Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.

In July, we get to celebrate many things. It’s our nation’s birthday. It’s also National Ice Cream Month. On July 21, you can revel in National Junk Food Day, which I have several ideas for.

And now, I’m excited to celebrate Plastic Free July. The three-year-old project aims to eliminate single-use plastic for the entire month. I love this idea—beaches get so littered with plastic bags, straws, bottles and more, so it’s the perfect time to use reusable totes, those adorable paper straws and biodegradable plates and cutlery.

As usual, several chefs and restaurants are way ahead of me, including my hero Mario Batali. Let’s salute some of the especially environmentally friendly spots as we celebrate Plastic Free July with biodegradable cups and no plastic straws!
FULL POST

Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

After a bleak situation four years ago, which saw Spain (lots of wine made there) vying with the Netherlands (um—gin, maybe?) for the World Cup, we are back once again to a final matchup between two great wine-producing countries: Germany vs. Argentina. I am certain that fútbol fans around the world are breathing a sigh of relief about this.
 
If nothing else, though, this particular game will allow you to drink great wine while supporting your side (great beer, too, when it comes to Germany). And it also puts the two great sides of wine against each other: white vs. red.
 
Germany, of course, is the homeland of Riesling, one of the world’s great white grapes, while Argentina has become a Malbec powerhouse, lifting a once–obscure French variety into supermarket ubiquity. This situation doesn’t mean you have to drink white if you’re a fan of Thomas Müller and co., nor does it mean you have to drink red if Lionel Messi and his teammates are who you support—but, you know, why not? Here are some suggestions:
FULL POST

Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.

After looking at 5 million pictures of towering, melting, drool-inducing ice cream cones on my Instagram feed I realized this: We’re in the golden age of ice cream.

There’s lots of people and institutions to thank for this. On the old-school front: Baskin-Robbins has introduced attention-getting flavors like State Fair Fried Dough (chunks of funnel cake and fried dough in caramel ice cream, hello!). Also, some amazing, already-beloved ice cream stores are expanding: Jeni’s has set up shop in Charleston, South Carolina, and Salt & Straw has opened in L.A. My heroes Big Gay Ice Cream are opening in L.A. and Philadelphia.
 
And then there are all the fab new new ice cream shops opening around the country. Here, our favorites.
FULL POST

Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

What goes best with...? That’s the baseline wine-pairing question, and every wine expert worth his or her Riedel decanter has an answer for it. But realistically—and especially during the summer—there are plenty of times when a glass of wine will find its way to your hand with no food anywhere nearby. Cocktail parties, pre-dinner lounging around, beach house afternoons hanging out with friends, you name it. For these occasions what you want is the ideal aperitif wine: something light and crisp, not too high in alcohol and endlessly refreshing.
 
At the recent Food & Wine Classic in Aspen , which I was lucky enough to attend, I spent my time in the Grand Tasting tent hunting up some ideal, affordable, white wine candidates for this category. Here were my top picks:
FULL POST