Paul Hagopian

New York

Editor and Content Creator at Food52

write @Food52

Articles

The Case for Copper Cookware

6 days ago | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

Copper cookware glows. It radiates like Arthur's grail. Camelot's galley must've been filled with the stuff. Buckingham Palace still is. Same with the kitchens of Monet, Montgeoffroy, and Martha. There's a reason for this: Copper isn't just nice-it's obviously nice. The metal's pure and the vibe's the most electric. Point being, copper rocks and-when molded into casseroles by famed Dansk designer Jens Quistgaard-it performs. For Quistgaard, copper's beauty boosts its performance.
Used, In Excellent Condition

1 month ago | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

"If it was good enough to put on the hull of a ship, it was good enough to put a steak on it," said Richard Cohen, Dansk's former head of sales, in reference to the thousands of teakwood carving boards he sold throughout the 1970's. "If you used it-and didn't abuse it-it lasts forever." The five, 50-year-old, Jens Quistgaard-designed carving boards Richard still frequently uses are, seemingly, on track for forever. So are many of the other original Dansk teak products.
It's Okay To Love Lava Cake

2 months ago | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

To be paid for food writing, you're required to sign a contract riddled with non-negotiables. Some are obvious-caring about Ina Garten, treating ramp season like Christ's resurrection-while others are more discreet (using the phrase "having a moment" weekly). While I appease nearly all of these obligations (I need money), there's one I will not succumb to: pretending chocolate lava cake isn't an enjoyable meal-ending bite. Woah. Lava cake positivity.
A Conversational Guide to The Hurricane Cocktail

2 months ago | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

Compared to this column's previous subjects ( ham, bitters, non-alcoholic beer) you'd figure the Hurricane-a neon red, rum-heavy cocktail, served in a famous glass at the most famous bar in the country's most famous drinking city-would especially lend itself to something titled "a conversational guide."On some level, it does. There's no dearth of scholarly articles recounting the Hurricane's origins.
A Conversational Guide to Bitters

Jan 23, 2025 | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

Bitters-the 40ish% ABV, cocktail staple, packaged in paper-wrapped hot sauce bottles, sold to humans of all ages on Amazon-are strange. They're also popular. NA beer-like , a longstanding presence in many of the world's most drunk cocktails, and the alarmingly positive reaction this article (still) receives whenever we share it on Instagram all surely suggest that bitters have escaped the micro-tattooed clutch of Mr. & Mrs. Mixologist and returned to the mainstream. This is a good thing.
A Conversational Guide to NA Beer

Jan 14, 2025 | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

In August 2017, Seattle Weekly published an article posing a simple (albeit cheeky) question: " Is N/A Body Making Good Nonalcoholic Beer?" Eight years later, the column's well-reported answer- no and probably never -best serves as a reminder for how nonalcoholic beer's become so good, so big, so fast. Example A: Nine months after that article was published, nonalcoholic (NA) beer maker Athletic Brewing opened its first production facility in Stratford, Connecticut.
Should We Be Sipping Our Breakfasts?

Dec 17, 2024 | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

A few weeks back, our team voyaged from the Brooklyn Navy Yard across the East River, through the Financial District, and up to Midtown to report on Hurricane Tourist: A category five nor'easter expected to pulverize Rockefeller Center for most of December. Upon arrival, we saw what we expected: too many people on sidewalks, increased Nuts 4 Nuts purchases, and a two-block line at Magnolia Bakery.
Behind The Limitless Pursuits of Dansk Pepper Mill Collectors

Dec 13, 2024 | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

In Alex Severin and Maren Lankford's 18th floor, one bedroom, Upper West Side apartment you'll find a grand piano, a cat named Dorian, and nearly 50 pepper mills. "They're little wooden sculptures," Maren told me over Zoom, referencing the two floating shelves in her backdrop, each lined end-to-end with their wooden Dansk pepper mills-a collection undoubtedly worth thousands. "Out of context, you have no idea what tip of what iceberg you're seeing," Alex said, also referring to the pepper mills.
We’ve Brewed Up An NA Beer That’s Holiday Party-Ready

Dec 10, 2024 | stamfordadvocate.com | Paul Hagopian

In July 2002, after sampling and reviewing over a dozen wheat beers for the New York Times, our Food52 co-founder Amanda Hesser came to the following conclusion: “An excellent wheat beer can be much like a very good Cabernet Sauvignon.
We've Brewed Up An NA Beer That's Holiday Party-Ready

Dec 10, 2024 | food52.com | Paul Hagopian

In July 2002, after sampling and reviewing over a dozen wheat beers for the New York Times, our Food52 co-founder Amanda Hesser came to the following conclusion: "An excellent wheat beer can be much like a very good Cabernet Sauvignon.