E.D.T. FOOD POST: feeding your mind!

Hey, if HuffPost can steal....um, I mean "aggregate" from other websites for their content, then why not Eat.Drink.Think.? Besides I have always been about sharing the food love in all its various forms, so with that in mind, a few things floating around the web that have caught my eye....
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A great piece by Russ Parsons in the LA Times about the much-lamented demise of Gourmet and the future of food magazines. According to one person interviewed for the article, Gourmet was "trying to be a department store in what has become a specialty-store publishing world. It tried too hard to be all things to all people....That kind of coverage is expensive, and in a struggling corporation in a tight economy, that may have been enough to doom it." Equally interesting was former editor Ruth Reichl's response in a twitter post referencing the piece: "Probably right; we were too ambitious"
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A Village Voice slide show with commentary by VV food writer Robert Sietsema highlights "Organs: Internal Delicacies from Across the Globe". Such culinary delights as liver pudding, duck feet, and beef hearts might not rock your particular appetite, but taken together and spread around the globe, several billion people will find something to salivate over!
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I've mentioned how refreshing I find new New York Times restaurant critic Sam Sifton's writing to be. Funny, current, insightful all describe his way with words. A perfect example was in today's review of Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte, where my favorite part wasn't his comment about the food, but the décor: "Not very good paintings of Venetian scenes adorn the walls in that peculiar French manner that combines bad taste with deep sophistication." Love it!......Personal chef to Barack and Michelle and driving force behind the administration's food policy? That's how White house chef Sam Kass is portrayed in a worth-reading story in the NYT Dining section today. Kass has the ear of Michelle Obama, where he supposedly was the driving force behind the White House garden, and also spouts strong opinions about food in America: where it comes from, how it's grown, and what we're feeding our kids. Another example of how the Obama's are changing the game in Washington. Great stuff!
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Washington Post spirits writer Jason Wilson has given me many intoxicating inspirations with his every other Wednesday column (personal examples are here, here, and here) . With a way with words that is always informative and entertaining, his recipes, whether old classics or, like in this week's column, some libations he considers new classics (which I promise I'll be sipping soon). He also pontificates on what exactly a "classic cocktail" should or needs to be. J. Wilson is always a worthy read for the thirst-inclined!
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Zester Daily is a website that promotes "The Culture of Food and Wine". Luckily they do it with sass, wit, and insight! Since I first found it, I've been a regular reader. With their top flight cast of contributors (including PDX's own Nancy Rommelmann) you will always find something fascinating to read to steal yet a few more moments of American productivity while you're at work. Not that you surf the internet on company time or anything ;)!

Do this, don't do that.....

This was a thread I came across from the NYT restaurant critic Sam Sifton, who referenced another NYT blogger, Bruce Buschel, who is chronicling his efforts in opening his own restaurant. Buschel wrote this column about the "One Hundred Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do". In part one he lists the first 50 "don'ts". Now having both owned and been a waiter in my restaurants, I kind of get where Buschel is coming from, but if he is really that hard-assed about how his employees comport themselves, then that might be the worst restaurant job ever. But from my waiter's perspective I actually appreciate this point by point rebuttal even more from the Waiter Rant blog, because, well, it's really funny....and mostly true. I would read Buschel's column first then the Waiter Rant. Would love to hear your thoughts, too!

I am a food geek

B: "Hi, my name is Bruce, and I am a food geek"
(a smattering of applause is heard from the crowd, followed by a group "Hi, Bruce")
B: "Thanks everyone. I knew I had a problem when even though I live in Portland, 3000 miles away, I find myself transfixed by the change in restaurant critics at the New York Times. I was a huge Frank Bruni fan, and am somewhat agitated that this new guy, this Sam Sifton, won't give me the same fix that Frank did. I wish I could just stop reading, but I can't. Just today I read this blog post from thefoodsection.com about reaction in the blogosphere about Sifton's appointment. I find myself ignoring my work responsibilities just to read lines like "Sam Sifton kinda looks like Simon Pegg. That's not a bad thing." and "This Sam Sifton sounds like a complete, total jerk and douchebag." and wondering if it's true. Then, to top it off, I even ignored incoming phone calls to read two different Q&A's with Sifton from the Times site that I found here and here. I know I need help, I need to get my life back. But I hear he's quite brilliant....and he likes tacos.......and he seems to have a good sense of humor...and, oh god, I need help......"(fade to black)
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: your next dinner party, part 2: entrée and side dish!