Have you ever read a food review and wanted to see how it stacked up against your own tastebuds/sensory organs? Last week W H Chong had the perfect opportunity to compare his views with Larissa Dubecki, editor of The Age’s ‘Epicure’.
Food
Restaurants serve up a tasty plate of design treats
Melbourne is known for its booming foodie scene, but restaurant design can be just as important as the taste in winning over the punters, explains Hilary McNevin.
Crikey Clarifier: Will ‘Choc Finger’ foiling mean we pay more for coffee and chocolate?
For those of us who live on caffeine and sugar, it’s exactly the news we didn’t want to hear. Coffee and cocoa prices soaring to record highs on the commodities market, so are these prices here to stay?
Exposing the truth behind the weapons of mass digestion
Now its all sponsorships, contracts and TV deals, but 13 years ago Major League Eating was founded as a joke. William Saletan looks into the depravity of competitive eating and how it managed to turn pro.
The sour business of being a food critic
Restaurant critic for UK’s Telegraph Matthew Norman writes on his odd profession, from the lack of official skills required to the terrible standards of many English restaurants.
Home on the range getting crowded for egg producers
Free range chooks are under threat. Far from a life roaming without restraint, a push to redefine the production of free range eggs nationally will make life even tougher. Michael Carter reports.
A whine about wine
Wine’s natural taste has been manipulated, globalised and destroyed in the pursuit of “big” wine flavours. It’s a crying shame that wines all taste the same now, says Tom Philpott.
Making a Dash to the food mags aisle
Seems the Masterchef fueled food obsession isn’t limited to Oz, with packaged food companies increasing their print advertising in the States and even a new mainstream food magazine due fresh out of the oven.
The tasty temptations of a blue light disco
Is it possible to mistake a colour for a piece of food? It is if you’re an insect. Genetically altered fruit fly larvae mistake the “aroma” of blue light for far more delicious things — like bananas and marzipan.
great read 
I’m a restaurant critic living on food stamps
Ed Murrieta was a newspaper food critic with $1,300 food expenses account. Now he is on food stamps, turning canned chicken into gourmet feasts and pouring $3 truffle oil over instant mashed potatoes.
The top 100 Aussie foodies on Twitter
Chefs, critics, sommeliers and garden-variety gourmands: a list of the most influential food fanatics in the Aussie Twittersphere to follow for scoops on the latest flavour-of-the-month in dining down under.
leaked The Pentagon’s 26-page brownie recipe
Document MIL-C-44072C, a highly important Pentagon manual has been leaked online. It’s contents? Twenty-six pages on how to make military standard cookies and brownies. They must not exceed 3.5”x2.5”x5/8”. Download the entire recipe here.
The tasteful art of food snobbery
Yes, food snobs are irritating wankers, but you too can learn to taste the difference between toasted and roasted. A tongue doctor, some chefs, a sommelier and a flavor chemist show you how.
Can you give your Good Food Guide hats back?
The head chef and owner of Sydney restaurant Pier wants to give back his three-hat Good Food Guide rating. Too bad, says Terry Durack: I decide who does and doesn’t have a hat. He’ll have to change his restaurant.
The shame of being a latte sipper
Typical bloody latte left, sitting in the latte belt, sipping lattes, judging hard working Australians. But what’s so wrong with a little milky coffee? Mel Campbell investigates the ideological insult.
Genetically Modified food: a force for good or evil?
Genetically modified crops are a tricky topic. They have the potential to solve world food shortage issues, yet they also could create massive super weeds and potential health problems. Should we be worried?
America: where one milkshake equals 30 cookies
A scary list of the worst 20 most sugar and calorie filled drinks from the junk food capital of the world. Beware the chocolate and peanut butter Coldstone milkshake, which has as much fat as 68 strips of bacon.
How can food be “slow”?
You probably know it’s the latest “thing” in dining, but what exactly is “slow food”? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not about slow-cooking, explains Jane de Graaff.
The economics of backyard chooks
Reckon you’re saving money on eggs by keeping chickens in the backyard? Maybe at the supermarket, but what about the coop, feed, water bottles, and the birds themselves… Joshua Levin does some serious number crunching on the real value of the backyard chook.
graph pr0n The real great Australian bite
In all the debate about population growth in Australia, there is one key issue that needs looking at: food production. Can we continue to grow all the food we need without properly addressing climate change?
Thoughts on meat
W H Chong muses on meat: it’s natural, tasty and can even be a feast for the eyes, too. So why do some choose omelettes over offal?
America’s worst meals
Forget the Double Down, there are some truly terrifying things being served up at American fast food outlets — like Claim Jumper’s 4,301 calorie Beef Back Ribs, or Chili’s 2,130-calorie Jalepeno Smokehouse Burger.
interactive map 
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
The 2010 World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards have been announced. Denmark’s Noma has knocked Spain’s El Bulli off the top spot and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck into third, while Sydney’s Quay and Tetsuya’s both made the list.
Daily Proposition: It’d be un-Australian not to eat them
If there’s one way to celebrate the diggers, it’s with rolled oats and golden syrup and a cuppa after the dawn service. So make your own Anzac bikkies!
Scoop! How icecream flavours are born
Ice cream company Ben & Jerry is known for its kooky flavours but how are they chosen? Its “flavour gurus” run contests, ask the public — everyone wants more peanut butter — browse magazines and gain weight, all in the search for the perfect flavour.
