The Feed: September 11, 2013

The Feed is my weekly round up of interesting food-related stories from newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites.

Washington Post: “World’s Best Lasagna tops AllRecipes list for more than a decade,” by Caitlin Dewey.
If you’ve ever searched the web for a recipe, chances are you’ve come across AllRecipes.com in your results. According to Dewey’s article, it’s the most popular English-language food site. This is a great story not just about the website but also home cook John Chandler, who authored the site’s longtime most popular recipe: World’s Best Lasagna. Kudos to the Post for including not just Chandler’s recipe, but five other lasagna recipes too, including Mushroom Bolognese Lasagna, which sounds really good.

Washington Post: “India pale lagers, craft beer’s category straddlers,” by Greg Kitsock.
I’m generally not into lagers. I love my IPA—the hoppier, the better. But I’m intrigued by India Pale Lagers, a class of lagers hopped with the more aggressive Pacific Northwest hops usually reserved for ale. Kitsock writes about how these “IPLs” are proliferating in popularity, including several locally made (local to the D.C. area) examples.

Los Angeles Times: “Apples, apples everywhere -- 16 recipes and not one pie or tart,” by Russ Parsons.
With apple season arriving, I'm in the mood for some great apple dishes. But I grow tired of the fruit being treated as only dessert, so I was excited to see this great collection of apple recipes in the Los Angeles Times. Apple and fennel salad is a combination I really like (although there’s no credit, I think this is Jose Andres’s recipe from Jaleo—the manchego is the tip off). And the Apple-Bacon Coffee Cake with apples sounds really amazing.

FooDCrave: “Kapnos - A new Isabella delight on 14th Street,” by Amanda Liz.
Mike Isabella’s latest D.C. restaurant, Kapnos, a Greek outpost with a love of smoky flavors, got a great review from the Washington Post last week. Here’s another positive review, from the FooDCrave blog, which gives a wonderful plate-by-plate overview with pictures, and everything sound (and looks) delicious.

Refinery 29: “Make the Spiciest Margarita Ever,” by Gabriel Bell
My mouth started watering as read this piece, a collaboration with Jeanine Donofrio of the Love & Lemons blog. Spicy margaritas are hot!

New York Times: “City Kitchen: The Time Is Right for Lobster,” by David Tanis.
The price of lobster is down this year, due to an abundant crop. Tanis writes about seizing this opportunity to make lobster at home and offers a great recipe for pasta with lobster and fresh tomatoes.

Jim Romenesko.Com: “No Disguise for Baltimore Sun Restaurant Critic When He Talks to Chefs at Sun U.,” by Jim Romenesko.
The Washington Post’s restaurant critic, Tom Sietsema, is known for keeping his identity under wraps, never allowing himself to be photographed and even wearing disguises when he reviews restaurants—a time-honored tradition that former New York Times critic Ruth Reichl wrote about compellingly in her memoir, Garlic and Sapphires. Apparently, the Baltimore Sun restaurant critic, Richard Gorelick, does not share in this practice. Although he’s taken some steps to protect his identity, he will make public appearances and won’t wear disguises. It reminded me of Washington City Paper food writer Jessica Sidman’s introductory column from last year, in which she declared that she was not “anonymous,” since she didn’t think it necessary in today’s age, given the changing role of the restaurant writer. It’s an interesting change in the profession. As a blogger who writes about restaurants, I’ve recently thought about it for my own writing. While I don’t go tweeting to restaurants that I’ll be showing up for dinner soon—despite some that have offered to treat me nicely if I visit—I do have my picture on my site and I make reservations (and pay bills) under my real name. Since I’m not a major critic, I doubt it would make much difference. I think the role of the blogger critics is more to provide an alternative perspective than a definitive review.