Khushbhu Shah, samosa lover, named lead restaurant critic of Food & Wine

New York based Food & Wine named Khushbhu Shah as its lead restaurant critic. The magazine has a circulation of about 900,000, including about 30,000 digital subscribers.

Khushbhu earlier wrote about food and restaurants, including as senior food editor at Thirllist, deputy food editor at Mic and staff writer at Eater. She has written freelance articles for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Eater, Bon Appetit, Saveur and Taste.

Khushbhu, 28, who grew up in Michigan. says If she could subsist on Crunchwrap Supremes and samosas alone, she would.

Khushbu, at her previous job as senior food editor of Thrillist, reviewed the Indian foods sold by the popular Trader Joe’s stores. She wrote that the stores “…have a solid array of Indian dishes…from chicken tikka masala to yellow tadka dal. So as an Indian American who grew up both eating these foods and loving Trader Joe’s,  I decided to put them to the test and see if they could nail the Indian flavors I know and love.”

Among foods found at the store she rated strong buy was Korma Fish Curry, Palak Naan and Tandoori Naan. About the Korma Fish curry she wrote: “Who knew that a frozen fish dish that you heat in a microwave could be good? But the fish korma is one of Trader Joe’s most brilliant Indian dishes. The flavors are well-balanced and the fish is tender. This is also a great dish for people who like Indian food but aren’t big fans of heat. Korma tends to be more gentle and mild and leans slightly sweet. It pairs well with the basmati rice that it is packaged with. I would keep several of these stocked in my freezer.”