Whether you need a massive, dad-coded vault or a chair with a built-in beer stash (because getting up sounds hard), these coolers will rule your warm-weather kickbacks

Whether you’re packing up frankfurters for a weekend in the woods or rolling up to a pool party with brewskies to share, you’re going to need some portable cold storage, aka a cooler. These days, there is a cooler for every conceivable Enneagram; the folks at Igloo have gone full Oreo, launching a bunch of vibey retro coolers in previously unseen hues and some extremely niche branded coolers, while luxury brands like Business & Pleasure have engineered an archetypal Talented Mr. Ripley-esque, sea-ready ice chest, and the same people who gave us the Ninja Swirl crafted one of the most expedition-worthy coolers the back of your SUV has ever seen. Here’s what the coolest coolers out there tell the world about the people who tote them.

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“My Other Car is a Ninja Cooler”: The Ninja FrostVault

With its sturdy, sand-ready wheels and cavernous interior, the Ninja FrostVault is like an ATV for your many beach snacks. This massive, dad-coded cooler keeps cold cuts perfectly chilled for literal days, perfect for camping trips and other expeditions, and it includes a chilled dry zone that keeps dry stuff fridge-cold and never soggy for all your Type A packing needs.

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“I Came to Party”: The Igloo Retro Fanny Pack

You can’t be bothered with a bunch of details. (That’s for the Ninja FrostVault crowd.) You may be here for a short time, but you’re definitely here for a good time, which is why you’ve tucked exactly three cans of Ranch Water hard seltzer and an airplane bottle of tequila in your temperature-controlled Retro Fanny Pack before donning a bucket hat and hitting the streets.

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“I’m Studying for My Level 2 Somm Exam”: A Wine-Optimized Cooler Bag

Only you, a wine rep who likes to crush grapes in quaint villages on your off time, can truly know the best bottle for every occasion. It’s a gift and a burden, but fortunately, Monti’s soft quilted Mayfly cooler backpack can house three of your favorites.

Need room for some Mimolette and tarali? Check out the Corkcicle Beverage Bucket Bag with a pocket for just about everything.

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“I Leisure So Hard, Weekend Is a Verb”: Business & Pleasure’s Hemingway Cooler Bench

This is the kind of conspicuous cooler that telegraphs, “I own a boat,” and not just because the design was, according to Business & Pleasure, “inspired by European car designs and luxury speed boats,” though that helps. After snagging a can of Nomadica Bubbly Rosé from its roomy 35-quart interior, you can sit back on this cooler’s detachable cushion and marvel at its sumptuous teak lid, glossy finish, and snazzy gold handles as you sail off into the sunset.

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“I Would Prefer Not to Get Up”: ParkIt’s Voyager Cooler

If you’ve ever gone thirsty because you refuse to dislodge yourself from your lawn chair while basting in your own sweat on a languid summer afternoon, I’ve got good news: This brilliant folding outdoor chair from ParkIt has a cooler built right in, so your *getting up and walking over there* days are over. Take the chair/cooler to any music festival or outdoor gathering, and you are guaranteed to make new friends whether you want them or not.

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“I Once Caught a Fish THIS BIG”: Canyon’s Pro 45-Quart Cooler

You often find yourself in bear country, and thus, you need a cooler that is not only bear-proof but also comes with a lifetime warranty just in case a grizzly tries any funny stuff. The PRO 45 Quart Canyon Cooler was built to hold a weekend’s worth of food and drink for two (or an overnight’s worth of stuff for four, or 15 minute’s worth of food for a bear), and since it was designed for enjoying in the great outdoors where gadget multitasking is mandatory, the included cooler divider also doubles as a food-safe surface.

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“I Look Great in Jorts”: The Igloo KoolTunes

Long before iTunes, there was KoolTunes. Imagine it: Billy Joel’s 1989 classic “We Didn’t Start the Fire” absolutely blasting out of an Igloo Playmate cooler while you dole out Bud heavies to your Breakfast Club-looking crew of friends. Though they discontinued the original version in 1990, Igloo read the room and brought the KoolTunes back a few years ago, reestablishing it as the summer essential it truly is (and now it pairs with Bluetooth). And while we’re on the topic of Igloo’s fanny pack coolers, I would be doing you a disservice if I failed to mention that the brand has also designed one to look like a WWE Championship Belt for you to fill with… Slim Jims???

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Stay cool, kids.

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Turn your sink into a spa with Flamingo Estate’s heirloom tomato hand wash, Loewe’s ode to oregano, or a $20 dupe for Santal 33

When did hand soaps get so sophisticated? Perhaps it was inevitable due to the increasingly competitive [tips Monopoly Man top hat] skincare market; it was only a matter of time until I started collecting unique, fragrant, well-packaged hand soaps like Pokémon. But as someone who loves to cook, using a high-quality soap with a nice scent and making sure my hands feel fresh, hydrated, and free of eau de minced garlic or balsamic vinegar feels especially important.

Washing your hands, while necessary for practical reasons, should feel less like a chore and more like a spa experience. Yes, as far as the finer soaps go, of course we must show reverence (no pun intended) for Aesop’s epicly popular hand wash, but it’s not the only one out there. I am a proud devotee of tomato-scented suds, self-proclaimed herbaceous formulas, and the latest hand soap iteration of the smoky, Icelandic sitka spruce fragrance from the perfumerie of Sigur Ros’ frontman. What you will find below: a curation of hand soaps that lean into an herb garden-forward olfactory experience; hand soaps that feel like they could have been handed down to you from The Giving Tree, or else crafted with a mortar and pestle in a lush Mediterranean estate. What you won’t find below is a smorgasbord of saccharine, overpowering, or flowery hand washes and soaps. (Sorry, Pink Sugar loyalists.)

The way we smell matters, both to ourselves and those in our orbit. Compared to most of the perfumes I pine after, some of the best fancy hand soaps below are also much less expensive, but still succeed in their common goal of making you smell nice, look worldly, and feel, well, fancy. If you love to cook and want a little TLC for your hands, I have rounded up my marquee selection of the best fancy hand soaps for every budget.

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The best fancy hand soaps under $30

A chef-approved, garlic-proof hand scrub

We love a through-the-grapevine recommendation, and we got one for Naomi’s hand scrubs from experts who love not only its odor-shooing properties, but its attractive bottle and lavish bergamot-forward scent. Formulated by Los Angeles-based chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants, it truly does double duty of eliminating even the most pungent garlic smells while simultaneously leaving your hands soft and amazing-smelling. Plus, we love that Yves Klein blue label.

