Nick Pisano
Nick Pisano is a food and dining journalist at Mashed who focuses on the small decisions that shape how people eat, shop, and cook every day. His work stands out for blending chain‑restaurant and grocery reporting, kitchen testing, and celebrity food stories into clear, practical guidance rather than restaurant criticism or recipe writing.
Chain restaurants and fast food deep dives
Pisano frequently examines how major fast food and casual chains operate, with an emphasis on what that means for the quality of the food and the customer experience. In his coverage of smash burgers, he warns readers away from a popular chain when its take on the trend does not live up to expectations, framing the story around what diners actually get for their money. His reporting on Long John Silver’s focuses on the specific type of frying oil that gives the chain’s seafood its distinctive crispiness, translating technical details into a straightforward explanation of texture and taste. He also tests burger cooking methods and is candid when an approach turns out to be more trouble than it is worth, underlining his preference for honest, experience‑based verdicts over hype. Even when he writes about which East Coast state eats the most French fries, he treats regional consumption as a window into broader eating habits, keeping the focus on everyday fast food behavior rather than abstract statistics.
Grocery chains and supermarket strategy
A significant portion of Pisano’s beat centers on grocery chains and the choices shoppers make inside them. He explains why Aldi stores typically have so few visible employees, unpacking the chain’s operational quirks and how they affect everything from staffing to store layout and service. At Costco, he zooms in on frozen seafood, singling out a particular cod product that “has us hooked” and using it to show that quality is not guaranteed in the freezer aisle. His review of 10 store‑bought pancake mixes is structured as a comparative test, culminating in a clear recommendation for the best option for fluffy, reliable pancakes at home. Across these pieces, he treats national chains and mass‑market products as serious subjects, giving readers concrete advice on which items and retailers deserve their trust.
Home cooking techniques and kitchen tests
Beyond retail and restaurants, Pisano writes accessible explainers on core cooking techniques and kitchen decision‑making. His guidance on mashed potatoes focuses on spud size, showing how the choice of potato impacts texture and consistency and turning a simple side dish into a small lesson in kitchen science. In burger coverage, he not only evaluates restaurant offerings but also experiments with different cooking methods at home, reporting frankly when a technique does not justify the effort. These stories reflect a preference for practical, low‑drama cooking advice: he tests ideas, reports what happens, and gives readers a clear sense of whether a method or product is worth adopting.
Celebrity food habits and dining wisdom
Pisano also draws on well‑known figures in food and entertainment to explore how personalities eat and what their habits reveal. His piece on Ina Garten highlights her long‑standing breakfast routine built around humble Irish oatmeal, using the detail to show how even a celebrated cookbook author relies on simple, repeatable food rather than elaborate dishes to start the day. In coverage of Anthony Bourdain, he distills a key tip from “Kitchen Confidential” about reading a server’s face to decide what to order, turning Bourdain’s insider knowledge into everyday strategy for better restaurant service. His article on Paul Newman’s favorite beer brand combines film history with beverage culture, connecting the actor’s personal preferences with the broader story of beer in American entertainment. Across these profiles and explainers, celebrity stories are treated less as gossip and more as case studies in habit, routine, and practical wisdom that readers can adapt.
Reporting background and approach
Pisano brings a long career in journalism to his food coverage, having been part of news teams that have earned regional Murrow Awards, AP Awards, and major market radio station honors. That background shows in his reliance on clear sourcing, archival material, and close reading of books and interviews when he revisits advice from figures like Anthony Bourdain or Ina Garten. His work for Mashed is complemented by food and culture pieces that appear in other digital outlets, extending his service‑oriented approach to audiences interested in entertainment and lifestyle as well as dining. He also draws on experience in data‑focused roles outside food media, which informs his comfort with consumption statistics and product comparisons when he tackles topics like regional French fry habits or multi‑brand pancake mix tests. Taken together, his reporting combines newsroom discipline with approachable language, delivering food stories that are grounded in research but written for people making everyday choices about where to eat, what to buy, and how to cook.
4 more food journalists.
Al Culliton
Al Culliton is a writer and historian whose work focuses on the American cocktail as a living part of food and culture, using obscure, historic drinks to show how bars, spirits and cities change. They write reported features that trace how forgotten recipes move from old bar guides back onto modern menus, reconstructing how cocktails originally tasted and explaining how new builds reshape them. Their beat is revived classics, regional specialties and low-proof aperitifs, covered one drink at a time with close attention to specs, technique, glassware and service. They write about cocktails as cultural artifacts tied to specific communities and geographies, using single recipes to explore place, identity, regional traditions and diaspora histories. Across masthead work and recipe writing, they combine primary-source research with present-day reporting from working bars, in precise, accessible prose grounded in technical detail.
Alaina Chou
Alaina Chou stands out for rigorously testing food and kitchen products and turning those hands-on trials into clear shopping advice. She is a commerce writer at Bon Appétit and Epicurious, where she makes newsletters and shopping guides for home cooks. Her beat is food commerce, with coverage of air fryers, meal kits, protein powders, pepper grinders, electrolyte drinks, and cookbooks. She focuses on what is worth buying, how it performs, how it tastes, and how it fits daily routines and wellness. She also writes sale-driven lists and roundup pieces, and she has worked on Bon Appétit’s Feel Good Food Plan. Her reporting is practical, direct, and grounded in product testing.
Amadea Tanner
Amadea Tanner is a food journalist for Daily Meal whose distinct focus is food history, culinary nostalgia, and the way everyday dishes reveal broader cultural stories. She covers canned baked beans, boomer-era casseroles, cowboy trail food, and sailors’ rations to show how preservation, technology, labor, and survival shaped familiar staples. Her beat includes retro recipes, mid‑20th‑century home cooking, old-school ice cream flavors, and vintage cookbooks, treating them as records of household budgets and aspirations. She also reports on kitchen culture and domestic design, from breakfast alcoves and pie safes to milk doors and wall phones. Tanner investigates global dish origins and contested national claims in pieces on haggis and pavlova. Beyond Daily Meal, she has worked across food, travel, and sustainability, contributing to outlets including Atlas Obscura, Beau Monde Media, Yahoo, and Tasting Table.
Amanda Garrity
Amanda Garrity stands out for turning food, holidays, and family traditions into practical service stories that help readers plan specific celebrations. She is a lifestyle editor at TODAY.com and has more than seven years of experience as a lifestyle writer and editor, including five years on staff at Good Housekeeping, where she covered home, holidays, food, entertainment, and other lifestyle news. Her work also appears in consumer titles including Prevention, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and Best Products. Her beat centers on event-based menus, holiday explainers, and classic TV and film guides, with clear, list-driven reporting that gives readers specific dates, recipes, viewing options, and simple background for family planning.