Devra Ferst
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Food + travel writer. new yorker. cheese lover. babka aficionado. Find me at devra [at] devraferst [dot] com
Articles by Devra Ferst
23 Thanksgiving Breads, Rolls, Biscuits, and Breakfast Buns
Pies get most of the Thanksgiving baking glory. But these Thanksgiving bread recipes make a strong case for saving some oven space for buttery dinner rolls, flaky biscuits, and midnight-sandwich-ready loaves. Think golden sweet potato buns soft enough to nap on, buttermilk cornbread to eat with butter or bake into dressing, and tender sweet loaves to nibble on Thanksgiving morning. Several recipes have make-ahead options, too. Um. Could you pass the butter. Jump ahead AccordionItemContainerButton
Humm, From Eleven Madison Park Chef Daniel Humm, Debuts in the West Village
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close Photo by Jovani Demetrie, courtesy of Humm The Rundown New York By Devra Ferst, a Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and other publications. HUMM 5 · New American · $$$ West Village Book Now Published: Oct. 6, 2026 Chef Daniel Humm is arguably one of the most established names in New York’s restaurant scene.
31 Pasta Recipes to Make This Fall
With sweet butternut squash and sturdy kale, this pasta recipe is built for sweater weather. Pecan-panko breadcrumbs add welcome crunch. See recipe. (Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio) Few pasta recipes do more with less. Pecorino, Parmesan, black pepper, butter, and pasta water come together in a glossy sauce that proves simplicity can be luxurious. See recipe.
James Caputo, Carroll Gardens Royalty, Gets Into the Bagel Game
When the 122-year-old Caputo’s Bake Shop closed this spring, it sent a thunderclap through Carroll Gardens and the New York food world. Loyal customers laid flowers outside, and many more mourned the loss of the bakery and its iconic lard-laced loaves with nuggets of pork and provolone. “Hurts knowing I’ll never taste their lard bread again,” one longtime fan posted on Reddit. Now, that lard bread is rising once more, albeit in bagel form.
Inside New York’s Tiny Restaurant Kitchens
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close Chef Koji Toyoda in the tiny kitchen at Odo East Village. Photo by Aaron Richter for Resy Resy Features New York By Devra Ferst, a food and cookbook writer who has contributed to Bon Appétit, Eater, and many other publications, and Aaron Richter, a photographer working between New York and Philadelphia.
Hommali Is a Love Letter to Thailand in the West Village
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close The dining room. Photo courtesy of Hommali The Rundown New York By Devra Ferst, a Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and other publications. Published: Aug. 31, 2026 The West Village’s newest Thai restaurant, Hommali, is a deeply personal project for a trio of Bangkok natives.
29 Easy Chicken Breast Recipes for Fall
Dried figs, balsamic and red wine vinegars, shallots, thyme, and butter simmer into a rich, sticky sauce, perfect for mashed potatoes or crusty bread, in this quick chicken breast dinner made for fall. See recipe.
With Zig Zag Oyster Bar, the Cervo’s Team Brings Their Seafood Magic to Brooklyn
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close Photo by Max Flatow, courtesy of Zig Zag Oyster Bar The Rundown New York By Devra Ferst, a Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and other publications.
How to Reduce a Sauce So It Actually Thickens Original
The best restaurant sauces can tempt even the most prim and proper of us to lift up our plates and lick them clean. But you can make a sauce just as luscious at home with pan drippings or leftover braising liquid—all it takes is a bit of time, technique, and butter. For a pan sauce, you only need 5–15 minutes, while sauce made with braising liquid might take closer to 15–30 minutes to reduce down to the perfect viscosity.
‘The Frog Commissary Cookbook’ remains a Philadelphia icon over 40 years after its debut
Chef Justin Bacharach hadn’t read up on the history of 1710 Sansom St. before he opened dancerobot there in September. He knew it was previously a bottle shop with a deli, but was otherwise too busy to give it much thought. That changed just before opening night, when Bacharach’s business partner, chef Jesse Ito, brought in a copy of The Frog Commissary Cookbook.