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This Le Labo Santal 33 dupe (is quite possibly my favorite)

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An extra-hydrating vetiver scent

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Soap on a rope? So European

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This French classic that you can now buy on Amazon...

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...And a new French classic

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This Aesop dupe that’s perfect for a refillable dispenser

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The best fancy hand soaps under $50

Let Aesop, king of herbaceous scents, lead the way

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The winner of the tomato-scented hand soaps is: Flamingo Estate

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If you want warmth (but not sweetness), opt for cardamom and cinnamon

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Hand wash with a streetwear edge

Believe it or not, Brain Dead — known for its highly swaggy streetwear and collabs with everyone from Adidas and Oakley to Magic: The Gathering and Jeff Goldblum — also makes a really nice hand wash, and we love how the earthy, herbal Terra Former scent comes in this ridiculously displayable, art-emblazoned Kelly green bottle. Talk about a lowkey flex.

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The best very fancy hand soaps

Diptyque’s regal soap is extra-softening for hands

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Loewe’s Oregano is the perfect blend of peppery and woody

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Byredo’s musky, pear-kissed scent

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Baccarat Rouge 540... in hand wash form

Happy washing.

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Start by making sure you properly load the dishes

In my decade-plus as a renter, the household appliance that I’ve had to fix time and time again is the dishwasher. And yet, it’s hard to believe that it has a standard life expectancy of 10-12 years. I can’t say I’ve experienced that lifespan from start to finish, but I’ve seen plenty of repair crews sent to fix my dishwashers during that time — and about as many who come to replace them.

When asked about the frequency of dishwasher replacement, Glenn Lewis, the president of the repair franchise Mr. Appliance, says it’s “unfortunately, too often. I hate to see perfectly good appliances going to the landfill.” However, if you take a few extra steps to maintain your dishwasher, you’ll save yourself thousands — and may even have an appliance for life. Lewis says the oldest dishwasher he’s worked on was from 1955, and Mark McCann, the director of product marketing at BSH Home Appliances, remarks that he’s heard of customers using their dishwashers as long as 24 years and counting.

But first, how does a dishwasher work?

No matter how flashy or no-frills a dishwasher is, its inner workings are pretty straightforward. The machine heats, circulates, and redistributes water in multiple cycles with and without detergent. Its washing cycles, heat capabilities, and minimal water usage (3.6 gallons on average) are what make it so efficient.

Here’s how most dishwashers work: Clean water runs through a hose and into the dishwasher basin. Here, a heating element increases the water temperature to 120-155 degrees. The hose is attached to a circulation pump that forces the water through sprayheads, which are typically located on the top and bottom of the dishwasher. This same pump is usually part of a motor that rotates the sprayheads to distribute water. If there is a prewash feature, the first cycle removes the initial food debris and particles on the dishes and disposes the dirty water through a second hose, which acts as a drain for the machine.

Otherwise, a dispenser (usually attached to the door) releases detergent during the next cycle of washing. After that drains, the following cycle will rinse the detergent off the dishes and drain once more. This is often followed by a drying cycle, where the same heating element heats the air inside the dishwasher. A normal wash runs a total of four to five cycles, which takes around one and a half to two hours. Dish loads that have prewash and sanitize features usually take three to four hours.

How did I mess up my dishwasher in the first place?

Leaks, oil residue, and questionable water in the basin are common pains that people assume mean it’s time for a dishwasher replacement. In reality, they’re indications that smaller parts are malfunctioning. “Any and all parts can fail,” Lewis explains. “Springs and hinges and door latches break and make closing or opening the door difficult. Seals can break or dry rot and cause leaks. Touch pads, control boards, and sensors can short out and stop working.” He’s got a long list of things that could go wrong, but most of the issues are due to user error. McCann adds that some common ways that people damage their dishwashers include “not cleaning the filter, overloading the dishwasher, washing items that aren’t dishwasher safe, and not descaling their dishwasher when they have hard water.”

Stacking the dishwasher beyond its capacity prevents the sprayheads from working because bowls and plates may block them, leading to potential machine malfunction. Leaving too much leftover food on your dishes could also clog the filter and the hoses, which also explains the basin water. And while many people know the dishwasher can dull knives and sharp kitchen tools, they can also damage the machine itself depending where they’re placed. Objects often fall off the racks and into the bottom of the dishwasher, damaging the heating element, jets, and sprayheads in the process. If you’re not using pods, you could also be putting too much detergent in the dispenser, which will leave residue on your dishes.

How do I make my machine live out its full capacity?

Besides proper dish loading, it’s really not that hard to make your machine outlive your time in its home (because in 2025, how many of us will live in the same dwelling for longer than a decade?).

McCann explains that if there’s a filter, it’s important to clean it every two to three months depending on usage. If your dishwasher smells gross or is leaving food particles on your dishes, this is a good sign that it’s time to change the filter. It’s usually located at the bottom of the machine underneath a sprayhead. Depending on how gunky it is, you can simply give it a warm water rinse or wipe it with a soft brush. If it’s too gross to touch, it’s probably time to change it completely. McCann also suggests wiping “the door seals with a rag and some white vinegar to clean any residues and food particles” just as often. Lewis even suggests cleaning the filter weekly.

Lewis also recommends cleaning the inside of the dishwasher with dishwasher cleaner every month. For a more natural remedy, he suggests running an empty load with one cup of baking powder into the basin with two cups of white vinegar on the top rack. Alternatively, you can make a paste out of the two and wipe your dishwasher with it before running a rinse cycle only.

The latter is also a great way to descale your machine of hard water buildup. You should descale every six months, especially if there’s gray and white residue on the walls, or if your dishes have cloudy spots on them. If a vinegar cycle doesn’t do the trick, dishwasher salt will break down the hard mineral buildup. Dishwasher salt is its own thing — do not use table salt.

A no-brainer tip to many might also be to use your dishwasher regularly, but this is worth mentioning for owners of vacation homes or spaces they don’t live in regularly. During the winter, the pipes and seals of your dishwasher are susceptible to freezing and bursting. Save a few bucks on your electricity bill by turning off the power and water when you’re not at home long-term, and get your dishwasher winterized by disconnecting the inlet hose and adding antifreeze to the inside of it.

