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Which one is for you?

By JANET K. KEELER
Published June 22, 2005

No doubt there's a food magazine out there to suit your tastes and cooking skills. Like hot cooking? Try Chile Pepper. Are you an Italian cooking devotee? Buy La Cucina Italiana.

For something general, the choices are even more plentiful. Here's a look at 10 popular food magazines and a new one that tickled our fancy.

- JANET K. KEELER, Times food editor

CIRCULATION: 386,000 (nine issues a year)

BASED IN: New York

FOR: Sophisticated cooks, global thinkers and dreamers.

NOTEWORTHY: The serious home cook will feel smarter, but never talked down to, after reading Saveur. Stories on favorite hometown ice cream parlors share space with cooking adventures in Valencia, Spain.

PHOTOS: Droolworthy.

TYPICAL RECIPE: Green Mango Salad With Grilled Beef.

WE LOVE: "Real-Life Kitchen," a glimpse into the cooking space of a culinary notable. You'll want to remake your kitchen every month.

LEAST APPETIZING: Ingredients can be difficult to find locally.

CIRCULATION: 968,000 (monthly)

BASED IN: New York

FOR: Foodies who like to travel and eat, and sometimes cook.

NOTEWORTHY: Since Ruth Reichl became editor in 1999, Gourmet has taken on a more literary tone. Some longtime subscribers have complained that it's esoteric. Nevertheless, beautiful photography and top-notch, knowledgeable writers. Impressive wine coverage.

PHOTOS: Classy and clean.

TYPICAL RECIPE: Duck Breast, Bacon and Frisee Salad.

WE LOVE: Wine and spirits coverage. Also, recipe index breaks out vegetarian dishes.

LEAST APPETIZING: Too elitist sometimes.

CIRCULATION: 1.3-million (monthly)

BASED IN: Los Angeles

FOR: Accomplished home cooks who love to entertain.

NOTEWORTHY: Bon Appetit has a laid-back, West Coast attitude you don't find in other magazines. Editors know cooking, entertaining and eating are fun, and pass that on to readers.

PHOTOS: Inspirational.

TYPICAL RECIPE: Jalapeno Cheeseburger With Bacon and Grilled Onions.

WE LOVE: "Feedback," a short Q&A with a well-known person not usually associated with food. Now we know that CNN's Aaron Brown always has olives, cheeses and A&W root beer in his refrigerator.

LEAST APPETIZING: Some months it's too thin. We want more.

CIRCULATION: 927,000 (monthly)

BASED IN: New York

FOR: People who love food and wine, especially when served by someone else.

NOTEWORTHY: Heavy on chefs and restaurants, with extensive wine coverage.

PHOTOS: Lovely to look at.

TYPICAL RECIPES: Sweet Roasted-Pepper Salad With Anchovies and Garlic.

WE LOVE: The chic design.

LEAST APPETIZING: The annual July superstar chef issue. Mostly a sea of white men. C'mon, try harder to reflect us.

CIRCULATION: 4.5-million (six issues a year)

BASED IN: Greendale, Wis.

FOR: Cooks of all skill levels who want easy recipes. Target audience is more country than city.

NOTEWORTHY: The massive circulation says something about the way we really cook. With Jell-O; without microgreens. More mayonnaise, less creme fraiche. Most recipes are submitted by readers.

PHOTOS: Informational but dowdy.

TYPICAL RECIPE: Parsley Red Potatoes.

WE LOVE: The "1,000 Cooks Who Help Edit this Magazine!" Kathy Kruse from Thonotosassa is in the June/July issue. Plus, no advertising.

LEAST APPETIZING: Recipes can be repetitive.

CIRCULATION: 764,000 (10 issues a year)

BASED IN: New York

FOR: People who actually cook, who may or may not be fans of Martha Stewart.

NOTEWORTHY: In the middle of Stewart's legal problems, her name came off the cover of this clever magazine but there's no doubting her imprint. This is Martha Stewart Living, unplugged. Excellent ideas, good recipes and even better presentation.

PHOTOS: Masterful.

TYPICAL RECIPE: Chicken, Rice and Black Bean Salad.

WE LOVE: The graphics. Some recipe directions given in photos. Clean, lively and exciting.

LEAST APPETIZING: We want it every month.

CIRCULATION: 600,000 (six times a year)

BASED IN: Boston

FOR: Curious cooks who are interested in kitchen science.

NOTEWORTHY: Recipes and equipment are exhaustively tested and each recipe is like a miniencyclopedia.

PHOTOS: Black and white, more technical than styled.

TYPICAL RECIPE: Chocolate-Chunk Oatmeal Cookies With Pecans and Dried Cherries.

WE LOVE: Editor and founder Christopher Kimball, who encourages his staff to test vegetable lasagna 50 ways so we don't have to.

LEAST APPETIZING: Humorless. Could Saturday Night Live have based the Anal Retentive Chef character on a Cook's editor?

CIRCULATION: 1.7-million (11 issues a year)

BASED IN: Birmingham, Ala.

FOR: Cooks who try to follow the magazine's motto: "Eat smart, be fit, live well."

NOTEWORTHY: Packed with health and fitness information, plus recipes with big flavors. Emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients.

PHOTOS: Jump-from-the-page gorgeous. If you don't want to cook after looking at them, you never will.

TYPICAL RECIPE: Fish Tacos With Two Salsas.

WE LOVE: Nutritional information with every recipe.

LEAST APPEALING: The hunger pangs that come after reading it.

CIRCULATION: 212,000 (monthly)

BASED IN: Glen Ellen, Va.

FOR: All classifications of vegetarians.

PHOTOS: Inconsistent. Some are great, others less inspiring.

NOTEWORTHY: No surprise here but Vegetarian Times has a definite point of view: Eat plants, not animals. To that end, editors supply plenty of advice and support.

TYPICAL RECIPE: "Hamburger" Helper on Polenta

WE LOVE: The cooking-with-a-conscious vibe. Plus, the Q&A columns that address reader concerns about nutrition.

LEAST APPEALING: It can be difficult to tell stories from advertising.

CIRCULATION: 200,000 (six issues a year)

BASED IN: Charlotte, Vt.

FOR: Enlightened cooks and foodies.

NOTEWORTHY: No other cooking magazine combines serious food journalism with recipes as well. Just the right balance of seriousness and frivolity.

PHOTOS: Bright, cheerful and enticing.

TYPICAL RECIPE: Strawberry-Mango Margarita Compote.

WE LOVE: Easy-to-read presentation of recipes.

LEAST APPEALING: The wait for the next issue.

CIRCULATION: 20,000 (six issues a year)

BASED IN: San Francisco

FOR: Electronic-age cooks

NOTEWORTHY: You've got to love a magazine that promises an article titled "Why You Hate Liver." The first issue of Chow has just debuted and we wish it well. It's cool and funky, perfect for a generation of cooks who are okay with ordering ingredients online. Most stories are short and relevant.

PHOTOS: Not overly styled; realistic.

TYPICAL RECIPES: Tomato Vinaigrette With Steak Salad.

WE LOVE: The contemporary, engaging look.

LEAST APPEALING: Not knowing if the fledgling magazine will live or die. Go buy it.

[Last modified June 21, 2005, 10:56:58]