Blogs : Food Media
Food Media CHOW's roundup of food-related news from blogs, newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, and film.
Grub Street's Land Grab
On Sunday, New York magazine’s popular food blog, Grub Street, went national, with editions in Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago, in addition to its original New York–centric blog.
This is fantastic news for food-enthused residents in said cities, as early indications are that Grub Street’s intelligent hypersnark travels well. Witness a witty interview with venerable Los Angeles restaurateur Mr. Chow, and a look at Chicago public-access food show Cookin’ wit’ Tittle.
But the site seems most impressively built-out in San Francisco, with several weeks’ worth of savvy back-coverage: Grub Street’s minions caught such minor local memes as the potential closing of Stow Lake’s snack bar (one of only a handful of places that still stock Wright’s Pink Popcorn!) and the possibility that the mobile pho truck might be a prank. They also, ahem, blogged about a chat with meat mavens the Nimans that was hosted by CHOW last week.
The only bad news looks to be more competition for already existing food-focused regional sites like Eater, which has branches in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as well as thriving local blogs like SF’s Tablehopper; they are no doubt hoping there’s enough advertising to go around.
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Tagged with: media, grub street, national, new york, chicago, philadelphia, los angeles, boston, san francisco, food blogs
Better Beef Equals Spiffier Customers?
Lost in all the concern about South Carolina governor Mark Sanford’s Argentinian tomfoolery and Sarah Palin’s exciting career change was the really big news of the moment: McDonald’s is introducing a new $4 “premium” Angus burger. Dan Mitchell of Slate writes about the psychology behind the new menu item:
“The burgers are being advertised as ‘premium’ and thus, just like the McCafe, are meant in part to convey the message that McDonald’s isn’t just a place for broke people to scarf cheap eats.”
The theory: If there’s ever an economic recovery, Mitchell posits, McD’s wants to be positioned to catch some of the dining public on the upswing.
If nothing else, the new burger has energized the goofs on YouTube, who have posted numerous videos of themselves unboxing, examining, and eating said burger. Still looks like a hockey puck to me.
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Tagged with: mcdonald's, angus burger, slate, media, youtube, third pounder, fast food
Fast-Food Makeovers
Diet Coke hoisin sauce is the key to “Dao Mi Noh Chow Mein,” a reimagined Asian twist on a Domino’s pizza from the Fancy Fast Food blog. With little explanation or justification, FFF reworks low-brow fast-food edibles into medium-brow restaurant fare, complete with recipes and photos. Check out Tapas de Castillo Blanco (White Castle) and the sushi version of Popeyes chicken to experience the flavor of the site.
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Tagged with: fancy fast food, domino's, white castle, sushi, tapas, popeye's chicken, chow mein, media, popeyes
Living Vicariously Through a Peripatetic Food Writer
TheAtlantic.com has set up a CHOW Tour of sorts for writer Terrence Henry. The lucky guy gets to imagine his ideal North American food odyssey, solicit advice, and eat.
He’s dispensed with the rest of the world already, saying in his intro, “[My wife and I] spent the first half of 2009 abroad, devouring steaks in Argentina, drinking Txakoli at tapas bars in Basque Country, and visiting the grill of a star butcher in Italy.”
And so he turns his gaze to his own continent. He’s in Montreal at the moment, gorging on bagels and poutine. But he admits that he needs help—it’s “an eating trip on a budget,” he says, and he wants “innovative and artisanal.” Which perhaps is why he has Ad Hoc on the list, and not the French Laundry?
I want to tell him that all his work has been done already, and the answers are all on Chowhound. Search the boards, dude. But maybe I should give him a break—he deserves the thrill of discovery.
You can check out his map and leave suggestions there. Show him a little Chowhounding sense. Tell him where to eat.
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Tagged with: media, chow tour, terrence henry, atlantic, food tour, travel
Is Orthorexia Nervosa Real?
Not familiar with orthorexia nervosa? Well, perhaps the symptoms will remind you of someone you know:
“Over time, what to eat, how much, and the consequences of dietary indiscretion come to occupy a greater and greater proportion of the orthorexic’s day. Even if physical and emotional health begin to falter, the sufferer continues a harsh dietary regime.”
E magazine rounds up some of the facts and speculation about the eating disorder, if that is, in fact, what it is. There are definitely skeptics.
“Kelly Brownell, PhD, codirector of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders told the website WebMD, ‘We’ve never had anybody come to our clinic with [orthorexia], and I’ve been working in this field for at least 20 years.’”
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Tagged with: orthorexia nervosa, eating disorders, e magazine, media, web md, health
Japan's Proposal for Tuna 2.0
Worried about the upcoming extinction of the tuna?
“Stocks of tuna have declined by as much as 90 per cent in some waters and the World Wildlife Fund has warned that the Atlantic bluefin will have been wiped out within three years unless radical measures are taken to protect stocks,” reports a Telegraph article looking at the state of the fish.
Worry no longer … or, er, worry about something sort of different, at any rate. Japanese scientists are working on creating a new and improved supertuna.
”’We plan to use the sequence to establish a breeding programme for bluefin tuna as most aquaculture farmers presently use wild juveniles,’” said [Dr. Kazumasa Ikuta, director of research at the Yokohama-based Fisheries Research Agency]. ‘We want to establish a complete aquaculture system that will produce fish that have good strength, are resistant to disease, grow quickly and taste delicious.’”
Well, there’s no way that can go wrong.
Image source: Flickr member maesejose under Creative Commons
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Tagged with: tuna, endangered, bluefin, japan, genetic engineering, media, telegraph, overfishing