Will paying more for a dishwasher make it last longer?

New entry-level dishwashers can run on the low end of $300-400, and I’ve even purchased a perfectly good used one for $200. Sexier models, however, mostly boast features that emphasize durability, efficiency — and of course, because this is 2025 — connectivity. Both midrange and high-end dishwashers offer increased storage capacity (which cost $800-1,200), front control panels, stainless steel interiors, and more racks that are often adjustable, which make it easier to load dishes of varying sizes for cleaning efficiency. They’re also much quieter and energy efficient, and equipped with WiFi. The highest-end models, which can run up to $3,000, basically tout the same features of midrange models but with a “do-it-better” attitude on energy efficiency, materials, and cleaning capabilities.

But does a fancy dishwasher equate to a longer lifespan? Not exactly. If you maintain your appliance’s parts and use it properly, you’ll save money on both repairs and replacements.

Nicole Medina is a Philly-based illustrator who loves using bold color and detailed patterns to create eye-catching illustrations. Nicole likes drawing surreal imagery that tells a story and has a sense of adventure.

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Cheers to Dad (with a John Deere pint glass, of course)

In our experience, the best food-related Father’s Day gifts check some combination of feeling personal, kitsch, useful, and delicious. There is no one right way to be a father or a father-like figure, or shop for one, but it feels fair to say that our most successful Father’s Day presents have either fulfilled a hyper-specific need, such as a kneeling foam pad for herb gardening, or celebrated our food-loving fathers’ rituals around grilling, fishing, or making truckloads of their deceased Italian mother’s marinara on Sundays. Riposa in pace, nonna! Your son has become a worthy sauce master in your stead.

Father’s Day falls on June 15 this year, which means you have a little over a week to smash the order button on some Snake River Farms steaks or a high-tech Ooni pizza oven. Should you seriously procrastinate, there are always two-day shipping options from Amazon Prime, and retailers such as Nordstrom provide an estimate of the soonest day an order can arrive. Plus, you can also opt for day-of, shipping-free digital gifts, such as a Southern cooking MasterClass with James Beard Award–winning chef Mashama Bailey, or a gift card to Williams Sonoma.

Your dad is the best dad out of all the dads, of course, so let’s find him the perfect present, whether that means something to throw on the grill (or in the Igloo cooler) or a themed apron that harkens back to his days following the Grateful Dead.

These Wagyu steaks from Snake River Farms

Family-operated since 1968, Snake River Farms has earned a reputation as one of the best ranch-to-table slingers in the game for the best meats you can buy, from Kurobuta pork to wild-caught seafood to dry-aged Porterhouse steak. While it’s an excellent source of dad-centric gifts in general — what father wouldn’t want a Smithey skillet or a custom meat subscription box? — but we’re thinking that Daddy deserves some of the meat purveyor’s wagyu beef, because it’s a rich, marbled cross between pure Japanese wagyu and American-bred beef.

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This set of grill-ready fancy salts

With its Grilling Trio, the highly aesthetic Oregon-based company Jacobsen Salt Co. has treated us to a holy trinity of its iconic, chef-loved sea salt, as well as an infused black pepper salt and sea salt steak seasoning with minced garlic, paprika, fennel seed, rosemary, and more dried herbs.

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One stainless steel frying pan to rule them all

Ah, the endless versatility of a lidded, stainless steel 10-inch frying pan. There’s a good chance your pops has sizzled his own to the high heavens, no? Eater collaborated with Heritage Steel to make our very own iteration, which is made with durable, high-quality, 5-ply stainless steel and given an extra half-inch of circumference, making it the reigning favorite of our fry pan rotation.

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A leather oven mitt

Unlike that greying, striped cloth oven mitt your pops has had for years, a leather oven mitt will only look cooler as it gets a little scratched up and worn-in over the years.

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A Deadhead dad’s dream apron

For the father who is still a headlight on a northbound train. Several Eater staffers own Hedley & Bennett aprons, and can attest to the comfort and durability of the cotton material. The brand’s collab with The Grateful Dead has spawned some of the coolest aprons money can buy.

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A digital picture frame for the kitchen

What father doesn’t love flipping flapjacks beside a digital picture frame featuring the best snapshots of his kids, grandkids, and that time you all rode horses together on Catalina Island?

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Ooni’s cult-fave pizza oven is $269 off

The Ferrari of pizza ovens. Ooni’s electric indoor model is 30 percent off right now, and can cook a Neapolitan-style pizza in just 90 seconds (a fact which your pops will love explaining to his pals before watching the game).

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Track down vintage John Deere drinkware

There’s an infinite bounty of vintage John Deere coasters, shot glasses — hell, there’s even a John Deere tractor-shaped decanter — on vintage and second-hand retailer sites such as Ebay. It’s like they say: you can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the tractor out of his liquor cabinet.

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For the pops who wants to sous vide all day

Give Dad the power of preserving his precious deer meats for seasons to come, at the touch of a button.

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A MasterClass in cooking pasta and rice dishes (because even Dad doesn’t know everything)

Is it just me, or was there always a handful of track team and cross country dads who prided themselves on being able to whip up buckets of cheesy pasta dishes before a big meet? Should the dad in your life feel curious about improving their recipe portfolio, MasterClass’ series on hardy pasta and rice dishes is a great way to build up their confidence in the kitchen — although there’s a good chance they already have plenty.

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Keep things cool with Stanley’s beer stein

Lest we forget, Stanley makes more than Quenchers for dirty sodas. The company’s durable hunter green flasks and colorful beer steins deserve some extra TLC, especially because the latter will keep father’s ambrosia of choice (who knows, maybe it’s a dirty soda!) chilled for hours, whether he’s just chilling on the patio, is at the Big Game, or is chilling on a fishing boat.

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Soulful serving utensils

Qäsa Qäsa Carvers ethically sources all of its hand-carved pieces from the talented artisans of the Makonde tribe in Mtwara, Tanzania. No two sets will look quite alike, and the mixed assortment of blackwood utensils will look just as beautiful serving up a dense bean salad or spices as it will hanging from a pot rack.

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This coffret of worldly sausages

Olympia Provisions is the United States’ first-ever USDA-approved salumeria, and it has united 13 lucky sausages with flavor profiles from around the world (think, the cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg sausages of Alsace, France, and the bright citrus-kissed flavors of Greek loukanika) into this gift box for Dad.

