During the holiday season, most of us are so focused on buying gifts for other people that we don’t spend enough time treating ourselves. An advent calendar is an especially festive way to surprise yourself with something nice each of the anticipatory days leading up to Christmas, and it’s even better when you get to enjoy lots of fun little edible and drinkable trinkets.

Sure, it’s only October, but if you want a really great 2026 advent calendar, we highly advise smashing that order (or pre-order) button right now. Not only do many of the most popular advent calendars sell out quickly (i.e. well before December), but early bird shoppers can sometimes find great discounts from chocolatiers, coffee companies, and beyond, offering daily treats that are far more exciting than waxy drugstore chocolate.

While advent calendars have been around since the 19th century, their popularity and ingenuity (and their especially luxurious side) has exploded in recent years (where was my Japanese Kit Kat-filled advent calendar as a kid?). With that popularity has come a dizzying array of new advent calendars for food-lovers. Here are a few of our favorites for 2026.

This sculptural French advent calendar

The advent calendar from this French chocolatier is visually stunning thanks to its 3-D packaging that boasts an equally compelling assortment of treats within. Inside, you’ll find an assortment of the brand’s beloved chocolates, plus a limited-edition holiday bonbon made with candied orange, holiday spices, and milk chocolate. Plus, you can hang it up, giving it a very cool decorative element.

---

If your giftee loves Nordic folklore 

There are a lot of luxury chocolatiers out there, but Dandelion Chocolate takes special care to soliloquize even the most minute details, inspirations, and flavor notes in its chocolates, especially when it comes to its 2026 advent calendar. This beauty is filled with delights inspired by Nordic folklore from various chocolatiers, with each bonbon presented in an individual keepsake box that can hang like an ornament. To add to the whimsy, Dandelion also includes a book of folktales inspired by Nordic mythology, and a keepsake cut-out paper star to hang in your window during the frosty winter nights, per Nordic tradition. 

---

‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ takes advent calendar form

In a departure from the more traditional rectangular advent calendars, this 24-day Oliviers & Co. calendar unfolds to reveal a European street corner flanked by an olive tree. Each of the louver-style doors is filled with a gourmet selection of truffles, jams, oils, and vinegars, making it the perfect calendar for the person with the not-too-sweet sweet tooth.

---

You’ll want to save every mini jam jar from the Bonne Maman calendar

Classic French jam company Bonne Maman’s advent calendar is a perennial favorite, and for good reason. It’s reasonably priced, and packed with 24 miniature glass jars featuring different (and, in some cases, rare) holiday flavors of the brand’s beloved jams, jellies, and preserves, plus one-offs like caramel with salted butter and raspberry with dark chocolate. Bonus: You get to reuse all those adorably tiny jars all year long. 

---

For the cheese-lover in your life 

Instead of getting yet another chocolate-filled advent calendar, why not go for cheese? This 12-day calendar from beloved NYC cheese purveyor Murray’s is packed with Manchego from Spain’s La Mancha region, a wine-washed wedge, truffle cheddar, and even some jams and crackers. Enjoy a bite each day starting on December 12, then prepare a stunning Christmas Day smorgasbord with all the cheeses. 

---

A luxurious calendar of teas  

Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, this 24-day advent calendar from Palais des Thés is packed with teas that will encourage you to take a moment and relax all December long. Inside the hand-stitched cotton packages you’ll find signature blends, single estate and herbal teas, along with 2026 seasonal blends such as the limited-edition Céleste tea, a 2026 organic blend of green tea, vanilla, and chestnut. And if your giftee runs caffeine-free (congratulations to them), there’s also a completely caffeine-free tea advent calendar option.

---

This cozy Walker’s Shortbread calendar

The advent calendar from Walker’s Shortbread also sells out fast, as a delicious and affordable option for folks seeking a calendar outside of the traditional scope of chocolate. This year’s edition depicts Santa tiptoeing across a rooftop towards a shortbread chimney, about to enter a wonderland of 24 different treats from the 128-year-old cookie company. Expect all of Walker’s shortbread classics in festive shapes, as well as some chocolate chip and caramel flavors.

---

The grand cacao lodge calendar

For the serious yet whimsical chocolate advent calendar enthusiast, this offering from Vosges is an ideal holiday splurge. The calendar itself is a detailed depiction of a mountain lodge, complete with depictions of a roaring fireplace and cheery woodland critters. Inside the calendar, says the site, you’ll find a “little dark and a little milk. Chewy caramels and a bit of toffee. A handful of favorites alongside a collection of brand-new creations.”  

---

Turn up the heat with Fly By Jing’s calendar

Not really a fan of sweets? This collection from Fly By Jing includes 12 different savory sauces, spices, and other pantry staples, including a few surprises. You can likely expect the brand’s famed chile crisp, along with hard-to-find spices and even some never-before launched sauces, all of which are packed in small jars that are perfect if you’re going to be flying home during the holidays and need something to spice up your in-laws’ cooking. Don’t wait to order this one — last year’s calendar sold out by November.  

---

For the aspiring bartender

Straightaway Cocktails is a favorite of Eater and Punch audience development director Kaitlin Bray, who says that the “Flora Green amaro is the best green Chartreuse substitute I’ve had.” The company’s advent calendar is filled with a dozen of its pre-made cocktails, such as the Bee’s Knees, Oregon Old Fashioned, Margarita, Blanco Margarita, and more.

---

Swedish candy is big right now

It feels like everywhere we look, there’s a new Swedish candy store popping up (positive). Williams Sonoma has tapped into the Swedish gummy trend with a delectable 12 day advent calendar of Swedish-style candies such as strawberry-pomegranate bubs, Rambo rainbows, and more Scandinavian delights.

