Poutine is all the rage these days, and so is pizza. Put them together, and what do you end up with? Why, poutine pizza, of course. In what may be the pinnacle of drunk munchies food, Brado Pizza in Vancouver, British Columbia, is serving a thin crust, topped with french fries, melted cheese curds, and a thick, beef-tinged brown sauce. While I've never tried poutine before, the calorically massive combo of curds, fries, and gravy doesn't intimidate me — and I love a good pie. I say bring it on! What say you?
Muffin Top Tin: Love It or Hate It?
Ever since I saw this muffin top pan ($19.95) on Serious Eats the other day, I can't seem to get it out of my head. The author of the story, a self-professed muffin-bottom lover, employs the pan to make other things, like individual quiches, gratins, and tarts. I, too, have never really understood the allure of the muffin top, but after reading the descriptive uses for the pan, I kind of want one. What do you think of it?
A Day at the Great American Food (and Line) Festival
For weeks I was looking forward to attending Serious Eats Great American Food and Music Fest at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. With big-name celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri, and the best of America's regional cuisine — Katz's pastrami sandwiches, Pink's hot dogs, Tony Luke's Philly cheesesteaks, etc. — it was sure to be a fabulous festival.
Unfortunately, the first-time event was plagued with problems, so much so that the organizer, Ed Levine, published a formal apology. The computerized credit card pay system crashed, the staff was unhelpful and clueless, and, most importantly, the wait to get any food was two hours long! Instead of smiling, contented faces and full bellies, the crowd was hungry, aggressive, and angry.
Luckily, as the day wore on and the crowds thinned out, things got a little better. Fieri and Flay both gave enthusiastic demos in front of cheering fans. The wine-tasting room was uncrowded, the line for bacon was empty, and the chocolate-almond-covered caramel sticks were finger-licking good. Did anyone else attend? What food did you eat?
To take a closer look at the festival, check out all of my images and read more
Trend Alert: Food Porn Websites
A couple of weeks ago, we reported that popular food porn site, Tastespotting, had been shut down. The food blog world went into shock and began mourning the beloved site. Food Gawker, a copycat site that mimicked Tastespotting in every way, was quickly created to fill the void. However after a couple of weeks, Tastespotting (now no longer a part of the parent site Notcot) reemerged with promises of being better than ever.
Tastespotting's rebirth may be too late as more food porn sites are quickly popping up all over the Internet. Sharing images of food is a growing trend that shows no sign of stopping. Last week Serious Eats launched their version, Photograzing, and yesterday For the Love of Food debuted Rezimo. Both sites admit they were inspired by Tastespotting.
While I was bummed when Tastespotting shut down, I find the creation of similar sites to be overwhelming. What do you think? Have you noticed any new food porn websites?
Would You Eat This Live Octopus?
The other day I came across a very disturbing video. In the video, one of my favorite America's Next Top Model contestants — Elyse Sewell from Cycle 1 — eats live octopus tentacles. She slurps the squirming tentacles down as if they were nothing and she does it while sexily eyeing the camera. Tyra would be so proud, Elyse looks like a model while eating live seafood!
I thought I could eat anything but watching the octopus move as she swallowed it made me feel kind of sick. Still, I pride myself on being adventurous and would try my hardest to stomach this octopus. How about you? Would you eat live octopus?

Would You Enjoy This Nacho Cheese Fountain?
Nachos are one of my all-time favorite foods. So much so that on Super Bowl Sunday, I decided I would open San Francisco's first all nacho restaurant to fill a much-needed nacho niche. Naturally at Super Nacho — my restaurant's work-in-progress name — there would be a nacho cheese fountain. The nacho fountain first appeared on Serious Eats yesterday; DJ Grocery borrowed his wife's chocolate fountain and turned it into nacho lover's heaven. While I would dive headfirst into this nacho fountain, I want to know what you think about it. Would you eat nacho cheese served in a fountain?
But Won't Your Soda Get Warm?!?
Most of the time I love living here in San Francisco, but occasionally, something pops up that makes me wonder why oh why I don't live somewhere else. Usually it's food related, and this time it's the Col-Pop. The Col-Pop is South Korean based BBQ Chicken's new gizmo that combines a drink container with a food container. Col-Pop could seriously take over the world, but right now they are available on the US East Coast only. Our friends at Serious Eats got to check it out and even made a video and a chart. Be sure to check out all of their coverage, or check out the video when you read more
Yummy Link: They Tested 132 Gums So You Didn't Have To
Speaking of gum, the folks at New York magazine taste-tested 132 kinds of gum. The folks from WD-50 — who know a thing or two about gums — were on hand to help out. — New York Magazine via Serious Eats
Yummy Link: Stuffed Tomato Nests
In my opinion everything tastes great when eggs are involved. Which is why I am trying to figure out how come I have never thought of baking an egg inside of a tomato. This looks seriously delicious! - Serious Eats
Yummy Link: Top Chef Bracket Game
Don't agree with the results of the last two seasons of Top Chef? Then join in on the Top Chef Bracket Game. Who would you have cooking in your kitchen? - Entertainment Weekly via Serious Eats