Race to the Finish

The Three Musketeers: That's who we feel like as we leave the Saveur test kitchen to do our daily shopping. Over the course of our three-month internships, Whole Foods has become like a small town to us. We see the same people every day, and the guys at the fish and meat departments greet us like old friends. We tell them what we need for today's recipe tests: beef chuck for rouladen—German braised beef rolls—and ground beef and veal for meatloaf. We buy whole-grain mustard to season the beef rolls, cocoa powder for short ribs, eggplants for curry, and a long list of other things. On the crowded subway, fellow passengers glare at all our bags hogging precious space. Back in the kitchen, Freddy sets up our stations, and soon the room is full of energy. Short ribs sizzle as I sear them in a Dutch oven; Kaitlin pounds slices of beef with a mallet, then slathers each steak with mustard, wraps it around a pickle spear, and braises it to make the rouladen. As the 12:30 p.m. tasting nears, we hustle to plate everything for the editors, then stand back and listen as they taste what we've made. "The short ribs could be more tender," says one; another thinks the curry is too spicy. But the rouladen is right on. How can we tell? Everyone goes back for seconds.