Muje From Jungsik Yim Journeys All Across Asia for Inspiration
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close Dessert features a miniature representation of Singapore’s famed Merlion. Photo by Alexander Stein, courtesy of Muje The Rundown New York By Devra Ferst, a Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and other publications. Published: July 8, 2026 In early May, chef Jungsik Yim quietly closed Sea by Jungsik, his two-year-old Southeast Asian restaurant near Penn Station.
How to Make Stale Bread Fresh Again
If you've ever let a loaf of bread sit on the counter a little too long, you know the disappointment of discovering it's past its prime. But before you toss that stale loaf, try this simple trick. With a little water and a few minutes in the oven, you can often revive stale bread, restoring a crisp exterior and softer interior. Bad bread: When to toss it, when to save it Bread with visible mold is beyond repair: compost it and move on.
The Gertie Team Expands to Carroll Gardens with Trudie’s Tavern
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close Photo by Liz Clayman, courtesy of Trudie’s Tavern The Rundown New York By Devra Ferst, a Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and other publications. Published: June 17, 2026 In the spring of 2025, restaurateur Nate Adler was on vacation in Los Angeles and about to go on a run when his phone rang. “When your lawyer calls you, you kind of have to pick up,” says Adler.
32 Essential Ingredients For Korean Cooking
Korean cuisine is known for its celebration of fermented foods, umami-packed seaweeds and dried fish, fragrant broths, and its abundance of vegetables, often served as side dishes or banchan. Some of the country's most popular or well-known dishes have also come out of resourcefulness, like army stew or budae jjigae.
Everything You Need to Know About Cote 550 and Bar Chimera
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close Bar Chimera and Cote 550 officially opened on April 18. Photo by Gary He, courtesy of Bar Chimera The Rundown New York By Devra Ferst, a Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and other publications.
How to Cook Burgers on a Stove Original
Cooking burgers on the stove is one of the fastest ways to get a deeply browned, juicy burger any time of year—and without firing up a grill. Most stovetop burgers take 5 to 10 minutes total, depending on thickness and how you like your meat cooked. A standard 5-oz. beef patty usually needs about 5 minutes on the first side over medium-high heat. For a rare patty, simply flip the burger to seal the second side, then remove it from the heat.
31 Party-Ready Recipes for the Kentucky Derby
These Kentucky Derby party recipes bring the spirit of Churchill Downs to your house. While anything Southern goes on race day, we like to opt for party foods and appetizers that guests can pick up with their fingers—think buttery roasted pecans, deviled eggs, and shrimp salad on toast.
31 Party-Ready Recipes for the Kentucky Derby
Macaroni and cheese isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of recipe, but this version might just be the Platonic ideal. American and sharp cheddar cheeses make a velvety, luscious base, while Fontina ensures stretch in every serving. Best of all, there’s no need to fuss with a roux for this easy baked mac. See recipe. Nashville native Vivek Surti’s fruit tea is intentionally not too boozy (you can even leave the bourbon out).
Philly’s Double Knot Sails North to New York City
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close Photo courtesy of Double Knot Midtown The Rundown New York By Devra Ferst, a Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and other publications.
23 Radish Recipes We’re Loving Right Now
Radishes don’t always get the treatment they deserve. Crisp, peppery, and refreshing when raw—or mellow, earthy, and sweet when cooked—in the right hands, they can be the star of a dish. Jump ahead Fresh & crunchy salads Breakfast & brunch Mains & cooked sides Pickles, appetizers & condiments We’ve rounded up our favorite radish recipes—they’re especially good when fresh spring radishes start popping up at the farmers market (don’t sleep on radish greens, either!).
Ambassadors Clubhouse Crosses the Pond for Its New York Debut — Resy | Right This Way
Discover restaurants to love. Close Close Ambassadors Clubhouse opens on Feb. 11. Photo by Evan Sung, courtesy of Ambassadors Clubhouse New York The Rundown New York By Devra Ferst, a Brooklyn-based food writer and cookbook author who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and other publications. Published: Feb.
Five Dishes to Order at Brooklyn’s White-Hot Pizzeria Il Leone — Resy | Right This Way
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15 Types of Greens and How to Cook Each One
In the past few decades, the types of greens available at American supermarkets and farmers markets have proliferated. Where there was once simply spinach and collards, there’s now peppery arugula, Swiss chard with rainbow-hued ribs, and crunchy bok choy. While many of the leafy vegetables on this list can be eaten raw, most really shine when cooked.
