The Hamburger Through Time

A short history of the greatest American food icon.

Low-Rent Umami

This week’s mission: a pseudo-healthy version of ground-beef stretcher, and a chemically enhanced mass-market cookie. (By James Norton)

Vile, Terrible, Nasty, and Ugly

CHOW talks to A. A. Gill about the business of reviewing restaurants, organics as a style statement, and the dark evil of Starbucks. (By Carol Dixon)

Bad Food, Great Review

"In a world where there’s so much bad food even at the high level, I’d much rather eat at a restaurant that at least is taking care." (By Jane Goldman)

Fork on the Left, Knife on the Floor

Designers reinvent the table setting. (By Michele Foley)

The Year in Food 2008

What we ate, what the candidates ate, what the Olympians ate.

Get to Know Bison

Your questions answered. (By Roxanne Webber)

Traditional Japanese diets steamrolled by wasteful habits. (By Eric Slatkin)

Just when you thought folk food couldn’t get any more greasily over the top, all hail the Fatty Melt. (By James Norton)

Is her new Hardee’s commercial hot or not? (By Joyce Slaton)

What wouldn’t we do for that uniquely American institution—and where else could we go for fries, a turkey club, and coffee late at night? (By Tea Austen Weaver)

The massive ground beef recall leaves a big hole in the freezers of many school districts. (By Nicholas Day)

Wendy’s 830-calorie hamburger drives bloggers to flights of fury and fancy. (By Traci Vogel)

A footnote to the grand pantheon of all-time food and wine pairings. (By Daniel Duane)

Entrepreneur.com has posted a pretty engaging account of how restaurant owner Jon Basso has catapulted his Heart Attack Grill toward success without spending a dollar on advertising. (By James Norton)