Tanya Pai, deputy managing editor
• After last week’s foie-mageddon in California, Grub Street makes a case for 13 more banned foods we should be able to eat. Making this the first defense of haggis I’ve ever read. Outlaws: Thirteen Banned Foods We Should Be Able to Eat
• Over at Serious Eats, Dan Souza takes a scientific look at what makes Doritos so freaking delicious. (Spoiler: It’s MSG.) Why Nacho Cheese Doritos Taste Like Heaven
• And as someone who never had one (and never understood how they didn’t melt!) but always wanted one, I enjoyed this look back at the evolution of the Easy-Bake Oven. Tiny Ovens for Tots: A Kitchen Evolution
Jessica Voelker, online dining editor
• Obama continues his tour of Washington restaurants with exposed brick walls. In Honor of Father’s Day, Barack Obama Hit Up Kenny’s BBQ Smokehouse for Ribs
• Huge bummer. Talented, impressively dedicated Times-Picayune writer Brett Anderson—whose accounts of the post-Katrina restaurants rebuild was required reading for legions of NOLA food fans—confirmed this week that he is among the many felled staffers of that newsroom. Brett Anderson, New Orleans Food Writer, Is Laid Off
• NPR blogger Linda Holmes sinks her teeth into Adam Martin over at the Atlantic Wire for what she sees as a pretentious reaction to Burger King’s bacon sundae. Worth a read if only for the expression “fiery flapdoodle.” How We Talk About a Bacon Sundae
Sophie Gilbert, associate arts editor
• This essay by Tess Lynch about the curious personalities on the Food Network might be one of my favorite things ever written. Key quote: “Guy Fieri is a unique being. He inspires culinary and personal hatred for a number of reasons, including wearing sunglasses on the folds of his neck fat and accessorizing with flame decals. He yells, and sometimes yells when he eats.” The Guy Fieri Problem: On The Next Food Network Star
• Prepare for a deluge of London-inspired stories over the next few months. This one, at NPR, explores whether Olympics-goers will be able to find any decent food while they’re in the gastronomic wasteland that is the UK (sarcasm mine). An Olympic Task: Finding Good Food at the Games
• But at least they can enjoy a Pimms Cup or two while they’re over there. And guess what? The delicious, fiber-filled drink is starting to catch on this side of the pond, as well (you can buy it at Bar Pilar, but, like, Roger Federer, it’s better served on grass). From That Tropical-Drink Paradise, England
Anna Spiegel, assistant food and wine editor
People with food allergies: no longer scorned by chefs as “wimps,” but finally taken seriously, according to the Wall Street Journal. Allergy-Free Dining
And because it’s Hump Day, Mitt Romney’s war on pastry continues. Mitt Romney Struggles to Identify a Donut
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