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Because dads deserve their flowers, too

Leave it to Urban Stems, maker of my go-to Mother’s Day bouquet, the Unicorn, to assemble something festive for Father’s Day. This bouquet is aptly dubbed “The Men Love Flowers,” because it’s a peach rose- and golden marigold-forward bundle of optimism and energy that pops will appreciate.

Happy Father’s Day, champ.

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The deal gods have blessed us with discounts on solid Father’s Day gift ideas, plus plenty of personality glassware for summer aperitivos

In the words of someone’s dad, it’s go time. Summer is here and Father’s Day is just one extra-charred bratwurst away (so, a week-ish), which means there are all kinds of unfurling kitchen and food deals from brands designed to soup up the occasion. Granted, they orbit around the ooga-booga markers of “manliness,” such as flasks and bouquets of meat, but I’m eager for any opportunity to buy a knife sharpener at 30 percent off.

Last week, we cleared Goldbelly’s shelves of Chicago-style hot dog kits and other summertime treats, scooped up the best heritage cookware brand items from Nordstrom’s Half-Yearly sale, and browsed REI’s camping kitchen sale. This week, the outdoorsy vibe continues with deals from Yeti on durable, I-dropped-it-on-a-rock-by-the-creek barware sets; aesthetic designer glassware from SSENSE’s (always intriguing but right now up to 60 percent off) sale; and coffee-lover gifts from Bespoke Post’s Father’s Day sale section.

Slip into something more comfortable (this leather oven mitt, perchance?) and let’s shop.

Score 20% off barware sets at Yeti

Unsurprisingly, Yeti — the brand beloved for its classic, rugged coolers — makes durable, camping-ready barware sets. You can get up to 20 percent off barware sets for Father’s Day, including flasks, shot glasses, and cocktail shakers that are made out of 18/8 stainless steel, making them dishwasher-safe and resistant to corrosion.

For taking shots and flasks on the camping trip

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Take lowballs on-the-go

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Aesthetic kitchen items and drinkware are up to 60% off at SSENSE

SSENSE, home to apparel and accessories by rising and established designers such as Collina Strada, Rick Owens, and Chopova Lowena, is also the keeper of some incredible designer glassware, cookware, and kitchen items. There’s a 60 percent off sale live on the site right now, and the barware section is full of particularly personality-heavy finds, from amorphous hand-blown glasses reminiscent of Alexander Kirkeby (that cost a fraction of the price) to a set of tumblers that nod to vintage uranium glassware.

This chic water carafe is 52% off

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Just in time for summer, this substantial set of tumblers

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This palette-shaped cutting board is 20% off

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This set of hand-blown glasses for juice and spiked iced tea

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Get up to 40% off Father’s Day-worthy kitchen items at Bespoke Post

Father’s Day is June 15 this year, which means we’re in prime ordering time for pops. Bespoke Post, the man-things lifestyle store dedicated to all things Ron-Swanson-meets-Kinfolk, has rolled out deals of up to 40 percent off all kinds of great Father’s Day gift fodder, including a Zwilling knife sharpener that we’re also going to grab for ourselves.

A self-heating mug

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For the coffee-obsessed dad

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Zwilling’s knife sharpener is 30% off

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Let Amazon’s best deals this week bring Paris to you

Low and behold, a smorgasbord of sales on Amazon this week that understand that what you really need to be doing this summer: sitting on your patio in Bushwick with a robust charcuterie board at a bistro set that is the perfect budget dupe for the iconic, sage-colored park chairs you’ll find around Parisian parks (they’re by Fermob, and will otherwise cost you $145 per chair).

This charcuterie board bundle is 46% off

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These dupes for Parisian park bistro sets

Now go suck down an Aperol spritz.

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The best meals in London, from Michelin fine dining to beloved street food, according to a longtime restaurant editor

The story of the London food scene is one that includes dim sum, Sunday roasts, curries, pizza, sinasir, rarebits, banh mi, udon, pepper pot, sweetbread suya, and natural wine. Across cuisines, neighborhoods, and price points, all these dishes and drinks place London among the very best and most diverse places to eat in the world.

This guide, which I’ve been compiling and iterating on for the better part of the last decade, aims to reflect the best food and most important restaurants in the capital. As of summer 2025, London’s wine bars are coming into their own and old cafes are installing new chefs to make the most of abundant produce. In the west of the city, big money means big protein, big wines, and power lunches. In London, as ever, you can mostly have it all.

I want this map to help you navigate a city in which it is all too easy to eat poorly, but in which it is increasingly inexcusable to do so. It will showcase a mix of over three dozen restaurants, which have all done outstanding things in extraordinary times: emerging, surviving, thriving, and continuing to enrich the city and its food culture through more than half a decade of unprecedented change and tumult.

In this latest refresh, we’ve revamped our write-ups to include even more relevant info for diners, including a rough range of pricing for each destination — ranging from $ for quick, inexpensive meals with dishes largely under $10 USD (or the equivalent in pounds), to $$$$ for places where entrees exceed $30.

New to the map in June 2025: Leila’s, a long-time neighborhood cafe and deli in Shoreditch that has lately featured an accomplished new kitchen staff; Cafe Cecilia, a modern lunch classic with substance to match its style; and Dorian, the restaurant of the moment, melding classic French and modern British cuisines in west London.

Adam Coghlan is a writer and editor based in London. In 2017, he launched Eater London and ran the site until it ceased daily publication in 2023.

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I don’t love macaroons, but I figured the recipe on the back of the Guittard’s unsweetened cocoa powder canister could change that

I have a tendency to anthropomorphize macaroons: I imagine their pain at being constantly mistaken for their more glamorous relation, the macaron, and suffering eternally by comparison. Where the macaron is delicate and pretty and colorful, its shortcomings obscured by its French pedigree, the macaroon is more commonly regarded as a booby prize, something you eat when you have no other dessert choices during Passover. Made of ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, the macaroon often includes masses of shredded coconut, which gives it the appearance of a bruleed haystack or a tribble.

I’m not much of a macaroon person (or a macaron person, for that matter), but the recipe for chocolate macaroons on the back of Guittard’s canister of unsweetened red Dutch- process cocoa powder caught my attention a couple of weeks ago. Mostly because the recipe called for cocoa, almond flour, and confectioner’s sugar, three ingredients I was trying to use up in advance of a move, but also because I love Guittard products. Guittard’s red cocoa is very dark and very rich, one of the rare unsweetened cocoa powders you can almost eat on its own. (It yields excellent hot chocolate.) If anything could make a macaroon more enticing, I theorized, it was this cocoa.