A medieval kingdom of bonbons

Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés has three whimsical advent calendars up for grabs this season. Each calendar has its own theme, and while the Winter Forest and Nutcracker editions are stunners, there’s just something about the Enchanted Castle version that’s pulling my focus given the current cultural wave of medieval revival. What’s not to love about a miniature realm that houses 24 days of chocolate flavored with buttered croissant, eggnog crème brûlée, and salted honeycomb? 

---

This advent calendar is an ode to Japanese artistry 

Bokksu’s approach to advent calendars is meticulous. Each year offers a different, beautifully-packed selection of treats that reflects the Japanese snack site’s own thoughtful curation. The 2026 calendar is an ode to the country’s talent for lantern-making, and features treats like hojicha chocolate crunch and savory senbei, as well as handcrafted pottery, figurines, and even a New Year’s Eve decoration.

---

This Japanese Kit Kat advent calendar

Japanese Kit Kats are famous for their wide range of flavors, and this 12 day advent calendar features a whopping 72 individually wrapped bars from Sugoi Mart, an online boutique beloved for its Japanese snacks, collectibles, games, and more (don’t sleep on its Japanese Halloween candy bundle, either).

---

from Eater https://ift.tt/13ITJst

The largest city in North America, Mexico City is a unique, elastic, ever-changing patchwork of food traditions. As a native of the city and a food writer covering the scene for the past 14 years, I’m still amazed by CDMX’s captivating energy and scale.

Since Eater first started reporting on Mexico City’s dining scene in 2016, the way people travel and dine out has changed. Food-obsessed travelers visiting CDMX are often guided by opaque and controversial award systems, such as the 50 Best and, since 2024, the Michelin Guide. But there’s a lot more going on in restaurants here. I’ve witnessed CDMX’s growing openness to regional cuisines and its fascination with trends. I’ve also watched as the chefs who launched Mexico City onto the international stage more than 20 years ago have begun quietly passing the baton to a new generation of chefs and restaurateurs, who have traveled the world, worked in the best kitchens, and returned home to continue their cooking journeys. 

In the spirit of sorting out what is worth visiting, this list includes 38 restaurants and experiences for first-time and seasoned diners in Mexico City, focusing on projects that have distinctive culinary point of views, clear commitments to hospitality, and/or young local talent in the kitchen. 

We update this list regularly to make sure it reflects the ever-changing Mexico City dining scene. Our write-ups include insider tips from our experienced writers and editors, as well as a rough range of pricing for each destination — ranging from $ for quick, inexpensive meals with dishes largely under $10 (or the equivalent in pesos), to $$$$ for places where entrees exceed $30.

New to the map in October 2026: Eater’s fall additions to the list move across neighborhoods and moods: A reinvention of one of Roma Norte’s favorites, Lalo, with an Italian-inspired new concept; El Distrito Fresco, a casual seafood spot fit for a long afternoon of eating and drinking in Tabacalera; an experimental bar, FO+MA, to end a night in Mexico City on a cocktail-heavy note; and Los Pacientes, a Doctores neighborhood taquería with a wide range of tacos and Norteño vibes.

If you’re looking for even more travel tips, order the Eater Guide to Mexico City, which unpacks the sprawling city by breaking it down into seven chapters, along with histories and glossaries that put the tamales and pozoles you’re eating into eye-opening (and mouth-watering) context.

from Eater https://ift.tt/FGEK3gX

This excerpt was originally published in Pre Shift, our newsletter for the hospitality industry. Subscribe for more first-person accounts, advice, and interviews.

This is the final installment of our series Getting on the Map, presented by Apple Maps, where we shared how some of the most creative bars and restaurants are marketing themselves to stand out in a crowded hospitality scene.

---

“Hey, I’m Mike,” the video opens. “I’ve been a bartender for a long time in New York City and I’m opening my very first bar. Let’s go inside.” 

It continues, showing Mike, whose name is Michael Bishop-Myers, picking over menus for his Brooklyn bar, Susu’s, which opens this week. In one clip, we see drills on the in-progress bar counter; in another, someone adjusts a frame on a wall. A previous video from the bar showed the installation of its speaker system: 12 Klipsch speakers and one Powersoft amplifier. 

Who’s this for? Apparently, a decent number of people! The first video accrued over 103,000 views on Instagram and earned the bar a slew of excited comments.

Across social media, owners of bars, coffee shops, grocery stores, and restaurants are turning their buildouts into video series and finding an eager audience for niche, behind-the-scenes content. Beginning in 2022, Chicago chef Jacob Potashnick used TikTok videos to chronicle the process of building his own restaurant, Feld, which opened in 2024. It has since won a James Beard award and earned a Michelin star, hooks that now guide Potashnick’s recent content. Vancouver’s Cowdog Coffee, which was started by content creator Joe Lee, similarly shared its buildout on social media.

The Nitro Bar in Providence, Rhode Island, has been a leader in innovative social media for food businesses, with owner-turned-social-media-personality Audrey Finocchiaro known for videos in which she presents her staff with goofy prompts (“I haven’t pooped in three days. What would you make to make me poo?”). Finocchiaro, who also makes videos about the reality and the absurdity of running coffee shops on her personal account, is now documenting the process of bringing the Nitro Bar to NYC in a series of longform YouTube videos. One follows her to an interior design meeting; in another, with over 54,000 views, she tours the production space. 

As Rachel Karten of the social media-focused publication Link in Bio has explained with regard to The Nitro Bar, it all comes down to building a “my show is on” mentality around a business, which can feel, to some extent, like a character. “You’re the host, the employees are the cast, the coffee shop is the set,” Karten said on a panel with Finocchiaro at an industry event this spring. Finocchiaro has described her approach to social media as treating the coffee shop like its “own person,” someone who customers want to befriend.

