 was full of highs and lows for Greater Boston restaurants. More restaurants were able to get liquor licenses (yay!), tariffs and rising costs were real plights for small businesses (boo!), and the Michelin Guide came to Boston (time will tell on that one). Then the usual happened: Restaurants opened and closed. Heading into another new year after a handful of years of chaos, I imagine many in the industry are holding their breath.

The Box SF presents EAT ME!, a monthly artisanal food fair, kicking off on January 10-11, 2026! Enjoy a flavorful weekend at The Box SF each month while exploring a wide selection of artisanal food products from local culinary vendors. "Eat Me!" Artisan Food Fair January-December, 2026 Saturday | 11a-5p Sunday | 11a-4p The Box SF, 1069 Howard Street, SFFREE Public Entry - Tickets not required

If you've been to Boston, then you know how just how incredible the food scene is. Whether it's a freshly stuffed cannoli from a legacy bakery in the North End - home to some of the most traditional Italian food in the country - or a plate of dim sum from Chinatown, the city has it all. There's truly no shortage of delicious options to choose from.

To succeed in the long term, any business needs to refresh itself continually with new talent and new ideas. The Food Network is no exception. Unfortunately, bringing in new talent means that some familiar favorites end up getting squeezed out or simply move on to other ventures. Of course, the shoe is often on the other foot as well. Some chefs and hosts might move on for reasons of their own.

I have more than a few things in common with Julia Child. For one, I love food and, more specifically, I have a fondness for French cuisine (don't we all?). I also shop at the same butcher ( Savenor's Butchery in Cambridge, Massachusetts), am a cookbook author, and have a longtime love of Scharffen Berger chocolate. The brand debuted in the late '90s, and it wouldn't be long before I'd discover it in a tiny, specialty market in Maine.

2026 is ushered in via a wave of brand new eateries across the capital. Ignore the call of dry Jan and instead book yourself into one of these many new openings. Finding your purse-strings to be extra-tight post Christmas, then a single bun at Claridge's brand new bakery might be the best option, or maybe try a bargain bowl of wonton noodles at Hoko's new outlet in Covent Garden (or just look at our list instead, for meals under a tenner in London).

Airports are not usually known for their food. So often they are worlds of plastic-wrapped sandwiches, wilted lettuce and dishes that taste only of delay. When we are flying, we crave edible comfort and maybe even a touch of joy. For years, that has felt like too much to ask. Gordon Ramsay Plane Food Market at Heathrow Terminal 5 is far more than a quick refuelling stop. It recognises that travellers are human beings.

The food and beverage industry knows that timing is everything, especially when it comes to seasonal marketing. As we approach 2026, one iconic brand is proving that limited-time offerings can create significant buzz and drive traffic during peak celebration periods. Voodoo Doughnut's latest creation, the Disco Ball Doughnut, represents more than just a festive treat: it's a masterclass in strategic product development and experiential marketing that hospitality leaders can learn from.

McClinnahan worked closely with Ralph Lauren Home for his restaurant's interior design and accessories, which include stitched leather and brass sconces, stately table lamps, and rich colors. Deep navy blue and burgundy fabrics cover the walls, and paintings of seascapes and sailboats evoke the East Coast town of the restaurant's name. "We want Montauk to feel like home - comfortable and welcoming," McClinnahan told T+L. "And Ralph Lauren's clothing is part of my lifestyle, so it had to be reflected in my restaurant's design."