The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Hsiao-Ching Chou dissects the increasing popularity of what's always been my favorite cut of pork: "Forget oysters. If you want to get a chef all hot and bothered, whisper "pork belly" in her ear. "It's such an amazing textural experience," said Maria Hines, chef and owner of Tilth restaurant. "You have a nice layer of meat, a nice layer of fat, another nice layer of meat, another nice layer of fat, and when you cook it properly, you have a thin crispy layer on top that's crackly when you bite down into it -- which you should never do in less than three seconds."... More

The Kansas City Star published a three-part feature late last year on how schools in their area are working to improve the quality of food, it's well worth checking out whether or not you have school-age children for what's said about trends in healthy eating. Part 1: Reap it and eat visits the Niles Home for Children, where the fresh produce used in the cafeteria comes from the school garden that the students work on: "Ratcliff, the garden director at Niles, has seen kids who professed a lifelong hatred for vegetables try —and like — everything from cucumbers to kohlrabi, a kind of cabbage. The pea crop never made it to the cafeteria because the children ate them all straight... More

Florence Fabricant explains why over 300 people (including 80 chefs) flew into Monte Carlo from all over the world to spend this past weekend commemorating the 80th birthday of the chef Paul Bocuse in Celebrating the Ringmaster of the Restaurant Circus: "Before chefs had their own TV shows and million-dollar book deals, when today’s international obsession with chefs and restaurants was in its infancy, Mr. Bocuse was on the cover of Time magazine as the champion of nouvelle cuisine. People knew his name when they could name no one else who worked in a kitchen. "He made it possible for chefs to be respected international celebrities,” said the New York restaurateur Drew Nieporent. "And he made haute cuisine popular. His... More

Sizzling hot: Bay Area chefs and diners rediscover the irresistible appeal of fried chicken by Amanda Byrne: "The weird thing about chicken at Town Hall is that I couldn't sell it before," says chef-partner Mitchell Rosenthal. "Then I put this fried chicken on the menu, and now I sell upwards of 35 orders a night." Really thorough article that manages to also be mouth-watering—I'm having fried chicken for lunch today as a result! There are great tips at the end on frying chicken plus four recipes, in case you'd like to make your own, and also a selected listing of SF Bay Area restaurants that serve fried chicken. Other highlights: Marlene Sorosky Gray, on how real maple syrup isn't just... More