Cookbook author and food personality Jake Cohen recently announced a new series in which he DIYs the transformation of a Brooklyn warehouse space into the event space and test kitchen of his dreams. “Should I do stainless countertops? Stone? Butcher block?” he asks, standing in the very-before-photo bathroom. Here, the crossover appeal of content like this becomes clear: It’s HGTV meets the Food Network, for people who need their consumption choices steered by some level of parasocial relationship. Through a “making the restaurant” series, a business owner (and even a business itself) becomes someone (or something) to identify with, and a character viewers want to support.

For the most extreme example of this trend, there is Sammy Nussdorf, who documented the journey to opening his high-end NYC grocery store Meadow Lane over, per Grub Street’s analysis, “430-plus days, several permitting snafus, and nearly 700 TikTok posts.” By the time Meadow Lane opened in late 2025, Nussdorf was not only a founder, but as familiar (and as polarizing) a character as a Real Housewife; his confessional approach and the saga’s protracted will-it-open-or-won’t-it air gave the grocery store buildout the kind of cliffhanger appeal we might otherwise seek out from reality TV. 

“I think the more disclosure, the more unveiling of the curtain behind a private business, the more interested people are,” Nussdorf told the New York Times this summer. This TikTok approach was immensely successful as a marketing tool, spurring lines down the block when it opened; even Meijer shoppers in the Midwest were hearing about Meadow Lane.

We’ve seen this level of increased disclosure across the board in the restaurant industry, as the success of Substack and the rise of short-form video platforms allow anyone to go straight to an audience. Chefs like Stockholm’s Bill Allison have gained traction online sharing the nuts-and-bolts of restaurant life. While its Instagram presence is minimal (and its TikTok presence nonexistent), the new NYC restaurant Legion’s owners published a series called The Opening Files on Substack in the lead-up to its debut earlier this month. Whereas a prospective restaurant owner might have once relied on a traditional media publication to make the judgment call on whether audiences might be interested in the nitty-gritty of choosing a restaurant space or choosing dishware, individuals can now test that hypothesis directly. 

Even legacy media’s leaning in. Last year, Curbed ran a multi-part series following restaurateur and author Eddie Huang as he embarked on the process of opening the restaurant that would become the new Baohaus. Here, Huang wrote about things like touring spaces, having deals fall apart, and very candid confessions about the specific finances of it all. 

Ultimately, it boils down to one thing: People are nosy. Give them what feels like good gossip.

from Eater https://ift.tt/RwAhO2p

It felt like everyone I know traveled to Greece this summer. Friends chose Zakynthos, Crete, Naxos, Ikaria. I opted for Sifnos, one of the Cyclades’ most celebrated food destinations but still, thankfully, relatively under the radar internationally. Greece’s culinary culture can’t be grasped fully on any one island; across the Aegean, distinct growing conditions and cooking traditions have produced individual cuisines entirely their own. Sifnos just happens to have a particularly delicious reputation. 

Our trip landed in the middle of August — peak tourist season in the Mediterranean — but it never felt cramped. And now that summer has come to a close, what crowds there were have thinned and temperatures are more forgiving, yet peak-season produce is still finding its way into dishes across the island. So now is an even better time to experience Sifnos.

Getting there means starting in Athens, where ferries come in and out of the port of Piraeus from all across the Aegean and Ionian seas. The 2.5-hour trip from Athens to Sifnos is a thrill — worthy of a few Dramamine tablets if you’re prone to seasickness — with incredible views of the islands you pass along the way. The Aegean really is a different shade of blue; it’s tempting to gaze into it from the deck the whole way.

When I travel, my priority is getting a real feel for a place. Given the choice between a beach club with lounge chairs or a rocky cove hiding a strip of sand, I’ll happily rock scramble towards the latter. An olive grove, a local cheesemaker? I’m there. I’ll shell out for a pricey tasting menu, too, but only if it’s thoughtfully rooted in its surroundings. Otherwise, I don’t need the pomp and circumstance. I’d rather idle away an afternoon fumbling through my practically nonexistent Greek at a local taverna over taramasalata and charcoal-grilled prawns.

Turns out, Sifnos was the perfect fit.

---

Day 1

Ferry Snacks: Yorgos Souvlaki

Get to Piraeus with an hour or so to spare before your ferry boards and slip into Yorgos Souvlaki to provision. This is a special shop, really nothing more than a grill behind a counter perched on the corner of a side street that happens to be one of the last places serving bifteki-style souvlaki in pita the old-school way: without tzatziki. Around 1970, the tangy yogurt sauce, along with the addition of fries, became a ubiquitous accompaniment to the street snack. Here, the grilled beef patties and the pillowy pita warmed by their juices come with nothing more than a bit of fresh tomato, slivered onions, and a scattering of parsley. Order two per person.

Dinner: Loggia Wine Bar

After a few hours at sea, you’ll dock at your 28-square mile destination, and it’s best to make your way to the little village of Kastro. Lodging is limited to a handful of Airbnbs and a hotel or two, but staying here means you can park the car and forget about it, exploring this special corner of the island, which was once Sifnos’s ancient capital, on foot. Head to Loggia Wine Bar — literally the side of a cliff with amphitheater-style seating carved into it. Settle into the island over potatoes roasted on charcoal and paired with tarama aioli, or panzanella tossed not with hunks of bread but crumbled Sifnian anise cookies. Pair that with something you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else — like an unfiltered red made from old-vine Mouchtaro grapes grown at high altitude in the Geraneia Mountains — from the extensive bottle list.

---

Day 2

Breakfast: Diporto Shop

Wake to the sounds of crashing waves and the chitter of coastal falcons and head up into the tiny streets of Kastro to Diporto Shop, a beloved cafe that feels more like you’ve ambled into a family member’s kitchen. Grab a table in the shade and order a freddo cappuccino — Greece’s answer (and a better one) to an iced latte with cold foam. You’ll likely be served by one of the owners’ young sons, who can balance a tray full of coffees better than I ever could. Opt for the yogurt and fruit bowl. Crowned with heaps of sunflower seeds, dates, sliced apricots and banana, it’s certainly enough to sustain a hike down to the Church of the Seven Martyrs afterwards.