Golden Ratio Is a Truly ‘Local’ Cocktail Bar for Everyone — Resy | Right This Way
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41 Hanukkah Recipes to Celebrate the Festival of Lights
Many traditional Hanukkah foods, like shallow-fried potato latkes and deep-fried jelly doughnuts, hinge on oil. Also called the Festival of Lights, the Jewish holiday commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. According to the story, there was only enough oil to fuel the menorah for one night, but somehow, someway, it lasted for eight. Today’s tradition of lighting candles for eight consecutive evenings and, yes, enjoying lots of crispy fried foods, honors that magical flame.
41 Hanukkah Recipes to Celebrate the Festival of Lights
The oil that miraculously burned night after night in the Hanukkah story was olive oil. The same liquid gold keeps this Hanukkah recipe moist. One commenter declared: “This is the best dessert I have ever made, I can’t stress enough how much everyone loves it—I could eat the entire cake.” See recipe.
This New Philly Bakery Is Committing to 20 Different Pastries a Day
In the early aughts, Fork Etc. cafe functioned as much more than a gourmet market and offshoot of next-door Philly institution Fork. Ellen Yin and her High Street Hospitality team hosted a book event there with Mark Bittman during his How to Cook Everything series craze, along with Easter egg painting get-togethers, and communal four-course dinners every week when you never knew who you’d sit next to.
Allergen-Free Bub’s Bakery From Celebrated Baker Melissa Weller Has Opened in Noho
Just north of the Puck building where Soho becomes Noho, sits a row of postage-sized shops so petite, you can walk in on Lafayette Street and out on Mulberry Street seconds later. This Thursday, those shops will be joined by Bub’s Bakery (325 Lafayette Street) the allergen-free spot from James Beard-nominated baker, Melissa Weller, and the team behind Fish Cheeks.
15 Types of Squash and How to Cook Them
Pumpkins may steal the show at Halloween, but many other types of squash can add a splash of color to your cold-weather meals. Sweeter and firmer than zucchini and other summer squash, autumn and winter varieties work well in various dishes, from soups and stews to salads, casseroles, and desserts (think: maple butternut cake). Though the varieties below are often grouped into a category of “winter squash,” the name is somewhat misleading.
15 Types of Squash and How to Cook Them
This mildly flavored squash is named for its acornlike shape and can be found in most grocery stores across the United States. There are several subvarieties, including white acorns, gold acorns with yellow or orange skin, and carnival acorns, which have an exterior that resembles a Jackson Pollock canvas in vibrant shades of green, orange, and yellow. The most common acorn squash are those with dark green skins.
How to Spatchcock a Chicken, Step-by-Step
Save Story Save this story Save Story Save this story Spatchcocking can sound vaguely risque, but it simply means to butterfly a whole bird so that it lies flat. Learning how to spatchcock a chicken ranks among the most essential cooking skills. It’s a technique that comes in handy whether you’re roasting a chicken (or two) on Sunday for the week ahead or grilling one for a big summer cookout. Plus, chicken isn’t the only bird that takes well to spatchcocking.
The Libertine Team Leans Into Luxury With Chateau Royale — Resy | Right This Way
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A Cambodian Pop-Up Finds a Home in Brooklyn — Resy | Right This Way
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How to Cook Burgers on a Stove
Cooking burgers on the stove is one of the fastest ways to get a deeply browned, juicy burger any time of year—and without firing up a grill. Most stovetop burgers take 5 to 10 minutes total, depending on thickness and how you like your meat cooked. A standard 5-oz. beef patty usually needs about 5 minutes on the first side over medium-high heat. For a rare patty, simply flip the burger to seal the second side, then remove it from the heat.
The Four Horsemen Team Gallops Across Grand Street With I Cavallini — Resy | Right This Way
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17 Types of Apples for Cooking, Baking, Lunchboxes, and More Original
All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. There’s nothing quite like a sweet, tart, crisp, and juicy apple. If you include their juice, apples are the most widely available fruit in the US, nudging past oranges and bananas.