The recipe is pretty much a grocery list plus the instructions to stir and bake, a true one-bowl experience. The most challenging thing about it is separating egg whites from yolks. The former get mixed with almond flour, cocoa, confectioner’s sugar, and sweetened shredded coconut, though I only had unsweetened coconut flakes and they worked well enough. The recipe calls for using a teaspoon to portion the macaroon batter onto a baking tray, so I did that, and then baked it for the recommended time, about 15 minutes.

The macaroons emerged from the oven looking very much as they did when they went in — baking doesn’t expand or puff or otherwise noticeably improve alter their appearance, so there’s no great miracle of transformation to behold. The finished macaroons are not, as the above photo attests, particularly attractive. But since I like a homely cookie — lumps and crags often equate with greater flavor — this didn’t deter me.

What did was the fact that this is still a macaroon, and even the addition of Guittard cocoa powder cannot change that. Macaroons are fine! But they’re not really a cookie you can lose yourself in; you’re always aware that you’re negotiating a mouthful of shredded coconut, which is personally not my thing. That said, these are not bad. They’re quite chocolatey and not too sweet, and because they’re small they’re easy to eat by the handful, should you want to do that. Stored properly, they last for several days at room temperature. They also travel well, and as a cyclist, I’m always looking for treats that meet that criteria.

Would I go out of my way to make these again, to track down a canister of Guittard cocoa powder for the purpose of consuming macaroons? No. But they do make a very good way to use up a bunch of ingredients, and sometimes, that’s a treat in and of itself.

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Most of these meals were cooked after a few martinis, which also means they’re very idiot-proof

At their best, delivery meal kits have led me to some relaxing Blue Apron-sponsored ASMR videos; at their worst, the very mention of a meal kit stirs up memories of my late great-grandmother’s dreary Meals on Wheels microwaveables. Sometime in the 2010s, however, meal kit delivery subscriptions went through a renaissance in the United States, and today the several-billion-dollar industry boasts options for all kinds of diets, household sizes, and, dare I say, aesthetics (Goop lords = Sakara subscriptions ahoy). As a passionate but often exhausted home cook who loves her cruciferous-vegetable-heavy meals, that’s why I wanted to give Purple Carrot’s plant-based meal kit subscription a try.

I signed up for about a work-week’s worth of dinner kits, which, for me, meant four meals, each with one or two servings. My hopes and dreams were as follows: Please include plenty of vegetables that don’t suck; please don’t take more than an hour to cook; and please don’t include an abundance of pre-made, sugar-filled sauces and salad dressings that Jacques Pepin would classify as dessert.

The following is a breakdown of my week eating à la Purple Carrot, from the good to the confusing to the downright surprising.

Francky Knapp

What is Purple Carrot? Isn’t it vegan or whatever?

Embarrassingly, it took me a moment to realize that Purple Carrot is a plant-based meal kit service. The main draw for me was simply that the platform’s meals, which range from ready-to-eat microwaveables to more elaborate tofu shawarma bowl meal kits, looked tasty regardless of dietary needs. (Now, post-trial-period, I’m actually convinced that even my meat-loving family members would be satisfied with this hearty, elote-style creamed corn as a main.)

Purple Carrot first popped off in 2014, which doesn’t seem that long ago, but was the same year that Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence came out and Solange kicked Jay-Z in that elevator (were we ever so young?). Purple Carrot was actually the first vegan meal kit subscription service in the United States, and it has been perfecting its model for over a decade and has partnered with the likes of Mark Bittman to develop many of its (now) hundreds of recipes. As Purple Carrot explains, “[we’ve] expanded from being solely a meal-kit company to offering holistic plant-based grocery needs and a constantly rotating chef-crafted menu to subscribers each week.”

Are the meals (actually) tasty?

I selected three meal kits, the kung pao cauliflower with garlicky cucumbers, jackfruit gyros with quick pickles and tzatziki, and barbecued mushrooms with crispy potatoes and spicy Brussels sprouts, and one pre-made meal for a night that I knew I would have zero time to cook, a burrito bowl with a handful of plantains.

In order to test the idiot-proof nature of these meals, I made my first dinner after coming home from spontaneous drinks with friends. I was tempted to order my dinner on Caviar, but when I glanced at the packet of DIY gyros in my fridge with its 20 minute cooking time label, I thought, I could do this. And I did, in fact, do it in under 20 minutes.

Here are the gyros I chose for my first grand Purple Carrot experiment:

Francky Knapp

Purple Carrot meals arrive in a cooler-packed cardboard box, with the different meals in their own individual bags (so you never get confused about what goes with what). I followed the recipe religiously, and while it was layered up with enough tomato and mint and quick pickles to feel refreshing and substantial, I started to realize the cleverness of Purple Carrot’s meals as less of a one-and-done approach to meal kits and more of an accessible blueprint to developing your own takes on its recipes. Even the recipe instructions come in individual, thick-paper folders with pictures, tips, and measurements so that you can store them for future use. Next time I make jackfruit gyros, for example, I made a note on the recipe to add in a bit of smoked paprika, avocado, and feta. As you build your meal kit plan online, keep in mind that you can accommodate different dietary needs such as high-protein, low-calorie, low sodium, gluten-free, and nut-free.

While I enjoyed the gyros and was impressed by how easy it was to make and customize them, the stars of the meal kit lineup were without a doubt the barbecue mushroom dish and kung pao cauliflower, both of which had sauces worth licking the bowl for, and surprised me by showing me that I can actually enjoy mushrooms, which I had previously semi-sworn off after eating far too many in my 15 years as a vegetarian.

Francky Knapp

The ready-to-eat burrito bowl was a little too quinoa-forward for my taste, and gave me a jumpscare back to the kale-and-quinoa-obsessed years of health food yore, but I zhuzhed it with some avocado, lime, and cilantro.

Francky Knapp

My only gripe with my meal kit plan was the portion size, which was entirely decent for me but always left my partner, a person who actually works out and needs more calories than I do, craving a little more to munch. But I guess that’s also why Purple Carrot has its grocery section, which is filled with all kinds of little snacks and drinks. Still, no one likes doing a fair amount of meal prep, easy or laborious, and being hungry after your meal.