Lunch: Ammoudia

Head north to the village of Cheronissos. Between the rocky hills on either side where goats roam and graze, find a patch of sand or smooth rock and set up for the day. When you get hungry, it’s just a few steps to Ammoudia — exactly what you might picture if I told you to imagine a taverna on the edge of the beach in a tiny fishing village: wooden tables and chairs planted directly into the sand, close to the water’s edge. Order the revithada, a soul-soothing Sifnian speciality of stewed chickpeas in olive oil with onion and herbs. Families traditionally make revithada on Saturday before bringing their prepared pot to a communal oven where it will cook through the night ahead of the Sunday meal. Luckily, at Ammoudia you can get revithada any day of the week. Guaranteed to cure hangovers and jet lag. To order seafood, walk up to the case with your server and point to what intrigues you. He’ll weigh it, discuss how you want it cooked — which, in my opinion, should be over charcoal with lemon and olive oil and nothing else — and before you know it, you’ll have a beautiful Sifnian lobster or sea bream placed before you.

Dinner: Cantina

A visit to Sifnos is incomplete without dinner at Cantina. Chef Giorgos Samoilis is a local legend on this island (and throughout Greece), yet somehow, none of that has gone to his head. Known for his zero-waste approach and menus that are deeply connected to the local network of farmers and fishermen, he and his team create an experience at this little restaurant by the sea blessedly free of pretension in the food or the setting, even though, with the care and craft put into all of it, there certainly could be. Poached monk fish fillet comes in a delicate fig leaf sauce. Okra grilled over charcoal comes topped with pumpkin seeds and smoked red pepper. Mizithra ice cream is drizzled with local honey and scattered with a brown butter crumble made with yesterday’s bread.

---

Day 3

Breakfast: Theodorou Pastry Shop

Sifnos is synonymous with pottery, but the island also has deep traditions around almond sweets. Head to the family-owned Theodorou Pastry Shop in Artemonas for almond confections like kourabiedes, delicate cookies made with almond flour and dusted in confectioner’s sugar, still made by hand as they have been for three generations. Continue south, stopping to browse if a ceramics studio happens to grab your eye, and head toward the little cove near the base of the island known as Faros. Continue past the first beach, Paralia Faros, and around the corner to the more secluded, much calmer Vlicho Beach where the shadows cast by wispy salt cedar trees and the cove’s perpetual breeze make the perfect conditions for a nap between dips.

Lunch: Pelicanos

For your midday meal, head to Pelicanos, the second restaurant from chef Giorgos Samoilis, with more of a beach bar vibe. Pelicanos is known for its crab and bottarga cacio e pepe with thick, chewy, bucatini-like noodles, but whatever the fresh aguachile on special happens to be, don’t skip it. Spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach. If you get restless or tired (somehow!) of swimming, there’s a little rocky hike that takes you up to the sweeping views surrounding Panagia Chrysopigi, a monastery dating back to the 1600s.

Dinner: Omega3

Finish up the day on the southside of the island in Platis Gialos, a buzzier seaside town with no shortage of shops and bars to dip into before dinner at Omega 3. Seafood lovers, especially those who gravitate toward the raw or cured, will feel as though they’ve died and gone to heaven. If sea urchin — usually served in pickled tomato water that tastes like some sort of elixir from the gods — happens to be on the menu, don’t blink. Same goes for whatever the ceviche happens to be; local sea bream, shrimp, or amberjack dotted with vibrant cilantro pesto make frequent appearances. Finishing dinner, you may find yourself wanting to take a quick dip in the water you’ve spent the entire meal looking out at. I did, and realized how fortunate I was to have spent almost every single meal this trip with the sea right there in front of me.

Where I want to go next time:

Say Cheers!, the bar in a van at the hotel Oniropagida, perched atop one of the highest points on the island, offers unmatchable sunset views and, from what I’ve heard, pretty good cocktails. Tsikali, the restaurant on the beach on the west coast of the island, is where many say they’ve had the best chickpeas of their life. I can’t believe I missed Kavos Sunrise, the Cuban rum bar with scrawlings on the wall that reminded me of El Batey Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Next time!

---

Check out more editor-recommended restaurant picks on the Eater App, and follow me for more recommendations from my travels and favorite cities. (Subscribe to our travel newsletter, too!)

from Eater https://ift.tt/FxIBR3X

Stainless steel cookware is experiencing a cultural renaissance. This isn’t to say that the genre of cookware ever disappeared, but, once upon a lockdown, it felt like an ad from a nonstick cookware brand was always a scroll away. Now that the dust has settled from the post-pandemic online shopping boom, the tides are shifting, and consumers investing in cookware sets want to be sure that what they buy will last both in terms of function and looking good year after year. For many folks, and especially those working in professional kitchens, that’s where the craftsmanship of great stainless steel pulls its weight. 

So, why is virtually every commercial kitchen stocked with stainless steel cookware? Eater spoke with Carlye Lester, the sous chef at HAGS, a queer fine dining restaurant in New York City, about why she loves to reach for it at her restaurant, and so many other chefs and cooks do at theirs. The main benefit? Reliability. “I love that it gets super hot and heats evenly; it is [easy] to get a good sear on whatever you are making,” Lester says, explaining that she’s using stainless steel pans to sear and crisp a mustard marinaded-cod at HAGS. “[And] I love that stainless steel can be more reliable than a nonstick if you’re using the correct methods.”

