About Us

We created Endless Simmer to satisfy our insatiable desire to think about food constantly. We’re basically somewhere between regular consumers of food pop culture and total snobs. We can just as easily enjoy offal or destroy a Dunkin Donuts (fake) egg and cheese croissant. We love to experiment in the kitchen, but we do frown on cheating. There’s nothing we love more than a good food pun.

Turn to Endless Simmer for all your food needs. We will share our cooking stories, favorite shows, restaurant reviews, travel tales and any other things we can think of that incorporate eating in any way.

Clearly, we just can’t keep our mouths shut.

Roll Call

Brendan Spiegel (BS) developed his “interesting if snarky” writing style as a reporter and editor at Congressional Quarterly. He has written for The New York Times, Budget Travel, New York magazine, Men’s Journal, Wired, Travel + Leisure, The Village Voice,  mental_floss, National Geographic Adventure, Backpacker, and CHOW.

BS(at)endlesssimmer(dot)com / @EndlessSimmer

roasted red peppers
pine nuts
NY pizza (New Haven, too!)
mango (salt and peppered)
wheat thins
miracle fruit
bacon
bacon
bacon

Stefanie Gans (gansie) became a published writer while in college, interviewing gross-out TV host Joe Rogan, tattoo artists in Georgetown and yet-to-be heard of (and still yet-to-be heard of) bands for While You Were Sleeping, a counterculture and graffiti magazine. This is why she owns an original Cool “Disco” Dan tagged metro map, in case you were wondering.

She escaped un-inked and turned to food for her laptop ambitions. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Washington Post Express, Washington City Paper, Onion’s AV Club, and two cookbooks. You can find more sass, and clips, on Feasting With Gans. Proudly from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Currently living in Washington, DC.

gansie(at)endlesssimmer(dot)com / @EndlessSimmer / @gansie

avocado
sunny-side up egg over absolutely everything
begal* and cream cheese (*pronounced with a South Jersey accent)
Herr’s ripple potato chips
Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar
fettuccine alfredo with broccoli
steak frites with bearnaise
creamy, dark beer
red wine
Chocolate truffles

Russell Warnick stumbled across the pond over six years ago and he’s been living in DC ever since. His love of food came about while persistently defending England’s culinary delights to his friends (yes they do exist, apparently). Although he loves to eat, he loves to drink much more, so please do excuse any incoherent ramblings that may pop up from time to time. When not working his desk job and watching The Golden Girls, Russ plays co-host to a weekly Sunday Night Dinner Club where he cooks for twenty of his closest gay friends, and providing he stays sober enough to take photos and notes, he will share his stories with Endless Simmer.

britannia(at)endlesssimmer(dot)com / @russellwarnick

Margaritas
Crab Cakes
Iced Venti Non-Fat Chai (Yes, I’m a S’bux whore)
English Cooked Breakfast
Bacon Sandwich with HP Sauce (google it)
Sea Bass
Cheesecake
Pinot Noir
Gnocchi

Mike Johnson (TVFF) took his love of food and his interest in pop culture and created his first site, TVFoodFan.com.  In order to pay the bills, Mike works in online communication for a Philadelphia-based nonprofit.  He lives with his wife Mrs. TVFF in Lawrenceville, New Jersey where he enjoys craft beer, museums, The Velvet Underground and Nico and rooting on his Philadelphia sports teams.

TVFF(at)endlesssimmer(dot)com / @mcj4476

authentic (no cream, dammit) spaghetti carbonara
roti canai
Snyder’s of Hanover Sourdough Hard Pretzels
India Pale Ale
scrapple
Taco Bell’s Beef Baja Chalupa
duck fat
pad kee mao
yellow Sour Patch Kids
buttered popcorn

After living off cafeteria food, the strange products of her tiny kitchen, and Central Pennsylvania’s finest offerings while attending college, Madeline Shores (ML) hwas forced to enter the real world in 2009 to begin her fast and sexy life representing the future of America. With only the stamp of a snotty private school and a completely unmarketable degree, ML has returned to Philly to live off cheap beer and whatever food she can afford (see: gourmet instant ramen). In her free time, she can be seen traveling and acting as the mealtime paparazzi while spending time with friends, some of whom have dubbed her “the anytime eater.”