How much does all of this cost? Is it cheaper than eating out?

At about $11 per serving, Purple Carrot is definitely cheaper than eating out, but is probably more expensive than if I were to go out and buy my own ingredients à la carte — of course, that may vary depending on grocery prices in your region. But that isn’t factoring in how much the meal kits save me time- and bandwidth-wise; the ingredients I received in my box were all fresh and unbruised, the spice mixes and oils come pre-measured, and everything can be whipped up in under an hour (and often under 30 minutes). It’s easy to get excited about eating penne pesto alla trapanese after a long work day, but less easy to hype myself up to schlep to the grocery store on the subway only to return home to stand over a stove for another hour to make it. That’s the bandwidth factor, and one that I don’t take lightly. (It’s worth noting that you can cancel your subscription at any time without penalty, as long as you do so the Tuesday before your next scheduled delivery, meaning that it’s easy to accommodate dinner plans or skip a week for whatever reason.)

Francky Knapp

I would also argue that Purple Carrot makes for a much more cost-effective way to dabble in different cuisines without requiring me, for example, to spend $12 on a jar of ras el hanout that I’m just not going to use very often. If anything, Purple Carrot ended up giving me several blueprints for adapting some of its signature meals in the future — but more on that in the next section.

Is Purple Carrot worth it?

With some caveats, Purple Carrot restored not only my faith in delivery meal kits, but reminded me of why I love plant-based eating so much. I’m not going to go on a crusade about the benefits of eating plant-based meals (plenty of studies and medical centers can do that for me) but I always cleaned the plates of my Purple Carrot dinners feeling satiated and refreshed — lighter than I feel after eating a big plate of meat, for sure (a common sentiment reported by vegetarians). As someone who recently started eating meat again, I have been sobrassada-ing too close to the sun and, admittedly, missing that feeling of feeling satisfied without feeling heavy after eating a large portion of meat As a busy and tired person, I have also hated watching my inventiveness in the kitchen take a backseat to other tasks in my life, a New York City cliché if ever there was one, although I don’t yet store my shoes in my oven. Purple Carrot not only kept me fed, but genuinely interested in the flavors and spices I was about to explore.

If I had the budget to spend about $100 a week on the service, I would go for it without question. As it stands, I can see myself doing the occasional splurge for a week of Purple Carrot meals during a period that I know I’ll be booked and busy. I would also suggest giving a subscription to a friend or family member who just graduated, went vegetarian or vegan, or moved into their first place, because these meal kits really do moonlight as recipe cards designed for personalization.

Sign up for Purple Carrot (or just browse its menu) here.

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Whether you’ve been invited to a dinner party or to stay the week at a Joshua Tree compound, your host deserves a token of appreciation — and here are 36 impeccable ideas

Dear guest of someone else’s home: I hope you didn’t show up empty-handed. Bringing a host or hostess gift isn’t just chic; it’s good manners!

Now, different situations (and different hosts or hostesses) call for different gifts, from earnest to cheeky, casual to Very Special. A three-day weekend at someone’s recently renovated Joshua Tree compound merits something a little more premeditated than a $20 bottle of wine; for an intimate evening of takeout, couch rotting, and watching The Rehearsal finale, perhaps a box of cute matches will do the trick.

Here’s the thing: Everyone wants to go to a party — well, maybe not those Gen Z professional bed-rotters on TikToks who just want to remain horizontal and scroll, but most of us — yet being a host can be burdensome. I speak from experience as someone who throws at least two relatively decadent gatherings a year; it’s expensive and exhausting, although I’d argue that it’s (almost) always worth it, even if a recycled glass Champagne flute or a stolen pint glass from The Commodore inevitably gets shattered on the floor every time… simply a sacrifice to the party gods.

If you’ve been invited to a party, detach your eyeballs from the infinite scroll and go make some memories! Don’t just huff and puff about being late, missing all the mini lobster rolls, or having to stay longer than you’d like to avoid an exorbitant Uber fee; devote a little thought to how your lovely friend or family member put in an undoubtedly Herculean amount of effort (and likely quite a bit of money) to ensure that you, fabulous guest, have a damn good time or else. They built a dirty martini fountain; they made cucumber tea sandwiches; they wiped countertops and bought extra seltzer, all in the name of your amusement and pleasure.

Maybe this person isn’t just hosting you in their home for a few hours, but as an overnight guest for a night or three (or longer — maybe you’re staying with someone for two months while your divorce proceedings get sorted, for instance). In these contexts, when you might unwind on their premises, disrupt their daily routine, and stroll their grounds (even if their “grounds” are just 400 square feet in Greenpoint), please take a minute to recognize: wow, what a lovely experience this friend has offered you! You not only evaded the gazillion dollars spent on a hotel or Airbnb, but you probably drank all of their fourth-wave coffee and used all their two-ply toilet paper. You’re enjoying their hospitality, and you should show some appreciation.

What makes a great host or hostess gift? Something that feels a little luxe, but not enough to embarrass the recipient; think a lovely little indulgence that you feel like you’d need an excuse to buy for yourself. Price doesn’t always dictate value — such an object can be acquired for less than 10 bucks. It’s the thought that counts, and you want to be clever. Read on for the best host and hostess gifts.

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A hinoki-scented candle

It’s no secret that candles make great gifts. They smell good, they establish an elevated ambiance, and they let you build a very tiny little fire in your home. Fun! But as with any heavily fragranced product, tastes diverge and preferences differ as to what smells “great.” One relatively safe bet: the scent of hinoki, a Japanese cypress tree with a sophisticated, woody, calming aroma. While many hinoki-scented candles are out there, I’m personally a fan of Boy Smells’ Hinoki Fantôme. It’s a very sexy gender-agnostic scent that’s both mysterious and inviting, with notes of cardamom, pear, and oakmoss, like a quiet walk through a forest.

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Nice olives (for snacking or martinis)

While there’s a case to be made that cheap olives make the best dirty martinis, they do not make the best gifts. A $30 jar of Williams Sonoma olives may read quiet luxury, but in terms of flavor and snackability, I’m partial to Filthy’s olives, these ones stuffed with creamy blue cheese. (FWIW, my friend bartends at an excellent cocktail bar in Hollywood and he says the brand’s brine makes the perfect dirty martinis.)

