Good Grape Wine Company

I am a longtime subscriber, and I have kept all of the past issues. The magazine is always full of both easy and sophisticated recipes. You will really love the November and December issues, with Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hannukah recipes.

The photography, the recipes, the product descriptions, the cookbook reviews, this magazine has it all.

In comparison to its closest rivals, which I perceive to be Gourmet, Cook's Illustrated, and Cooking Light, Bon Appetit is the clear winner. Gourmet is too high end, with a sparse design style. Cook's Illustrated lack the photography that is essential to a cooking magazine. In my view, Cooking Light is both too niche and too low end.

Bon Appetit sets the perfect tone. Don't let the title scare you away.


Magazine interesting but caters to mainstream   October 31, 2001
 5 out of 11 found this review helpful

This magazine has vivid pictures and great recipes as well as a question answer section where the subscriber can send in cooking questions in a Dear Abby type format. As I mentioned in my title this magazine caters to the mainstream of the cooking world (repetive information quite a lot)and sometimes can be over the head of a common homemaker. I would suggest ordering Gourmet or Cooking Light magazine rather than this one. If however you are looking to buy or for info on top brands and top resturants in major cities this is your magazine.


Consistently the Best Recipes   October 28, 2001
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

I have been reading Bon Appetit for nearly 20 years and find it to be the foodie magazine with the best content. There are always at least a few recipes that I end up trying -- from the super simple cookie recipe to how to make the perfect roast to barbecuing for beginners. And, the non-recipe articles are good food for thought for cooking enthusiasts. (e.g. "Garlic Through the Ages"...) Bon Appetit seems to be the foodie magazine most in tune with what busy people who also like to indulge in a day of cooking once in awhile want out of a magazine.


Classic Favorites   October 27, 2001
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Many of our family's favorite classic recipes have come from Bon Appetit over the years. We often duplicate the exquisite gourmet menus when entertaining.

Each section is an interesting read providing insights to great restaurants, cultures, foods and wines around the world. The section on healthy cooking offers some great tasting recipes.

Bon Appetit makes a valued, year-long gift.


Lot of style, not too much substance   October 27, 2001
 4 out of 7 found this review helpful

Bon Appetit is a beautiful magazine to look at, but that is almost all I really use it for. I have had a subscription for the past year to this magazine and have found only one issue that was really useful. Bon Appetit has some good recipe ideas, but I never seem to have consistent results when trying them. They do have a great feature that lets you write in requesting the recipe for a dish at your favorite restaurant.

The magazine is chock full of recipes, but the organization seems haphazard and finding the recipe you want is quite difficult. It is much better suited to casual browsing or scanning. As is common to many glossy cooking magazines, it is occasionally difficult to tell the difference between editorial content/recipes and ad content/recipes.

... If you just want something that will look pretty on the coffee table or has pictures you can drool over and perhaps one great issue a year, "Bon Appetit" is the magazine for you.