28 best restaurants in New York City, from beloved classics to fearless newcomers
The best restaurants in New York City run all the gamuts: there's the fine dining and the free-wheeling; the extravagantly expensive and the markedly less so (although very little is downright cheap in this city). We have just about every type of cuisine, presented both traditionally and in multiplying fusions that take the dining experience every which way.
15 Types of Onions and How to Use Each One
All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of onions. But, with so many different types of onions all over the world, it can be challenging to know which varieties are best suited for which purpose.
15 Types of Onions and How to Use Each One
Garlic is arguably the most pungent member of the allium family. Grown in bulbs with as few as six and up to over two dozen cloves, its powerful scent is almost undetectable until the cloves are sliced, smashed, pushed through a press, or cooked. It’s sold as whole, peeled cloves, pre-sliced, minced in a jar, and in small packets in the freezer aisle. We prefer whole heads with tight clusters that feel heavy for their size (lighter bulbs indicate the cloves have dried out).
15 Types of Onions and How to Use Each One
1 / 15 Chives Long and verdant, chives resemble large blades of grass. This onion relative is more delicate and has a mild flavor profile compared to bulbous varieties. In cooking, chives are often treated like soft herbs, and like basil or dill, perish easily, so use them quickly. Keep in mind that garlic chives, often sold with their blossoms at Asian supermarkets, are similar in use but a different allium with a heartier flavor.
Joan Nathan’s Guide to Essential Jewish Cookbooks
By Devra Ferst Updated on May 7, 2025 Glance at the cookbooks in most Jewish American households and you will probably spot at least one by Joan Nathan. It may be the white and golden jacket of her Jewish Holiday Cookbook, a matzo meal-dusted copy of her seminal Jewish Cooking in America, or her newest, My Life in Recipes, which came out in spring 2024 and includes recipes as diverse as mahammar—a Syrian pepper, pomegranate, and walnut dip—and her platonic ideal of black and white cookies.
Birdee From a Star Baker Opens in Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Refinery Building
In 1856, cousins Frederick and William Havemeyer opened the Domino Sugar Refinery between Kent Avenue and the East River in Williamsburg. At the peak of their production, they refined four-million pounds of sugar daily — enough for 720-million Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cookies. The property has gone through a few lives. Most recently, it became the home of The Refinery at Domino, a luxury office building with an eye-catching vaulted glass roof.
14 Types of Lettuce and What to Do With Them
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14 Types of Lettuce and What to Do With Them
It’s easy to write off the many types of lettuce as salad fodder—healthy, tedious, and, without dressing, an utter bore. But don’t put these greens in a corner. They are far too versatile for such treatment. Supple Bibb, piquant watercress, juicy (yes, we said juicy) iceberg: There is so much to appreciate about a good head of greens picked at its prime. And what you can do with it! Lettuce soup for starters, plus grilled romaine and caramelized radicchio.
14 Types of Lettuce and What to Do With Them
Alternate names and varieties: rocket, Italian cress, Mediterranean rocket, rugola, rugula, roquette, rucola Originating from the Mediterranean, this green tastes earthy and slightly tart with a bold, peppery kick. The shape of an arugula leaf is similar to oakleaf lettuce, with rounded edges that undulate from broad to slight. Baby arugula, which is typically shorter than an index finger, is more widely available than its full-grown sibling and often sold pre-washed and boxed.
With Crevette, the Duo Behind Dame and Lord’s Turns to Spain, France — and More Seafood — Resy | Right This Way
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With Pitt’s, North Carolina Meets New York in Red Hook — Resy | Right This Way
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The 29 Best Restaurants in New York City
28,373 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? 28,373 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?
The Debut of Cafe Commerce Marks a New Era for a Beloved Restaurant — Resy | Right This Way
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Runde Sache: Hier gibts die besten Bagels in New York
Beste Bagels in New York: Unsere 13 Top-Adressen für die leckersten Rundlinge der US-Hauptstadt. Sie streiten gern? Dann sprechen Sie in New York das Thema Bagels an. New York mag die Hauptstadt des Bagels sein, aber die New Yorker:innen sind sich bei dem Thema selten einig – außer vielleicht, dass der Bagel frisch gebacken sein sollte und dass es eine Auswahl an Aufstrichen geben muss.
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