Saveur Magazine's Best Issue

I've been a Saveur reader for at least a decade but never a die hard reader. There have been several lapses in my subscription, owing in small part to subscription mismanagement and bigger part disappointment in the magazine's ho-hum content and poor recommendations. But the photos always pulled me back for me for more. It has always featured the best food photography. I appreciate it even more now that Tastespotting has left the building. If you haven't heard of Tastespotting, it is (or was, depending on what the future holds) a site where anyone could post beautiful food photos that backlinked to a food blog. It was a great resource for cooks, readers and bloggers alike, and I hope it will have a renaissance. [6/27 update: TasteSpotting, under new ownership, is now online.]

Saveur has improved tremendously since Coleman Andrews left. Well, I should say ...ever since the new editor-in-chief James Oseland found his groove. The July 2008 issue, pictured here, had fascinating and informative feature after feature about so many things that captivate me. Airstream trailers (p. 33), gravlax (p. 37), food travel and recipes from across the continental US (p. 41), a recipe for Figaretti's "Godfather II" Linguini which puts my linguini with white clam sauce to SHAME! (p. 57), knife making (p. 63), and the journey of a wild salmon (p. 71).

Copper River salmon is in season now and it's On the Menu this Week. I'd like to know more about the branding of a fish to the river it swims, and what chefs and consumers think about it (the fish and the branding). Stay tuned for that conversation.

In the meanwhile, if you enjoy reading about food you should try out Saveur. More than any of their peer publications, they write for the food lover.