Todd Kliman, food and wine editor
• From Lapham’s Quarterly comes the late Hunter S. Thompson with a pithy discourse not on booze or speed or guns, but on . . . breakfast? The salient fact of the meal—and this is so very gonzo: It “should always be massive.” Breakfast of Champions
• Yes, that pic is real, and yes, it’s creep-tacular. Fifty Shades of Cake
• A parody trailer of The Dark Knight Rises. With hot dogs (and ponies). The Dark Knight Rises Trailer Reimagined With Hot Dogs, Ponies
Tanya Pai, deputy managing editor
• Summer’s most inescapable song gets a chocolate-chip-flavored reboot, courtesy of everyone’s favorite furry blue monster. Watch Cookie Monster Make “Call Me Maybe”About Cookies
• As a former picky eater myself, I empathize with AC’s plight. And recommend he try Zaytinya’s crispy Brussels sprouts. A five-step plan for overcoming picky eating (a.k.a. an open letter to Anderson Cooper)
• And finally, a backup plan for that giant watermelon you bought at the farmers market (on the off chance you run out of vodka). 11 Crazy Things You Can Do With Watermelons
Jessica Voelker, online dining editor
• Proof that print is not yet dead: There is no direct link to David Simon’s new Lucky Peach essay about pickles and cream, but it’s still required reading for anyone who enjoys goosebumps-good writing. Lucky Peach
• Underloved writers, this one’s for you: Rex Pickett, author of Sideways, the novel, pens a scathing letter to Virginia Madsen—star of Sideways, the film—after she disses Sideways . . . the play. An Open Letter to Virginia Madsen
• Watch out, pan-Asian restaurant owners—consummate gadfly Jay Rayner thinks you should be scolded in a dark alley. Jay Rayner: The Absolute Palate (via Eater National)
Sophie Gilbert, associate arts editor
• Nora Ephron never published a cookbook, although she was a terrific cook. According to this Times piece, some of her recipes were passed out at her funeral, taken from a handmade book she gave cast and crew members after Julie and Julia wrapped. A Farewell to Nora Ephron, Dish by Dish
• After seeing this picture of cookies baking in a car during last weekend’s heatwave, I had to wonder whether it was actually possible. And guess what? It is! Way to make lemonade out of global warming, HuffPo. Baking Cookies in a Hot Car Is Possible (In 4-5 Hours)
• The “chicken and the egg” question has long been a problem for philosophers, but young adults in Britain aren’t quite that sophisticated. In fact, one in ten apparently doesn’t know that eggs come from chickens at all. Now this is a Daily Mail story—and so has to be taken with a large pinch of salt—but even so, it’s depressing. One in ten young adults think eggs come from WHEAT as survey reveals our shocking lack of food knowledge
