Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

The First American Cookbook

American Cookery ($10) is the first cookbook written by an American. Strangely, the only details that are actually known about its author come from the words “American orphan” found on the cover. Other hints from the book’s text suggest she was a domestic laborer who lacked formal education. The book was published originally in 1796 [...]

Sweet Surrender

Best Made Co. has slowly evolved from a handmade axe company into a brand known for anything woodsy. In that light, offering an enormous jug of organic maple syrup makes total sense, right? Don’t worry, the company hasn’t translated their hewning skills into making the sweet stuff. Instead, the pancake dressing comes from the organic [...]

Munchy Manuscript

Crack pie isn’t a label most bakeries would readily slap on one of their confections, but then again most bakeries aren’t run by Christina Tosi. Inspired by her nostalgia for the teeth-depleting sugared cereals of Saturday morning fame and probably more than a few hits off of the peace pipe, her offbeat sweet tooth captured [...]

Quite Elkcellent

Elk is similar to Bison, in that it packs a great beefy flavor while actually being high in protein and low in fat. Bison just happens to be a little more prevalent. If you’re looking to avoid developing a “winter coat” this season, or are just eager to try something different, famed mail-order meat company [...]

Even a caveman can eat it

Living a healthy lifestyle can be confusing: Eat six times a day by reducing meal size and snacking. Don’t snack. Don’t eat carbs, focus on proteins. Too much red meat is bad for you. Drink soy milk because it doesn’t contain lactose. Don’t drink soy milk because it increases estrogen levels lest you risk a [...]

Hog 'O Plenty

Nothing says love like a slab of sliced pork, but maybe it’s time you class up the gift of swine with a Di Bruno Bros. Bacon Basket ($150). Stuffed with all the wonderful bacon (bits) you’ve seen on the web, the basket is brimming with a drool-inducing list of provisions including: 1 lb of Loveless [...]

For the weight weenie who has (almost) everything

Consider the humble straw. Jabbed into a juice box or fast food beverage, discarded without a thought, it is a useful but overlooked tool. How else would you get that last bit of chocolate malt out of the bottom of your glass? But plastic is a four-letter word these days and straws suddenly seem wasteful. [...]

Snack Better

Want a crash course on the “miracles” of modern industrial food science? Then take a gander at the ingredients of a bag of big brand microwave popcorn. What seems like a simple process apparently requires a labs worth of chemicals and GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) to flavor, preserve, and pop those gum aggravating kernels into [...]

A Foodie's Quarterly

Lucky Peach is the latest business venture of New York restauranteur David Chang. Based on the cover and Chang’s notorious personality, it’d be easy to dismiss this project as a simple exercise in brand extension (a la Skymag to Delta). A quick read of the first issue, however, proves that Lucky Peach is much deeper [...]

Tasty like steak, healthy like chicken

Summer’s here, and we can’t think of a better way to welcome it than grilling. Instead of reaching for the standard red meat, may we recommend bison? With only 45% of the calories and about 10% of the fat, bison meat is a far healthier option to its beef brethren. High Plains Bison offers a [...]

All the Taste, None of the Wait

The odds of becoming a successful restaurateur on the level of New York’s Chef David Chang are about the same as Mel Gibson becoming a rabbi. Thanks to some business savvy merchandising, though, anyone with a mailing address can at least get a step closer to cooking like him. These Momofuku Cooking Sauces $24 are [...]

Big Cheese

Carbo load like a king by having a tray of Beecher’s World’s Best Mac & Cheese ($50-$125) shipped over night to your door. Not familiar with the Beecher’s brand? Then you’ve been missing out friends. The company began in Seattle, in 2003, and quickly captured the hearts of foodies everywhere thanks to their dedication to [...]

No Simple Joe

One can’t help but think that when Stumptown decided to name this blend Hair Bender they were considering the origin’s complexity versus the zippy after-effect. Made from coffee sourced in all three coffee growing regions (Latin America, East Africa and Indonesia) Stumptown Hair Bender Espresso Blend ($12) is not only their most popular coffee but [...]

It's what's for dinner.

We love a great steakhouse but shelling out coin for a healthy dose of pomp and circumstance isn’t always our preference. The problem is, access to exceptional meat isn’t always readily available or convenient. Luckily there’s a secret on this fantastic thing we call the web that bestows its buyers access to premium butcher cuts [...]

McILhenny fire

Tabasco Family Reserve ($25) starts out life as the finest peppers grown on Tabasco’s Avery Island home, handpicked by the family. These superior specimens are then smashed and combined with Avery Island salt and set to age in white oak barrels for a minimum of three years. Certain amounts age for an additional five years [...]