That’s one of the greatest misconceptions about stainless steel cookware: that it is not nonstick. In actuality, if you heat up stainless steel cookware to the right temperature (around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or once a few water droplets in the pan start beading instead of evaporating), and add a bit of oil, it creates a nonstick effect due to something called the Leidenfrost effect.

As for pan aftercare: Make sure you let your pan cool before washing, and dry it with a microfiber cloth afterwards to prevent water spots. Other than that, quality stainless steel (at least 3-ply, but 5-ply is recommended for oven use and high heat) is ideal for commercial kitchens because it’s nonporous, and the material won’t react with acidic ingredients like tomatoes or wine. You can also whisk away to your heart’s content in a stainless steel saucepan and use metal spatulas and tools because there’s no nonstick coating to scratch. (Unsurprisingly, that ability to withstand wear and tear is also part of why Eater chose to create a 5-ply stainless steel cookware line when we collaborated with Heritage Steel; we would only put our name on a cookware line that’s chef-approved, hardy enough for all kinds of use, and built to last.)  

If you let it, Lester says, stainless steel cookware can actually become a great cooking teacher in and of itself. “I think people think it is hard to use,” Lester says about the hesitation new cooks might have around stainless steel, “But there are countless YouTube videos/TikToks/Reels [out there], and if you’re friends with a chef, we are always happy to pick up the phone and walk you through [it].” 

As for the consumer shift back towards stainless steel, Lester sees it as natural after the initial selling points of nonstick pans have been compromised; many home cooks complain that they eventually lose the efficacy of their slippery coating, and thus their main point of appeal. “I think we are entering a new era of cooking,” she told Eater, “where people are less interested in the shortcuts.” In that context, she explains, the appeal of steel is not just that it looks great, but that it has the potential to last for decades when cared for correctly. 

Even the Instagrammy cookware companies that were once staunch slingers of ceramic nonstick have started offering titanium and stainless steel collections that promise both style and enduring craftsmanship. Stainless steel never really went out of style in commercial kitchens, but, as the cost of living skyrockets, its enduring appeal becomes pretty enticing. 

“It is a pan that asks for your attention and intuition,” says Lester, “but that is always my favorite way to cook.”

---

from Eater https://ift.tt/9Yw8tPe

Where were you last weekend? If you live in Los Angeles (or will travel for great food parties), we hope you joined us at Eater Off Menu, our annual celebration of all the chefs, dishes, food trends, and cocktail crazes that we’ve been eating, drinking, and writing about all year long, in partnership with Cathay Pacific.

This year, we decided to throw a one-of-a-kind party at the legendary Tam O’Shanter, an Old Hollywood haunt in Atwater Village with an interior aesthetic that falls squarely between a 19th-century Scottish tavern and Snow White’s house (it was Walt Disney’s favorite restaurant, after all). Inside, we gathered a (frankly insane) lineup of Eater faves, including Holbox, Thunderbolt/Night on Earth, Pasjoli, Café Telegrama, Lawry’s, Quarter Sheets, Ji Rong, Kidori, Molly Baz for Mister’s ice cream sandwiches, and even flown-in out-of-towners including New York City hotspot Dean’s and Gregory Gourdet of Portland’s Kann. Frankly, there’s never really been a food party quite like this. 

Attendees entered to find a winding wonderland of food creations, from a 40-foot-long, snaking sheet cake by pastry chef Hannah Ziskin of Quarter Sheets to a tabletop-sized stargazy pie from Dean’s. The smell of juicy roast meat filled the air as Ji Rong carved Peking duck and a Cathay Pacific flight attendant passed out flutes of champagne, and guests slurped scallops straight from the shell at Holbox’s counter featuring its award-winning Mexican seafood. Pasjoli carved French dip sandwiches smothered in a delectable poivre sauce straight from Lawry’s The Prime Rib’s iconic carving carts, while Lawry’s made their famous spinning salad to order.

At the bar, Thunderbolt and Night on Earth dreamed up drinks exemplifying Punch’s top drink trends of the year, including banana (in the form of a banana-miso carajillo), the return of Hpnotiq (in a neon passion fruit refresher), and tiny ’tinis (classic and Gilda). A truly conceptual ice sculpture, embedded with fish, radishes, beets, and tins, loomed over the game room.

On the patio, Café Telegrama served sweet and savory versions of its cult-fave ricotta pancakes from a pop up outdoor diner. Steps away, the line snaked for the Majestic photobooth to capture the moment, and chatter flowed from the cozy Cathay Pacific outdoor lounge where guests enjoyed yakitori from Arcadia’s Sumibiyakitori Kidori. If you hung out for a bit, you’d be blessed with passed salt bread from Out of Ordi, filled with sweet corn or ube cream. If guests needed to cool off (or wanted to indulge their sweet tooth), they could enjoy a Mister’s ice cream sandwich, topped with sweet-salty crunchy brittle and handed over by founder Molly Baz herself. 

All guests left with a gift bag packed with delights from some of Eater’s fave brands, including Luxardo’s beloved cocktail cherries, Unreal’s better-for-you chocolate candies, Giadzy’s celeb-chef-approved gluten-free pasta, Fly By Jing’s noodles seasoned with its cult-fave chile crisp and sumptuous sauces, and a coupon to pick up your favorite flavor of Molly Baz’s signature mayo, Ayoh (we especially love the dill pickle one). 

So, just how wild will we get next year? Download the Eater app and make a profile to get first access to events like this in the future. 

---

Did you attend Eater Off Menu? Thanks for coming, and we hope you had as much fun as we did. Fill out this survey about your experience for your chance to win a $100 gift card.

from Eater https://ift.tt/KukSC1r

This excerpt was originally published in Pre Shift, our newsletter for the hospitality industry. Subscribe for more first-person accounts, advice, and interviews.

This is the second installment of our series Getting on the Map, presented by Apple Maps. Over the next three weeks, we’ll be sharing how some of the most creative bars and restaurants are marketing themselves to stand out in a crowded hospitality scene.

