Kate Nerenberg, assistant food and wine editor:
• Foreign Policy's Joshua Keating takes food to a geopolitical level, explaining why we are, in fact, what we eat: How Food Explains the World.
• This blog post might have originally gone up in September, but we just stumbled upon it, and the images are too pretty to not share with all of you blessed readers. Recipes broken into beautiful still-life-like images (scroll below the jump for a slideshow): Ikea: Homemade Is Best.
• The Los Angeles Times debuted its Master Class column today, in which the paper's food staff will ask great chefs for cooking tips every month. Who better to start with than the guy who's arguably this country's best toque: Thomas Keller: A Chef For All Seasons.
Ann Limpert, food and wine editor:
• Because I have a new crush on Demetri Martin after last night's show at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, I now care what he eats. So should you: My Diet: An Exclusive Book Excerpt From . . . This Is a Book.
• Also on the comedy front: Last week on Parks and Recreation, Tom Haverford (played by Aziz Ansari) decoded his foodie lexicon, which includes super water (root beer) and pre-birds (eggs). Ansari and Amy Poehler reveal where it all came from: Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari Talk About the Origins of Chickie-Chickie Parm-Parm.
• Over at the Atlantic, former Washington Post writer Jane Black skillfully dismantles the virtue-pushing ad campaigns of big food companies: The Latest Food Marketing Trend: Fake Authenticity.
• A fascinating scientific look at all the things that go into chocolate cravings or oyster aversions: Taste Buds Are Just One Reason Why We Love Some Foods and Hate Others.
Sophie Gilbert, assistant editor and Sophie at the Stove blogger:
• If the idea of scarfing 50 hot dogs in ten minutes makes you feel sick, this might help: Nathan's Famous has agreed to give competitive eaters equal prize money this year, after outraged responses to the news that male winners would get four times as much as their female counterparts: Nathan's Ends Hot Dog Contest Prize Gender Gap.
• Got Royal Wedding fever? Curious about the correct behavior when it comes to Champagne? British etiquette guide Debretts can help: Everyday Etiquette.
• Five Guys is now the fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country, and it's all thanks to the recession, apparently. But is it really "high-end"? High-End Burger Joints Raise the Stakes. (Not Ray's the Steaks?)
Melissa McCart, Table for One blogger:
• I love Sam Sifton's writing. But it was this observation: "To do so is to experience the welcome culture of a restaurant that is unique even in a city as widely diverse in its culinary offerings as this one" that makes me excited about Washington's dining scene, particularly Rogue 24, the 24-course R.J. Cooper restaurant to open this spring: Restaurant Review: The Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare.
• I'm wondering how Monica Bhide kept her cool while cooking for José Andrés: The King and I.
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