A place at our table, in our hearts, for Gourmet

Good magazines possess a distinct character, even within niche markets. Subscribing to them is like being a member of a club joined by shared desire. Gourmet was a smart food publication without ever being too haughty. Under editor in chief Ruth Reichl's 10-year vision, it became a peripatetic boho traveler marked by a healthy appetite, bountiful curiosity, deep pockets, and a penchant for harissa.

On Oct. 5, Condé Nast Publications, in a scorched-earth budget-cutting move, drove a cold stainless-steel knife through Gourmet's seemingly robust, 70-year-old heart.

The monthly was sacrificed along with Cookie, Modern Bride, and Elegant Bride, though none of those other periodicals enjoyed such an extended cozy relationship with almost one million readers. November will be the final feast, the Thanksgiving issue, traditionally with a cover of a sumptuous, chestnut-skinned turkey, as fetching as any starlet, and crammed with ingenious gravies, stuffings, and sides. Adobo turkey with red-chile gravy, who knew?

That issue is a keeper. But so were many others. My kitchen bookcase became a Babel of dog-eared, sauce-splattered issues, containing favorites like the dark gingerbread pear cake or the penne with sun-dried tomatoes and arugula. Then, I took to epicurious.com, Condé Nast's indispensable Web site that blends recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appétit, the larger, more sensible, yet less sensuous magazine spared from the chopping block.

It was the fact that Gourmet lived in the kitchen, as opposed to lying forgotten on some bedside table, that made the publication so vital, an actively embraced participant in daily life.

When you signed up with Gourmet, it was often for life. You don't outgrow food magazines, particularly ones distinguished for their sophistication and utility, the way you might with fashion or home periodicals. Your taste grows along with the editorial mandate. "This magazine invented the epicurean category in the U.S.," Reichl said last week. "You read the magazine and you get a picture of America through its food."