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Luxardo cherries

Speaking of small, round things that are intended to be the finishing touch on a cocktail but which you will want to eat straight out of the jar, one absolutely must mention Luxardo cherries. You’ve probably seen them on the shelves of high-end cocktail bars, but if you’re unfamiliar, these are not just any old maraschino cherries, like the bright red ones that came in your childhood Shirley Temples; they’re made with marasca cherries and possess a romantic, sophisticated, almost marzipan-like flavor and a superior texture, and come swimming in a syrup made only of cherry juice and sugar — no weird chemicals or artificial colors. Luxardo is an Italian-run family company that’s been in business since 1821, and it takes its cherry products very seriously, specializing exclusively in maraschino liqueur and these fabulous cherries. Plus, the label is gorgeous.

My uncle, who is an architect with excellent taste in restaurants and can quote every single film ever shown on Turner Classic Movies, turned me onto these when I was in my 20s, when I watched him frantically search for them at multiple gourmet food stores in Manhattan as he verbally emphasized that they are the only cocktail cherries that matter.

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Embroidered cocktail napkins

In fact, while we’re on the topic of bettering a home bartending experience, I’d like to revive appreciation for the embroidered cocktail napkin — a staple of Mad Men times that has been unfortunately subjugated in popularity by stupid millennial graphic coasters. May I never receive a chevron-patterned foam coaster again, and let’s imagine the joy one would experience to instead be handed, along with their spritz, a soft linen napkin embroidered with an elegant crane or pelican.

If you’re into thrifting, the designs of cocktail napkins from the 50s and 60s suggest that maybe people really were partying harder back then.

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…Don’t sleep on cocktail picks, either

Cocktail picks are the perfect gift for toting to a party, since they easily fit in a pocket or purse and can immediately be enjoyed with a garnished drink or to pick up and bite into one of those blue-cheese-stuffed olives. I love all of Joanna Buchanan’s cocktail picks (this $200 zodiac set is to die for, truly, though certainly not cheap), but to get out of dream world and back into reality, this $25 stainless steel set from West Elm is surprisingly sexy.

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A mug that reminds me of Princess Diana

Practical and wholesome, a great mug will become a kitchen-cabinet staple. When I remodeled my kitchen a few years back, my contractor gave me a Williams Sonoma mug with my initials on it as a gift once the project was completed. I now use it all the time, and when I do, I think of him and his thoughtfulness while I drink my milky Scottish breakfast tea. Of course, the number of great mugs out there is infinite, making it hard to decide which one your host deserves. For no particular reason at all other than it’s very cute and it’s big — and I love a big, cute mug — I’m infatuated with this Nicholas Mosse sheep mug from store-full-of-adorable-things The Six Bells. It kind of reminds me of that sheep sweater that Princess Diana infamously wore, is hand-painted in Ireland, and its price is in that perfect sweet spot under $50.

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An ashtray that doubles as a snack receptacle

Similar sentiment, slightly edgier feel: a cool ashtray remains highly useful for non-smokers, too, serving as a home for keys, matchbooks, or those really good sesame cashews from Trader Joe’s.

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A chef-approved hand wash that leaves your hands smelling fresh

We caught a tip recently that chefs are going wild for Naomi, a new brand of high-end hand wash that is specifically formulated to help eliminate cooking odors. (As garlic-lovers, this definitely appeals.) Our shopping team recently took the bergamot- and black-pepper-scented After-Cooking Hand Scrub for a spin and it’s absolutely phenomenal, getting the job done in spades and leaving behind an appealing fragrance on par with the historical king of status hand soaps, Aesop. Plus, great packaging.

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Impressive olive oil

One of the problems with gifting a bottle of wine is that as soon as it’s opened, it needs to be consumed within a few days, and therefore will quickly be forgotten. But if you hand someone a bottle of flashy olive oil, it will live on their counter or in their pantry for months, reminding them over and over again of your considerate gesture and your good taste. Flamingo Estate, home to many, many gifts that are so nice you could confidently give them to Gwyneth Paltrow herself, makes our current favorite fancy-schmancy olive oil, announcing on the bottle itself that its produced with olives from 150-year-old trees. This is the kind of stuff that rich housewives in the Silverlake hills try to manifest in yoga class.

While I haven’t tried it myself, I’ve also symbolically (and aesthetically — look at that tin) taken to this beautiful Palestinian-made olive oil, Ya Albi, after recently editing a piece about the region’s new generation of olive oil makers.

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A couple of chic cocktail or wine glasses

Yes, we are currently in a renaissance of incredible glassware; I doubt that I need to tell you that, or to remind you that everyone could use another set of nice glasses to bring out when they have company. Last Christmas, I got my sister this set of charming, geometric stemless cocktail glasses by the glass wizard Sophie Lou Jacobsen. They’re unfortunately sold out now, but in the same spirit, these Anthropologie stemless martini glasses are very similar and reasonably priced, and I’m also blown away by these Serax glasses with a rounded, bubbly foot.

As far as wine glasses go, the Eater staff is currently obsessed with short, chonky glasses — they feel more comfortable to wave around while you tell a fascinating story, compared to the nerve-wracking thin-stemmed ones.

No need to buy a whole set — it’s a little oppressive to give someone who’s not a family member or romantic partner something that takes up a lot of cabinet space. Two will do! Three is awkward and four is too many.

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A vase that looks like a bunch of garlic

I mean… just look at it. A real conversation piece. The tomato one is nice, too.

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Real-deal Russ & Daughters babka

Not all of us live within close proximity of a proper Jewish deli that can offer a revelatory doughy, cinnamony babka experience. With that in mind, who wouldn’t (besides the gluten-free among us) be delighted to receive a sweet, decadent duo of babkas — one classic, one chocolaty — from famed New York deli Russ & Daughters?

Pro tip: Order this gift set from Goldbelly ahead of time and schedule the delivery date to align with your arrival or the day of the party. That way you can not only arrive hands-free, but hopefully be offered a slice yourself. Two birds, one stone.

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Flaky, fancy salt

In the great tradition of things we all want to have around but are sometimes too cheap to buy for ourselves, let us consider fancy salt. A box (or bucket) of Maldon is always appreciated, of course, but showing up with Jacobsen Salt’s aesthetic, transportable set of infused salts just feels a little more gift-y.