---

Guest shifts—where visiting bartenders pop up at host bars to serve signature drinks or collaborate on a limited-edition menu—are ubiquitous if you live in a city with a popular nightlife scene. But in recent years, some figures in the industry have been criticizing the practice. Complaints include the fact that they can be confusing to guests, dilute the quality of both teams’ drinks, and sometimes prioritize brands and influencers over loyal regulars.

After a few experiences with their own guest shifts, the team behind Oslo’s Himkok knew they wanted to do something different. Their solution, dubbed Nordic Sessions, aimed to address the criticism of the typical bar takeover, create more genuine connections between people in the industry, and spread the word about their bar and the products they use and love. I asked Himkok’s head of R&D Paul Aguilar how it works.

---

Mary Anne Porto: Can you explain what Nordic Sessions are?

Paul Aguilar: Nordic Sessions are cultural immersions where we bring bartenders, journalists, and brand partners together to experience the places, traditions, and ingredients that inspire our bar. We wanted to give people a deeper understanding of who we are and create relationships through shared experiences. Bringing people into those environments helps them understand the thinking behind the bar and our drinks. They generally take place over two to four days and [past sessions have included] cross-country skiing, mushroom foraging, hiking, [celebrating] midsummer by the coast, and spending time in a Norwegian cabin.

Besides the cultural immersion, how do these sessions impact your business?

Norway is an extremely restrictive market for alcohol marketing, so the usual promotional value of a guest shift [aka a bar takeover] is limited for us and our partners. Nordic Sessions allow us to create high-quality films and photography for partners to use in other markets where permitted [and for us to use] on social media. 

Have you been part of traditional guest shifts or bar takeovers? What have you liked and disliked about the format?

We have hosted many guest shifts. We enjoyed welcoming people and returning the hospitality of those who had previously hosted us. But we received repeated feedback from guests who had come to experience Himkok and found something different. 

Sometimes they were disappointed with the cocktails, and we have to take that seriously. A visiting bar’s drinks and working methods do not always translate smoothly into another venue. Hosting another team also means changing preparation, service, and organization, which puts pressure on our staff; we are 12 people for a 350-person capacity bar.

There is a considerable investment of time, travel, and accommodation [that goes into a guest shift], and we began questioning how much value remained once the evening was over. Sharing several days [together during Nordic Sessions] creates space for conversations that are difficult to have during a busy service. It is a better fit for how we want to host people and work with our partners.

How do you decide which cultural immersions to organize?

We want participants to leave with a better understanding of the culture and something personal to draw from afterwards. We started with things that are part of Norwegian life: skiing, hiking, cabin culture, foraging, food traditions, and the way people spend time together. Something that feels ordinary to someone living here can be completely new to a visitor.

What has been your favourite Nordic Session so far, and why?

Each one has brought something different, but hiking Trolltunga [a cliff in Ullensvang, Norway] really stands out. The group included Gabriele Armani, a legend in the World Class [bartending competition] community who loves hiking, alongside Shay Waterworth from Drinks International, [and bartenders] Shingo Gokan and Nóra Földvári. 

The hike was tough, mainly because of the weather. We got soaked, and everyone had to push through and support each other. Johnnie Walker sponsored the session, and its “Keep Walking” message made perfect sense for the experience because we were going on a challenging hike together. Some of the best conversations and friendships grew from that moment.

How do your brand partnerships work? Are there posting requirements?

We work with [spirits], nonalcoholic brands, glassware companies, food producers, and retailers. We are open to collaborating with anyone whose products or expertise can contribute meaningfully to the experience. We approach potential partners [and explain] why their involvement makes sense and what we can achieve together. Some relationships grow naturally from products we already use [at the bar].

We work with our filming partner, Oioioi, to create a main film, shorter edits [for social media], and photography that brands can use. We discuss the formats, usage rights, and publishing plans [with sponsors], and the deliverables vary by partnership. Participating bartenders are also asked to share their experience and publish a simple drink featuring the sponsors’ brand.

What are your plans for future sessions?

We want to take Nordic Sessions beyond Norway while keeping that connection to local culture. We are currently working on an experience in Iceland for November. The idea is to apply the same approach in another place, learning from its people, traditions, and surroundings.

There is room to develop what happens after each trip, too, [through things like] follow-up events, trade dinners, or workshops in relevant markets. We want the relationships, drinks, and stories to keep developing once everyone has gone home. Welcoming consumers into selected experiences is also part of our plans for the near future. We would love to share this side of Himkok with people beyond the industry.

from Eater https://ift.tt/xy7Cb8w

A food-loving visitor will quickly learn that sardines, cod, and the iconic pastel de nata are great, but the Lisbon restaurant scene can offer much more. Portuguese cuisine draws on global flavors from the country’s centuries of trade, and Lisbon’s restaurateurs have access to top-quality fish and seafood, unique cheeses, lovely wines, and vegetables from organic farms just outside the city. In a capital experiencing lightning-fast growth, Lisbon’s food scene mediates the collision of old and new, weaving together trendy wine bars, Michelin-starred restaurants, traditional and casual venues, and neo-tascas (modern neighborhood restaurants) that combine aspects of all of the above. 

We update this list regularly to make sure it reflects the ever-changing Lisbon dining scene. Our write-ups include insider tips from our experienced writers and editors, as well as a rough range of pricing for each destination — ranging from $ for quick, inexpensive meals with dishes largely under $10 (or the equivalent in euros), to $$$$ for places where entrees exceed $30.

New to the map in Spetember 2026: Fall is when Lisbon starts to quiet down after the summer rush, while the days are still warm enough for sidewalk tables and long meals outdoors. This season’s additions capture different sides of a restaurant scene that continues to stretch beyond the usual definitions of Portuguese cooking.

