Jason Kessler
Jason Kessler is a food and travel writer based in Los Angeles. In addition to The Nitpicker column online for Bon Appetit, he is a frequent contributor to Food Republic, Sunset Magazine, Organic Spa and many other publications. As a TV writer, he's written for NBC's The Office, True Jackson VP on Nickelodeon, and The MTV Movie Awards.
Restaurants
Ranking the Magical Food & Butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Frozen butterbeer > regular butterbeer.
The Nitpicker's Perfect Restaurant
The Nitpicker's Perfect Restaurant: a curmudgeon's utopia where everything runs smoothly and there's nothing to complain about.
The Nitpicker Is Sick of Perfectly Ripe, In-Season Tomatoes!
Jason Kessler, the Nitpicker, feels weighed down by the responsibility of eating the season's best tomatoes. Whatever will he do?
Cooking
The Nitpicker Is Sick of Complaining About Food (But Only for This Week)
As the Nitpicker column turns three years old, Jason Kessler takes a moment to appreciate all the things he loves about eating
Culture
Patrick Stewart Eats New Foods on a Cross-Country American Road Trip
The "Star Trek" actor ate pizza for the first time last week. Now he's going on a voyage of culinary discovery across America (sort of). What will he try next?
Restaurants
After Cronuts, What Will Be the Next Great Hybrid Food?
Following the success of the croissant-doughnut hybrid, we've developed the next great food mashups. Porckles, anyone?
Cooking
How the Nitpicker Copes With the Restaurant Chego Moving Away
Poor Nitpicker: His beloved Korean rice-bowl joint, Chego, has moved to a new neighborhood. What's a lazy takeout addict to do?
Culture
What Kind of Food Will IBM's Chef-Computer Cook?
IBM is developing an artificial-intelligence chef computer. Here's what you might be served at its restaurant
Cooking
The Nitpicker Is Sick of Artichokes
Is there a more user-unfriendly vegetable out there? And why, if they're such a pain to eat, does the Nitpicker keep eating them?
Cooking
Mexican-Chinese Food
Mexican and Chinese food have been intermingling for hundreds of years, but this new cuisine (don't call it fusion) is leaping forward in L.A.
Recipes
The Nitpicker Is Sick of the Restaurant Review Star System
What's the difference between a two-star Michelin restaurant and a New York Times three-star? Who knows anymore? Not the Nitpicker
Cooking
The Nitpicker
Is there any greater miracle than ordering food to your door? And is there any greater tragedy than when it doesn't show up on time?
Culture
Rene Redzepi and David Chang on How They Would Cook Kangaroo
When we ran into the Momofuku chef and Noma's Rene Redzepi in Australia, we had one question: How would you cook kangaroo?
Cooking
I'm Sick of Thanksgiving
The dry turkey, the insufferable relatives, the leftovers. (Oy, the leftovers.) Can't we skip it this year (and next)?
Culture
Fast-Food Movie Menu Tie-Ins We'd Like To See
Denny's has The Hobbit, but here's the fast-food movie tie-ins we'd like to see
Culture
The Unspoken Rules of Napa Valley Wine Tasting
Or, "What I Learned Too Late to Enjoy My Free Trip to Napa"
I'm Sick of Beets
Especially when paired with goat cheese
I'm Sick of Candy Canes
It's time to get rid of this sticky excuse for a Christmas treat
I'm Sick of Truffle Oil
It's the Designer Imposter of the culinary world.
promotions
Porkapalooza! Scenes from this Weekend's Cochon All-Stars
There is no greater celebration of the porcine muse than Cochon 555, a traveling snout-to-tail cooking competition in its third season.