In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad.

  • “A professional knife sharpener is a beautifully atavistic profession, not unlike being a cobbler or a Shaker chairmaker.” Best Knife Sharpener: Gary's Knife Sharpening Service.
  • “So many gluten-free cookbooks have the word “diet” slinking around somewhere on the cover. Presumably to catch the eye of those who might not have celiac disease but actually (really?) enjoy constantly running from one restrictive eating treadmill to another.” New Cookbook: The Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, Not Just For The Gluten Free.
  • “If what you're drinking is so sweet it makes your teeth vibrate like a cell phone, then it's probably the sort of high-calorie, nutritionally-worthless substance you ought to avoid.” The Sweetener Perhaps Soon to be Formerly Known As High-Fructose Corn Syrup.
  • “It's not going to suck.” Your Berkshire Pig Update: ReRide Ranch Pork For Sale at McCall's.
  • “The latest high-calorie stomach-twister hails from Texas too, and it might be the only substance apart from a gallon of cream-logged Mudslide that, when consumed in very large amounts, might give you a heart attack and alcohol poisoning in one sitting.” Fried Beer? Yes, Fried Beer.
  • “No word on whether it were organic, grass-fed or of the Costco value-pack variety. Assuming, of course, that it was meat.” Lady Gaga's Raw Meat Dress: Your VMA Meat ID Test.
  • “Maybe Paula Wolfert can break a bottle of arak over the doorway.” Ecole De Cuisine Pasadena: Farid Zadi's New Cooking School + A Moules à la Moutarde Recipe.