In Madragoa, Swedish chef Peter Nyström’s Familjen brings big flavors and plenty of spice to a sharing menu that happily strays from the Nordic rulebook. Copo Largo, near Largo do Rato, looks instead to the Portuguese tavern, with an ever-changing chalkboard menu and plenty of Portuguese wine to wash it all down. Near Lisbon Cathedral, former Boi-Cavalo chef Hugo Brito has revived the longtime Alpendre around what he calls “Lisbon food,” bringing old city classics back to the table. And Porto chef Vasco Coelho Santos has headed south with Lamina, where whole-animal cooking, charcuterie, and dishes cooked over fire give his first Lisbon restaurant its identity.

Rafael Tonon is a journalist and food writer living between Brazil and Portugal, covering the restaurant industry in Lisbon for outlets like the Washington Post, Epicurious, and leading Portuguese publications. A contributor to Eater since 2008, he is also the author of Food Revolutions (published in Portuguese and Spanish).

from Eater https://ift.tt/d1s54UJ

This excerpt was originally published in Pre Shift, our newsletter for the hospitality industry. Subscribe for more first-person accounts, advice, and interviews.

This is the first installment of our series Getting on the Map, presented by Apple Maps. Over the next three weeks, we’ll be sharing how some of the most creative bars and restaurants are marketing themselves to stand out in a crowded hospitality scene.

---

When I spoke with Cyed Adraincem, he apologized for stumbling over any words; he’d been up at 4 a.m. to wash the sidewalk in front of his forthcoming restaurant. “I wanted to beat all the foot traffic,” he said. 

Adraincem seems to have brought that same dedication to outfitting Hoy, which will serve Filipino street food in a Manila night-market-like space. Though not yet open, the restaurant has already garnered a lot of attention for its loud and off-kilter aesthetic, smart pop cultural ties, and behind-the-scenes peeks into R&D. I asked him about designing the space, the merch plan, and how opening is going.

Mary Anne Porto: Can you tell us about the restaurant concept?

Cyed Adraincem: It’s Filipino street food, super fast casual. I’m trying to introduce Filipino food to a broader audience because I feel like we’re underrepresented in New York City. We’ll be serving barbecue skewers, lumpia, and a couple different sandwiches. It’s a pretty simple menu, nothing too fancy, mostly traditional, with chef techniques that we’ve learned over the years. I think the New York dining scene wants something more casual, more affordable right now. They don’t want something pretentious; they just want to eat and have a good drink. 

The space is based on American diners because I love them. I’ve also been working in cocktail bars for the past seven years. So if you come into the restaurant, it’s kind of a mashup of the two. Those two things [feel similar] to the Manila night market [theme] we’re going for. It’s very high energy; everyone is front-facing; it’s loud and fun. Since everything is counter service, everything is front-facing. The kitchen is open, so I think the energy will keep going throughout the restaurant. We’ll communicate in front of everyone, and it’ll be like a street-market affair. 

How did you come up with the branding and logo for Hoy?

My designer is Kristofferson San Pablo. He’s a Filipino American, and he’s actually my cousin. He’s a well-known artist in LA. We decided on this design based on all the intense fun of a Manila night market. So there are a lot of different colors, a lot of visually stimulating stuff, without being too overwhelming. The pattern on the walls comes from one of the oldest textile patterns in the Philippines. It was an easy choice to showcase our culture in a cool way.  

[We have] shelves of snacks that are supposed to mimic a sari-sari store in the Philippines. They are usually on every street corner and typically operating right out of the owner’s home, selling an assortment of everyday essentials. Cookbooks [on the shelves were] passed down from my parents. Some of them are very old. They are the baseline of what we will be creating for the restaurant. We also have cookbooks from our local favorites.

We tried to stay away from the typical Filipino [branding] stuff, like the star and the sun and barong tagalogs, things that are very obviously Filipino. We wanted to use things like the barrel man, carabao [water buffalo], farmer life, which are a little bit different from the mainstream.

I love the barrel man.

It’s super Filipino culture. And the other fun part of it is I get to teach people who don’t know about this. These barrel men were made-to-sell souvenirs for poor people to make money. But it’s also how Filipinos act: It’s fun, it’s a gag gift.

I also have a bunch of art pieces from different artists around the city and LA as well. We’re going to try to stick with as much Filipino art as we can, but I’m open to [any artists]. As long as it’s local and made with community in mind, I’m happy to support them.

Before even opening, you’ve channeled these pop-culture moments through some of your designs, like your Knicks-themed choking sign. How quickly can you and your designer put together this art, and what’s the process like?

Everything’s on the fly, baby. Kris’ art is very pop-culture heavy. For him, it’s kind of second nature. I bring things up, and he’s like “Oh yeah, I’ve already been working on something like that.” He keeps up with all of it. He works fast.

What merch are you planning to have?

A bunch of different things. We entertained the idea of making our own barrel man, or barrel man key chains, and even house slippers. Our standard products we’ll probably carry are shirts, hats, and totes, and we’ll probably cater to the season. As we get open and understand the space better, we’ll start producing more merch. It’s going to be fun, and most of this merch is going to be collaborative with other artists and creatives, too.

Some restaurants open with a bare-bones design while they get their footing, then expand into merch as they grow. But it seems like you’re going all-in with your opening, with a very designed space and a merch line. Why did you decide to do that?

I’ve been in the industry for almost 17 years. And working in cocktail bars for seven of those, I saw that merch was flying off the shelves. Bartenders were always wearing other bars’ shirts, representing other industry spots. I think more people are wearing clothes that [signify] places that they love. I see Kikkoman jackets and T-shirts from all of my favorite restaurants, and that’s all I wear, too. So I thought it was important to spread the word, and eventually have it as another outlet of revenue.

