Todd Kliman, food and wine editor
• Figures. Someone comes up with a goofy fake promo–TacoCopter–and someone else comes along to examine its “lessons.”The Marketing Genius of TacoCopter
• This mock entry of a foodie’s diary reads like just about every food blog ever; it could use more mmmms and nom noms, though. Foodie Underground: The Secret Diary of a Foodie
• This blistering, brilliant review by Leon Wieseltier of the New American Haggadah—put together by Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander—is a must-read if you’re a conscientious Jew, a lover of books, a devotee of good criticism, a culture junkie, and/or an invited guest to a Seder this week. Comes the Comer
Jessica Voelker, online dining editor
• Philadelphia magazine editor Jason Sheehan can slay you when he’s being heartfelt, as in the second half of a recent two-part Gilt City series, Butter Means They Love You
• In the April 2 New York, Michael Idov profiles a hipper-than-thou young foodie (she rejects the label, like any foodie worth her salt pickles would), tagging along on some of her culinary adventures through the boroughs. My favorite bit is when his subject asks Idov to name his favorite restaurant and he comes up with–gasp–Eleven Madison Park. “I feel the air whoosh out of the room. . . . There falls a pause while I savor, perhaps for the first time, at age 35, the full extent of feeling old and out of touch.” (This thirtysomething savored the feature’s photographic shoutout to the Crumpet Shoppe in Seattle, where she used to have lunch at least twice weekly.) When Did Young People Start Spending 25% of Their Paychecks on Pickled Lamb’s Tongues?
• News came this week that DC’s own fedora-toting toque Spike Mendelsohn will soon return to the small screen, as Bravo milks the Top Chef cash cow for every last drop. Life After Top Chef: Bravo Announces a New Series
Sophie Gilbert, associate arts editor
• Ah, Vogue: The only place in America (outside of maybe Toddlers and Tiaras) where it’s acceptable to talk about the intricacies of putting your seven-year-old daughter on a diet. Dara-Lynn Weiss’s recent essay sparked a huge amount of controversy (and a book deal), prompting Judith Warner to wonder whether we shouldn’t actually be thanking her for revealing how messed up we all are about food.Why We Should Thank Vogue ‘s Diet Mom
• Polyface Farm’s Joel Salatin says everyone can afford to eat better, so don’t call it “elitism”–it’s just a matter of priorities. Rebel With a Cause: Foodie Elitism
• Robert L. Wolke goes into more detail than anyone would ever think possible about that great food phenomenon–asparagus pee. Why Does Asparagus Do That?