@MadelineSho

runny cheese
baguettes
crispy chicken skin
vodka
coffee
buffalo sauce
salty chicken noodle soup
popcorn (NOT microwaved)
blue crab
any combination of the above + cheese

 

Matthew Wexler (Roo de Loo) is a freelance writer and chef. His culinary/lifestyle/travel musings can also be found at offManhattan and EDGE Publications. When he’s not writing, Matthew is whipping up seasonal menus and connecting with farmers and artisans throughout the Northeast on behalf of Good Commons, a boutique retreat center and vacation home.

french macarons

beefaroni

pad thai

raw milk

bad day brownies

anything with hot sauce

Neither a writer nor a chef by profession, Clay Jacobs (Borracho) joins the ES team with passion and desire to explore new culinary experiences and basic grammar skills. Borracho is as likely to rave about Michelin 3-star cuisine as the pizza place down the street. When he cooks, the focus is on local product, bold flavors and comfort food, but his posts mix in discussions of technique, sports, pop culture and a dash of the inane. His Gridiron Grub series offers amped-up takes on typical football and tailgating foods to enjoy when watching the game, even if you are a Dallas Cowboys fan.

“We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.” Alfred E Neuman

Fresh squeezed lemonade
Kettle Cooked Salt and Pepper Chips
Mole
Omelettes
Salsa and homemade tortillas
Chickie and Pete’s Crab Fries
Tacos de Lengua
Dark and Stormys (dark rum, lime and ginger beer mmmm)

Kalle Guinn (forkitude) escaped an 8-year sentence in the finance industry to follow her passion for food and cooking she found while studying in France. Back home in Nebraska and somehow hired at one of the best restaurants in town with no practical experience, Kalle has embarked on a whole new life. As a busy line chef and culinary student, Kalle just cannot get enough of it; she has found that nothing gets her blood pumping like being in the weeds on a busy Saturday night. In her slivers of spare time between work, school, and nights on the town, she cooks, eats, photographs food, writes about food, and eats. She has a difficult time keeping her mouth shut about the state of food in this country, the meat industry, nutrition, fast food, fresh food, false food marketing, sustainability, and stupidity.

brie
sushi
beets
basil oil
beurre blanc
nectarines
butternut squash
saag paneer
mashed potatoes
peanut butter
chocolate
crepes
quinoa
wine

H

Emily Teachout (Emily) lives and works in downtown Seattle, the produce and seafood mecca of America. Though she toils away in advertising as her day job, her true passion is scouring the city after hours, investigating promising happy hours and restaurant openings. If she’s not enjoying the culinary landscape of Seattle, Emily is probably hosting a ridiculously themed dinner party for friends and family in her tiny apartment. In her free time, she documents her tasty adventures, travels to eat in other cities, gifts the world with amazing karaoke performances, watches old episodes of The OC, and runs a lot to counteract the intense amount of food and booze she routinely crams into her body.

emteachout(at)gmail(dot)com / @emilyteachout

Watermelon
Red wine, white wine, sparkling wine… okay, all wine, always
Rare steak
Split pea soup
Tuna melts with avocado
Marshmallow
Thai food, the spicier the better
Sweet potato
Cheese grits (preferably with shrimp)
BBQ sauce
Mushrooms
Drunken Taco Bell binges
Jell-o!

Renee (hungry monster) is a writer of creative recipes on ES and a lover of cooking & crafting, always in need of a creative outlet to fill her boring office days.  She has probably the most useful degree in the world, a BA in English Literature.  She loves writing, experimenting with new food combinations, and is new to the blogging game.  See her various recipes and projects on her blog, Attack of the Hungry Monster.

hummus

sweet potato fries

almond butter on toast

bacon (in or on pretty much anything)

chocolate with sea salt

goat cheese

watermelon

eggs (in any form)

massive salads

popcorn

lemonade

Writers Wanted

ES is always looking to add some new spice to the mix. If you’ve got something to say about food, drinks, food TV, food-like products, or really anything even remotely food-related, holler at us. As you may have noticed, we’re doing this for the love, not the money, so unfortunately there’s no pay (at least for now). But you do get the chance to put your words in front of thousands of hungry readers every day. Interested in joining the team?
Shoot us an email (info AT endlesssimmer DOT com) and let us know what kind of posts you’d like to write for ES.

Endless Simmer Emeriti

Since June of 2007 many wonderful food lovers have wandered in and out of our pages. Here’s a tribute to those that have helped us build our hit count. And of course, shared in our obsession with all things edible.

<a title=”80″ href=”http://www.endlesssimmer.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/80-proof.JPG”><img src=”http://www.endlesssimmer.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/80-proof.JPG” alt=”80″ width=”169″ height=”216″ /></a>

80 Proof‘s proudest achievement is his extensive and ever growing liquor cabinet. Other joys in his life include Duke, soccer and keeping Gansie happy. 80 enjoys these activities while wearing shorts with the air conditioner on full blast. And, seriously, Gansie didn’t write this.