How did you approach the inside of the restaurant?

Realistically, [furnishing a restaurant] is a lot of legwork. Everything is so expensive right now. It’s probably the worst time to open a restaurant. So it’s about doing your due diligence and comparing prices. I go to Home Depot, Amazon, The Container Store and see who has the best price, then go from there, so it’s a lot of searching and researching. And everything on the shelves is pretty personal: knickknacks and art from friends and family. 

We’ll also have a lot of vegetation to try to mimic the tropical Philippines. We made a pot pond out of a large planter pot, and we’re currently growing lemongrass, a calamansi tree, and labuyo chiles in a garden next to the pond. We’re in a corner building, so we get lots of light. We’re going to make a jungle and grow and eat what we can.

What’s your path to opening look like right now?

We have an issue with our gas firing with the DOB [New York’s Department of Buildings] right now, so we can’t cook onsite until it gets all sorted out. Until then, we decided to open up for the community and have a residency in the space. We’re [hosting] Arellano Pandesal from Queens, which does Filipino pastries, while we do the beverages. We’re also planning to launch a community market place with local vendors and friends and family. It’s a good way to get people in the space and get people excited.

from Eater https://ift.tt/PDfsZ6r

A version of this post originally appeared in Eater Today, which spotlights the freshest news and stories from across the food world every day. Subscribe now.

“There’s a rock in the sink!” That was the takeaway last winter after the East Coast contingent of the team that writes this newsletter met for brunch at Flynn McGarry’s stylish, Scandi-inflected Gem Home in lower Manhattan. While the rest of us waited for our plates of Danish breakfast, Francky Knapp had shuffled off to the bathroom, then returned to the table with newfound excitement at this unexpected find. Naturally, I, too, had to see it for myself. The slab of stone occupied the entire industrial-style basin, a patch of rust-colored mineral deposits at its center where the water hit. Weird! I thought, then I put it out of my mind for months. 

That was until I met a friend for coffee at the location of Rhythm Zero in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which looks more like a room in an art museum than a coffee shop. There, a large hunk of stone sat in front of a large mirror next to the counter. Yet another imposed itself in the bathroom, positioned between the sink and the toilet, as though natural absorption for dripping hands making the trip to the hand dryer. Two establishments with big decorative rocks: a coincidence, or an affectation?

But then, I found myself in Pizza 4P’s, an ambitiously and intricately designed pizza import from Vietnam for which six literal boulders were transported into the restaurant from a stone wholesaler in New Jersey. Now three spots? There’s something going on there.

It’s at Pizza 4P’s, which opened this summer in Brooklyn in a high-ceilinged industrial space, where this trend can be found at its extreme. When you open the door, you’re greeted by a host stand in the form of a large, tablelike boulder. The stone, which was forklifted in, was chosen for this usage because of its waist height and the natural notch in its corner, perfect for holding menus. An adjacent stone, lower and smaller, acts as a bench for diners waiting for their table. 

Four more boulders erupt from the space, forcing the layout of the large dining room into a snaking path. “After we found the stones, we changed the position,” global branding director Kazuya Kubota explained to me over a tour of the space. None have been cut into shape; they have all been chosen for their size and form, and then the restaurant designed around them. Some of the stones sprout thick metal support wires, allowing them to weigh down the wooden frames along the walls that hold hanging plants. The largest stone — at around two tons, toward the center of the dining room, with a table butting up against it — is comparable in weight to the pizza oven, according to Kubota. Along with all the hanging plants, the stones give the otherwise industrial space a semblance of nature, bridging the gap between Brooklyn urbanism and the pastoral settings of the farms listed on the menu.

For her rocks, Ivana Somorai, who owns Rhythm Zero, was inspired by the use of natural materials in Japanese design. She told me over email that she also wanted to bring a “natural, unexpected element” into the shop’s interiors. Initially, the Greenpoint location featured several rocks, minimal seating, and a large tangerine tree. When she redesigned the interior — it now features a large couch and more seating — the rocks stayed, mostly because they were too heavy. “I knew they would not be leaving the space for a while,” Somorai wrote.

Since then, rocks have become a memorable feature of the cafe. (Every location looks different; all are very stylish, some feature stones.) The one next to the mirror “unexpectedly became a favorite sitting area for our regulars,” Somorai explains. “The rocks began as part of a specific design moment, but they ended up becoming part of the life of the cafe and the way people use the space.” 

As for why the second rock ended up in the bathroom… well, isn’t that kind of the last thing you’d expect? “I wanted people to be surprised when they opened the door: The bathroom is dark, and then there is this large rock. I wanted them to be like, ‘Why is there a rock here?’” Somorai wrote. (Yes, I had that thought.)

I imagine this desire to pique curiosity is part of the rationale at Gem, too. While I couldn’t get ahold of McGarry to know more about the Gem stone [ba-dum-tss], his representative told me via email that, to his recollection, “Gem Home, [the now-closed] Gem Wine, and I think Cove all had/have rocks in their restroom sinks.” This really only opens up more questions though; if only I could have asked them!

As for Pizza 4P’s, those big rocks fit into a bigger philosophy. The chain has dozens of locations in different countries. Each location is unique — its art, furniture, and space designed entirely custom (boulders in Brooklyn doesn’t mean stones in Cambodia). Each country is guided by a different theme. In Indonesia, that’s biodiversity; in the United States, it’s the idea of “what the earth told me.” To that end, they thought of the stones like they did ingredients, Kubota explains: The goal is to find something beautiful in nature and then work around it. 

Alas, on my most recent visit to Rhythm Zero in Greenpoint, the rock outside the bathroom was gone. Apparently, that was part of an even more recent renovation. The rocks were moved to the nearby Transmitter Park. Somorai described it as “where they belong, I guess.”

from Eater https://ift.tt/trRX9q4