Bon Appétit Newsletter: Seattle's Teriyaki, Grocery Store Hackers, and The 50's Best Restaurants

The Bon Appétit newsletter arrived with a Monday greeting and a lineup of stories that range from regional food history to a cybersecurity scare and the year's most prestigious restaurant rankings. Below is a detailed look at what the newsletter covered, the products and promotions it featured, and the publication behind it.

Overview of the Newsletter Contents

The email was sent under the subject line "We found the best teriyaki in Seattle" and opened with a preview of three main stories: a guide to the best teriyaki in Seattle, an investigation into hackers targeting grocery stores, and the release of The 50's annual list of the world's best restaurants.

1. The Best Teriyaki in Seattle

The lead feature, written by Allecia Vermillion, argues that Seattle's entire teriyaki scene traces back to one man, Toshi Kasahara. In 1976 he opened a restaurant serving lightly marinated, grilled chicken thighs glazed with a blend of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and sugar. The dish was not traditional Japanese teriyaki. It was a cheap, filling, and flavor-packed adaptation aimed at a working-class city that had not yet been transformed by the tech boom. Kasahara opened and sold about thirty shops over the years, and imitators quickly multiplied, making teriyaki ubiquitous in the city while its Japanese name obscured its local origins. The article promises a curated selection of the city's best teriyaki venues.

2. Hackers Targeting Grocery Stores

Written by Sam Stone, this news story reports that dozens of supermarkets across seven countries were hit by hackers who took control of their refrigeration systems during the same week. The attackers switched grocery freezers into defrost mode, causing them to blow hot air over frozen food. In some cases, internal temperatures reached 122 degrees Fahrenheit, forcing stores to discard large quantities of spoiled product. The piece raises the open question of who is responsible for the attacks and what they want.

3. The 50's Best Restaurants for 2026

Sam Stone and Gabe Hiatt reported on the annual ranking released by The 50, the organization formerly known as 50 Best. The announcement took place on a Wednesday night during a ceremony in Lima, Peru. The article notes that a place on the list is among the highest honors a restaurant can earn, and that the rankings tend to favor expensive, elaborate fine dining, including tasting menus built on molecular gastronomy. The list also recognizes simpler concepts, such as a Spanish wood grill, an Argentine steakhouse focused on sourcing, and a relaxed Parisian neo-bistro. The full list of winners was linked from the email.

Additional Sections

• Open Tab: A weekly culture column by Sam Stone, Senior Culture Editor, with a gift link for sharing with friends.
• Bon Appétit LIVE: A reminder of an in-person event on November 14 at the Test Kitchen in New York City, where attendees can meet Bon Appétit editors and cook alongside them. Tickets were on sale.
• On the Side: Three brief reads: a piece on keeping lesbian bars alive after a viral incident, a look at The Cheesecake Factory's recent political attention, and an article about a $22 order of fries.
• Recipes We Love Club: Thanksgiving recipes from the Test Kitchen and a promotion for a discounted yearly subscription.
• BA Bake Club: Featured recipes including Bourbon Caramel Apple Salted Pie, Coffee Custard Pie, and related baking content.

Products and Promotions Featured

The newsletter promoted several products and services, most of them through sponsorships and paid placements.

Subscription Offer

The Bon Appétit subscription was advertised as full access for a discounted rate of S$3 per month for one year, with the option to cancel at any time. The offer was tied to Thanksgiving-themed recipe content.

Bon Appétit LIVE 2026

The event was sponsored by East Fork, Visit Maine, and S.Pellegrino sparkling natural mineral water. Additional thanks went to All-Clad, As Ever, Bachan's, Better Sour, Field Company, Floura, Gimme Seaweed, GOODLES, Graza, Kann Coffee, Misen, Owala, Rip Van, SharkNinja, and Staub, reflecting the wide range of kitchen, pantry, and beverage brands associated with the publication's events.

Advertisements

The email included a WIRED Consulting advertisement describing a business-focused "thought partner," and a Pellegrino and Acqua Panna placement tied to the 50 Best Restaurants coverage, which highlighted the brands as official water partners of the rankings.

About the Store: Bon Appétit

Bon Appétit is a food and lifestyle media brand published by Condé Nast, with its headquarters at One World Trade Center in New York. The domain bonappetit.com serves as the home for its recipes, restaurant reviews, culture writing, and video content. Its newsletter program, sent from bonappetit@newsletters.bonappetit.com, shows the brand's breadth: it combines long-form journalism about regional cuisine with practical home-cooking content, such as Test Kitchen recipes and baking clubs.

The publication's identity is shaped by its emphasis on both expertise and accessibility. Stories like the Seattle teriyaki feature celebrate local food culture and the people behind it, while the coverage of the 50 Best rankings shows its interest in the international fine-dining world. Its editorial team, including Senior Culture Editor Sam Stone, balances hard news, such as the grocery store hacking story, with lighter cultural commentary. The brand also invests in community through in-person events like Bon Appétit LIVE, which invites readers to meet editors and cook in the Test Kitchen in New York.

Overall, the newsletter reflects a publication that connects readers to food through storytelling, expert recipes, events, and a subscription model, while maintaining a sponsor-supported business that is clearly labeled in its advertising placements.