80proof(at)endlesssimmer(dot)com / @80P

Beer
Pepperoni Pizza
BaconCheeseBurger
Chips and Salsa
Sweet Tea
French Fries with ketchup

Blake (Bliz) refused to eat anything but cereal and PB&J until becoming old enough (16 yrs) to realize taking a date out for mozzarella sticks wasn’t the best way of getting a girlfriend. Since forcing himself to eat a chicken sandwich his palate eventually expanded to enjoy black and white Irish pudding, fried shrimp heads, snake blood shooters, and just about anything and everything that is cooked well (except dog.. never ever dog). After a lengthy stint in the restaurant industry, Blake finally retired from tossing bottles around and took a real job as an editor for some company. (Update: then said “fuck this” and went back to work as a line cook.) In order to document his culinary exploits A Moveable Feast was created and thus has led to all sorts of adventures. It is not uncommon to spot him wandering DC with a Maker’s rocks in his hand asking DJs if they’ll play Freebird.

risotto
Rogue Deadguy
Stuffed baked potato Pringles
gnocchi
meatball subs
prosciutto
Turkish manti
cayenne pepper
roast duck
chocolate milk
any kind of ribs
souffles

By day Erica Williams (a.k.a. Edouble) works as a researcher on state tax and budget policy. By night, she does other nerdy things like write up descriptions of her recipes, watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy in sequence over and over again, comment on Talking Points Memo Cafe until she’s substantially pissed off at the world, and/or do the New York Times crossword puzzles. She also likes to cook, particularly when she’s got more than herself and her man to cook for (and since he usually cooks for her).

Popcorn
Pickles
Steak (thick, juicy cuts, medium rare)
Rosemary
Basil (fresh)
Apples
Garlic & Onion
Salt
Stuffed meats (pork loin, steak)
Thai curries
Red, red wine

While Liza‘s claim to fame is her extensive knowledge of the microwave as well as cabaret singing, she now is in graduate school. Previously, she worked as an assistant editor for VT Inc., a production company that focuses on environmental and health issues and was the Column Editor for the Housing and Homelessness section of theWashington Spark.

Cheese
Pepperoni
Soy Lattes
Salt and Pepper… together… on a spoon
Goldfish… crushed… eaten with a spoon
Amy’s Frozen dinners (ALL OF THEM)
Enchiladas

Maids (or Maidelitala, the sobriquet she originally adopted before Gansie butchered it down to “Maids”) is ES’s resident vegetarian with an extreme case of lactose intolerance (really hard for a cheese lover). A vegetarian since the age of 10, Maids manifests extensive knowledge of vegetarian fare from around the globe (she is also an audacious braggart).  Maids insists she’s not a Vegan because she eats eggs, can stomach yogurt, and partakes in honey (bee slavery!).  Apart from her obsession with cooking and food (which is only slightly hampered by her restricted diet), this globe-trotting bleeding-heart is rarely sighted without earrings and usually has a granny smith apple near at hand.

Granny Smith Apples (others too but not golden delicious, gross!)
Broccoli
Beans (black, red, white, garbanzo)
Curry Powder
Garlic
Cilantro
Harissa
Hummus
Red Pepper Flakes
Basil
Nutritional Yeast

Originally hired as the road food travel writer, Tim‘s participation in that realm has been tempered by his love for beer. So in addition to his beereviews, be on the lookout for the best tips on American local and regional fare, with a focus on the mid-Atlantic.

Wings – of all sizes, flavors, and hot-ness, but NEVER BREADED.
Cheesesteaks – highest respects to the o.g. Philly Cheesesteak – steak, cheese (the whiz), onions, and maybe mushroom and peppers if you really want variety. That’s it.
Crabs – If they aren’t from DELMARVA, don’t waste his time.
All sausages – any time, anywhere. If you put ketchup w/i 10 feet on any good sausage, he will push you in front of a train.
NY style pizza – Thin but firm, greasy, orgasmic. Oh, hi, I’m an idiot and I like Chicago style pizza b/c I want an entire stupid casserole on my pizza and I’m an idiot.
NY style hot dogs – if it ain’t natural casing, put the ish back. Ketchup = death.
Pork BBQ – real NC bbq, slow cooked, vinegar, hot peppers/sauce, little else. NEVER that store bought, ½ sugar, ½ ketchup KC Masterpiece shitshow.
Country Ham – smoked, pepper cured, salty as the Dead Sea. Real VA ham. Don’t come up in my house with that sugar soaked crap.

Bonus for those who have made it this far! Before they were simmerers: Li’l ES roll call