From the folks at Diner Journal
Diner Journal Will Always Ask You to Do It Yourself

It's never a good idea for a magician to give away her secrets. Or is it? As more and more Americans turn to their home kitchens for nourishment the winds of change can feel as cold, stark and tragically bland as the January air. Cooking has always been a winter tradition and now, in this the winter of our discontent, those long hours in the warm room are not only necessary but they offer us a chance to relearn some magic that may have been lost.

Change is inevitable but what is often misunderstood is that it holds intrinsic value. America is a nation full with change and, as it follows, hope. The Diner Journal is a quarterly, independent publication that uses food to search for and express this very hope in our culture, community, arts and politics.
Inspired to write a cookbook but without the time away from their day to day work Andrew Tarlow, Mark Firth and Caroline Fidanza set out to create a periodical. Entrenched in seasonality and locality and alive with the spirit of Marlow and Sons and Diner the Journal was born. What began as a musing on the dining institution has become a place to create conversations and affect change. From preserving tomatoes to carving holy saints from chocolate the Journal maintains a commitment to reverence and instruction with the understanding we all still have a lot to learn. It is hope, along side the hearth, that keeps us aglow at night.
And in words of one of our truest Americans, Bruce Springsteen, 'You can't start a fire without a spark." I am writing you today to thank you... for your sparkles. This is the second in a series of email that will chronicle our evolution and the expansion of our community. Last time around Andrew offered to dress as a chicken in hopes of wooing your subscription dollars. As far as I know the offer still stands. I might also add that it turns out Marisa happens to have one. A chicken suit, you know, just laying around. In return you regalled us with subscriptions, ideas, thoughts and encouragement. Since then we have almost doubled our subscription base, been touted by the UTNE reader, pandered by the Financial Times and are well on our way to forging vital relationships with such astitute oreganizations as The Cloud Institute, civileats.com, Community Agriculture at NYU, and well... facebook.
Now I am asking you for more ideas. Just think of how many ideas appear and vaporate in one day. How many thought bubbles float away from us on the -7 degree air. I am asking you to just grab a couple more and send them my way... What's your favorite bookstore? Foodstore? Blog? Who is your favorite writer? Food or otherwise... What is the most important thing to you right now? How are we going to bring McDonald's to it's red and yellow knees?
Uncertainty is the unlikely gold that paves the road to progress. Help us lay the bricks. Or the eggs. Whatever you want to call it. So please if you haven't subscribed take a moment to. And pass this along to anyone and everyone you love and respect and would also like to see Burger King Body Spray go the way of the Argentinosaurus. Instead of us.
Best wishes and Happy Obama Day,
Diner Journal
thedinerjournal.com