Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Oh Food Blogs!

WARNING, ADULT LANGUAGE AHEAD

It seems that Food Blogs are like assholes; everyone has one, and they stink.

Well that’s not entirely true, they don’t all stink.

There are a number of very good ones out there. Some of my favorites belong to folks that have become friends of mine. So, if you’re looking for some good Bloggage (I just made up a word!), without having to wade through a sea of horribleness,  check out these. They’re each different, written by good people, whose opinions you can trust, they’re not filled with horrible looking, dimly lit, out of focus food porn photos, and are blogs I read on a regular basis.

Sky Full of Bacon comes from James Beard award winner Mike Gebert. Mike is a great writer and film maker who has written for the likes of The Reader, Time Out Chicago, Saveur.com, and was the editor of Grub Street Chicago.  Mike’s unique point of view and compelling writing style make this a blog to read on the regular. Mostly revolving around local dining from dives to high end, but he also delves into local farms and markets, searching out info about where the food we eat comes from. This guy really knows food, but better, knows food people and gets them to talk about their passions. Dig deep and you'll even find a good number of celebs. If you're not so much the reading type, Mike produces some great videos and the sight is peppered with them.

From Belly to Bacon is written by my friend Mark S. This blog is all about cooking. Mostly about curing and preserving, but other methods are certainly explored. Mark brings readers into his very creative thought process in coming up with fantastic ideas in cooking. He takes you through the formulation and execution of dishes that you’d often never consider making, and makes them very approachable to the home cook.  Some of his projects take months or longer to execute (Ham!), some are made with items he forages, some are even right out of cook books. One thing that really compels me about Mark’s blog is that in the past few months I was researching ideas I had in food and twice(!) From Belly to Bacon came up on the top of my Google search. If you enjoy cooking you must read this.

OK, so this next one has a name that isn't exactly family friendly but F*ckerberg on Food is written by my friend Kenny Z. Now, Kenny is opinionated, to say the least, but he’s super funny, often in a sarcastic way, and super knowledgeable about food. He even cooked professionally for a time. Kenny is very good at telling you what he doesn't like, and why. I may not always agree with him, but I always enjoy reading his blog. When Kenny does like something, you should sit up and take notice, because this guy really knows food. The story of how this blog got its name is a good one. Kenny tried out a new sandwich place opened by celeb chef Graham Elliot Bowles. Kenny didn't like what he had to eat and, in that special Kenny way, tweeted about it. G.E.B. didn't like that and called him "F*ckerberg" during the back and forth banter.  So when Kenny started his blog, he already knew the name. He totally embraced it. If you're looking for no-holds-barred restaurant blogging, this is the one for you.

Finally here's a new comer to the Blog Party. Stuff I Eat by my friend Josh. There's only two posts, so there's not much I can tell you about what it is or will be. But what I can tell you is that Josh is smart, funny, and can talk food with the best of them. He has a level head, calls out silliness, and is sure to entertain and inform.

There are certainly more popular, celebrated, and perhaps even better food blogs out there, but these are some of my favorites.

You should check them out.