Todd Kliman, food and wine editor:
• As a frequent guest of the program's "Local Restaurant World Tour"—and having worked with producers on the concept—I enjoyed this piece on Kojo Nnamdi and his interest in the intersection of food, culture, and politics: Kojo Nnamdi, Reluctant Foodie.
• Chateau Margaux, one of the grandest estates in the world, has come up with a "bubble tag" device to ward off counterfeiting. Wine prices for premium wines, especially Bordeaux, are sky-rocketing right now: Chateau Margaux's New Bubble Tag.
• I was fascinated by this story, having just picked up a container of fried carrots for my son and me. Tasty stuff, and better for you than potato chips. Apparently, if you market the veggie like junk food, it'll fly off the shelves: How Carrots Became the New Junk Food.
• Interesting piece by Evan Dawson, of New York's Cork Report, on the changing role of judging color in wine: The Money of Color.
Ann Limpert, food and wine editor:
• All those Cuisinart toaster-oven demos must’ve paid off: Eric Ripert has himself a custom-made Louis Vuitton knife kit: Knife Guy.
• It was written months ago, but Dallas Observer writer Alice Laussade’s hilarious dissection of the Texas State Fair (“Cotton candy, grease, and arrhythmia”) is deserving of its James Beard Award nom this week. Still on Team RuBo, though: OK, Who Put Food in My Beer?
• Give thanks to your chef with PBR: A New Way to Tip.
Sophie Gilbert, assistant editor and Sophie at the Stove blogger:
• St Patrick was a health guru? Who knew? St. Patrick's Diet Similar to Today's Health Foods.
• Wine is always an acceptable gift—especially if you're a congressman. Roll Call calls it a "legal but unconventional" way of donating to a congressional campaign: Members Take Cash, Check or Fine Wine.
• New chain restaurant laws are mandating that movie theater concession stands display calorie counts, and the National Association of Theater Owners isn't happy about it: Movie Theaters Fight to Keep 1,460-Calorie Popcorn From Rule.
• And bad news for the Easter Bunny: Political unrest in the Ivory Coast is driving up chocolate prices this year: Easter Egg Prices Soar by Up to 140%.
Kate Nerenberg, assistant food and wine editor:
• New York Times writer and cookbook author Amanda Hesser responds to an updated Google recipe-search algorithm on her site Food52. She brings up lots of interesting points that touch on America's cooking culture (hello, "quick & easy") as well as what it takes for Web sites to garner clicks: Google's New Recipe Search.
• Here, I'll admit it: I like Doritos. And Cheetos. And lime Tostitos (and apparently anything that rhymes with those chips). While I'm as into fighting America's obesity as much as the next guy, this article about Frito-Lay going all-natural is so very sad, although it did note that Doritos and Cheetos aren't getting their chemicals nixed just yet (the company is working on only half its products right now). Quite puzzling is the fact that Frito-Lay is maybe working on a chip that contains my favorite ingredients in a cocktail, preferably at the Passenger: cucumbers, mint leaves, and thyme: Can This Chip Be Saved?
• An interesting way to think about "local" food: Natty Boh, crabcakes, and Old Bay Wings. Say hello to the new menu at Baltimore's baseball stadium: Oriole Park's New Menu Delivers Local Flair.
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