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Handsome serving spoons (or better yet, salad claws)

Our editorial director Lesley Suter makes a strong case that serving spoons are the ultimate host gift, and it just makes you think: When you set down a beautifully assembled Caprese salad or tray of tater tot casserole, isn’t it nice to have some diva’d out utensils with which to serve it? Her picks in this persuasive piece are all top-tier, but right now I’m really into the short-handled (or even handle-free) claw-like ones, like this wood set from Williams Sonoma or the kind-of-nutso stoneware set below that’s probably quite heavy but sure looks swish. Still, they’re easier to maneuver than two long-handled spoons and a bit easier to store, too.

If your event is, like, tomorrow, this surprisingly attractive set of salad tongs is available in three colors, can be overnighted via Amazon, and is expensive-looking considering its attainable $30 price tag.

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A teeny little frying pan

It’s unrealistic to buy a host or hostess an entire cookware set, no matter how fabulous their party or home is. But you know what makes a surprisingly clever gift? A small skillet for when you’re in the mood for a cute fried egg or two or you want to quickly put together a little Béarnaise sauce for your steak. We’re partial — naturally — the one from our collab with Heritage Steel; it’s American-made with 5-ply stainless steel and is easy to clean and care for. Sometimes littler is better!

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A butter curler

You know when you take a stick of butter out of the fridge, hoping to spread it all over your beautiful slice of Out of Thin Air sesame gochujang sourdough, and instead it’s hard and it’s going to tear up the surface of your bread and you’re SAD? No longer a problem once you get your hands on one of these cleverly designed butter spreader knives, which you can glide over the top of your butter hunk to achieve a spreadable consistency instantly. A bit of a stocking-stuffer type gadget, but it’s currently June, and we still think everyone should have one.

Design-forward butter dishes are also having a major moment right now — more on that here.

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The Bentley of cutting boards

Cutting boards are, again, one of those things you could always use more of, especially from a chef-fave brand like Boos. We’ve gone on and on about how Boos blocks are the luxury vroom-vrooms of cutting boards, thanks to their high-quality wood and durable construction.

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A vintage Christian Lacroix plate

Don’t ask me how I stumbled across this discovery, because it’s a very long and convoluted story, but it has come to my attention that the French designer Christian Lacroix — in addition to producing beautiful and theatrical clothing — has also made some really exquisite tableware and, more specifically, plates. Prices vary wildly on secondhand sites such as eBay, but if you look strategically you can get a trompe l’oeil plate with his signature embellished cross on it for under $50 — with the original box, might I add. The butterfly collection is nice, too.

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A box of matches worthy of display

Matches come in handy for many reasons; lighting candles, of course; sparking up a slim, cheeky joint; or keeping in your bathroom for houseguests in search of discretion about their activities. Yes, you could grab a matchbox for free at your favorite dive bar, but having a box of illustrated Diptyque matches sitting next to your soap dish is just a quiet flex. I was devastated to find out that all of Diptyque’s scented matches are currently sold out, but thankfully, Hibi’s beloved Japanese incense matches are currently in stock a few different places online. An eight-pack (below) will probably do the trick for a casual dinner party gift, but a 30-pack will keep your host’s home in a state of zen for weeks or months.

I also genuinely love the gold-foiled, retro-hippie-chic look of classic Incense Matches, and I find the paper incense from Optatum to be so stylish and decorous, it looks like it belongs next to the sink of a bathroom in Versailles.

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The perfect candle for living on a kitchen countertop

Diptyque, while foolish not to immediately restock its scented matches, also makes a basil-scented odor-removing candle. Yes, it is $75, but according to the brand, it’s “based on a technology that targets and eliminates the molecules responsible for unpleasant odors. It replaces them with green and aromatic combinations of basil, mint, and tomato leaf.” It’s $75, but there’s a somewhat convincing case here that it could quickly become a high-end kitchen essential.

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Cookies from an ‘it’ bakery

Eater has accurately referred to Levain as New York City’s most popular bakery, although it now has locations in multiple cities, all of which are very busy. I’m going to be totally honest with you: I do not love the cookies from Levain. I’m a flat, chewy, doughy cookie girl and I don’t like nuts in my cookies, and Levain’s cookies are tall, thick, gooey, and very nut-positive. But I can tell you this with confidence: People go absolutely feral for these cookies. The bakery’s closest location to me, in LA’s Larchmont neighborhood, is inundated with cookie-seekers at all hours of the day, with lines snaking down the block. I seem to be the only person in the world that simply doesn’t vibe that hard with Levain’s cookie style, so I can still advise that they will make a well-loved, quickly devoured gift. And honestly, this photo is borderline pornographic and makes me “get it.”

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A bottle of special-occasion tequila

If you’re reading this article, you’ve decided to go above and beyond the $20-wine-picked-up-at-the-corner-store-on-the-way route, and I personally commend you for that, since frankly, that’s what I do 75% of the time I go into an “I can’t show up empty-handed” panic. But while you’re here, if you’re still thinking, but what about booze?, expand your horizons beyond the compulsory pêt-nat or Sancerre and step it up by bringing a bottle of really good tequila. Eater’s guide to the best tequila is comprehensive and might just leave you even less decisive, since they all sound amazing, so I’ll narrow it down to two options for you.

If you’re looking to spend less than $100, go with Siembra Valles reposado. “But I don’t like reposado,” you might say, traumatized by long, barely recallable nights with Mr. Cuervo in college. Fear not — this is a totally different experience. Made by maestro tequilero Don Salvador Rosales Briseño, this tequila has an almost vanilla-like flavor, and is aged in proprietary Missouri white oak barrels. It’s also paler than many reposado tequilas you’ll see on shelves, because it’s only aged for three months, giving it a more blanco-like taste with hints of mint and citrus fruit.

If you are blessed with ample expendable income and/or are hoping to impress the unimpressible, show up with a bottle of Rey Sol Extra Añejo. It’s considered one of the finest tequilas available — for real! — falling into a special category reserved for those spirits aged a minimum of five years in carefully constructed oak barrels. Its aroma is known for offering rich notes of vanilla, caramel, and wood, and is on par with the most storied, world-famous whiskies in terms of quality and smoothness. Plus, that bottle — you’ll definitely want to keep it long after you’ve taken the last sip.

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You can trust me, wholeheartedly, on all of the ideas above, and I’ll trust that you won’t break another one of my Champagne glasses.

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