Dear Reader,

Welcome to a new era for our ambitious, delicious, and occasionally nutritious publication. After some trials and tribulations, we are now Buffet Magazine.

This means that your two weekly installments of stories and recipes will now be coming from a new email address (the one you see up top): editors@buffetmagazine.net. If your email has a habit of spam filtering new things, go ahead and add us to the “not spam” list to make sure you don’t miss an issue. On our website, you’ll need to log back in to your account to access articles.

Why Buffet? First of all, it’s fun to say (buff-ay and boof-ay are both allowed). But we also believe that the buffet, in all its bounty, captures some of the spirit of this magazine. Whether the all-you-can-eat steam table restaurant, the potluck dinner party, or the classic banquet served à la francaise, the buffet is a democratic mode of dining. For the diner, it serves as an invitation to choose their own adventure; for the chef, a challenge to cook food that can withstand some jostling. Some people prefer the tweezed and foamy tasting menu fed to them by corporate media. We prefer the buffet.

Our eight months (and counting) of stories and recipes are a testament to l’esprit du buffet: avid readers have been able to pile their plate with Baghdad burgers and gravy-drenched egg foo yong, sour cherry rice and packing peanuts, and wash it down with gubernatorial Napa cab, ghostly cocktails at Parisian hotel bars, or even a wiggly dose of alcoholic jello.

We aren’t stopping. There is more to come. Thank you for dining with us, and as always, eat up.

—Alex, Amiel, Cale, Nozlee, and Sam