This article is part of our ongoing Fast Forward series, which examines technological, economic, social and cultural shifts that happen as businesses evolve. Of all the out-of-the-box products a Silicon Valley tech start-up could offer, Bear Flag Robotics may be delivering the most unexpected: plowed fields. The company is developing autonomous tractors, a goal that…
ST. HELENA, Calif. — Great wines are almost always surprising. Sometimes, they seem to make no sense at all. That’s how I felt on a visit to Heitz Cellar here in mid-August for a retrospective tasting of Heitz cabernet sauvignons that stretched back to the 1972 vintage. The 18 bottles poured included single-vineyard wines from…
The second act for Esca is about to begin. The Italian seafood restaurant, on the edge of the theater district, is reopening Monday after several months of renovation and a change in ownership. Esca’s chef, Dave Pasternack, bought the restaurant in May from the former Batali & Bastianich Group, and has a new partner, Victor…
THE NORTHERN TERRITORY, Australia — Kakadu National Park covers an area of 7,646 square miles. That’s roughly the size of Slovenia, or, in American terms, bigger than Connecticut but smaller than New Jersey. It is the country’s largest national park, in the very top, very middle of Australia, a vast area known as the “Top…
If you stand in the doorway to 5 De Mayo Food Market on a weekend afternoon and look to the back of this long, narrow grocery store, you’ll see a thin cloud of steam hovering like a promise. Walk past the fruit displays and the butcher case, all under a canopy of piñatas, and you’ll…
The activist documentarian Morgan Spurlock blended Michael Moore-style showmanship with Gen X bro appeal in his 2004 debut feature “Super Size Me,” a relentless examination of the fast food industry. Its main target was McDonald’s, and its big reveal was that the franchise’s food was even worse for your health than you might have imagined.…
Anyone with children knows the particular brand of anxiety that can take hold as soon as you’re tasked with feeding them on a school night. No matter how long you’ve been cooking, you can walk in the door, open the refrigerator and not have a single idea about what to make. This was especially common…
Welcome to the T List, a brand-new newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. Each week, we’ll be sharing five things we are eating, wearing, listening to or coveting now. We hope you’ll join us for the ride. (Sign up here, if you haven’t already, and you can reach us at tlist@nytimes.com.) See This New…
On a wooden piling in the waters off Brooklyn Bridge Park, a lone red fruit grows between Pier 1, right next to the Brooklyn Bridge, and Pier 2. Sure, it’s tomato season, but this one seems to have materialized without the aid of any planter or gardener. “I saw the yellow blossoms and paddled over…
Hello again … and goodbye! Here we are, post-Labor Day, which means it’s the end of summer hours and the more laid-back attitude that often goes with them. This also means that Sam Sifton’s return is imminent, and he’ll be back in your inbox on Friday. Thanks for reading, it’s been a blast! This week…