The ditch dogs at Ditch Plains are a notable gutbomb.

It's been over a year since FiTR embargoed the use of the term "gutbomb" on our website, except for special cases. This is one of those special cases. This post seeks to define gutbombs, note how and when they occur, and offer a selection of recently encountered examples. Perhaps it will help you avoid G-bombs in the future - or maybe it will just induce you to try new ones. Each example is embellished with FiTR's 100-point Gutbomb Index (GBI).

[See More: Some of the City's Best Nachos, in an Unexpected Place | Pretty Bird: 5 Turkey Trends for Thanksgiving]

More »

Here's a commercial circa 1970 featuring "Twinkie the Kid."

It was 1933 when the first Twinkie rolled off the assembly line, manufactured by Continental Baking Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. The inspiration was strawberry shortcake, and the crème-filled snack was intended to be something of a substitute during the months when strawberries were not available.

Twinkies are also the stuff of urban myth. One says that Twinkies are so laced with artificial preservatives that one will last 100 years without appreciable decay. Another suggests that Twinkies won't burn, and you could use them almost like asbestos. Twinkie - delicious snack, pernicious pouch of chemicals, or indispensible cultural artifact? Now that we've learned that this much-loved (or perhaps not-enough-loved) cake treat is about to be discontinued, here are seven different ways of looking at it.

More »

Easy as pie?

Our common speech is littered with food-derived aphorisms, metaphors, and other figures of speech. Some, like "wolfing down a meal" and "that guy's a vegetable," are rather obvious, but there are others that seem inscrutable, where not enough of the original idea remains. Here are 10 food idioms that maybe need some explaining. [Note: This is a very inexact science. Feel free to disagree.]

More »

If you've been following the social media world today, you've most certainly caught some chatter about the Times' Pete Wells's review of Guy Fieri's new Times Square restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar. And if not, let's catch up.

See More: Searching for Guy Fieri At Guy's American Kitchen and Bar

More »

flickr/stella di casa

According to the most recent reports, many of you will have your power restored by this weekend and will begin rebuilding your homes and lives.

Hopefully, you've already had a chance to asses any damage, as well as grab some belongings and clean up. In case you haven't had that opportunity, here are 5 ways to sanitize your kitchen and fridge this Sunday.

More »

This long out-of-print volume in now difficult to acquire -- maybe for a reason!

Ann Barr and Paul Levy coined the term "foodie" in 1981, a term that has achieved near-universal acceptance. They offered their most complete definition in 1984, when they published the satirical Official Foodie Handbook in London, subtitled "Be Modern -- Worship Food." In it, they detected tendencies that have now become preoccupations, lampooning -- but also giving backhanded praise -- for those obsessed with food, then a small coterie, now an army. Their prescience is really amazing, coming way before Top Chef, Whole Foods, meatball mania, single estate olive oils, and all sorts of food snobbery we now take for granted.

More »

At Mouquin's, 1905, William J Glackens

As someone who goes out to eat a lot, I'm tuned in to the nuances of service at restaurants, but I'm also used to them. It rarely bothers me when a waiter hands the wine list to the man I'm with, or puts the check down in front of the man, assuming that the man will order the wine and pay. If anything, I find these assumptions amusing.

But on a recent meal with a queer friend, I found the ladies-and-gentlemen code infuriating.

More »

What if these establishments were moved into a food court -- with art and seating?

[See More Food For Thought: Another Rooftop Garden. On a Truck? | What 'Belongs' in Harlem?]

I'm aware of all the arguments in favor of food trucks:

1. They allow entrepreneurs to start restaurant businesses with far less cash than a storefront requires.
2. They cost virtually nothing, rent-wise (though other costs including fuel, parking tickets, and the vehicle itself must be taken into account).
3. They can charge the same prices as a brick-and-mortar establishments for similar food.

More »

Telegraphing its greenness, the St. Louis food truck Lulu's Local Eatery is ready to sell you a sweet potato falafel.

[See More Food For Thought: What 'Belongs' in Harlem? | 12 Careers Created or Transformed by the Age of Foodism | Live Feed From Tokyo: Ramen at Ippudo]

Just how green can food trucks go? There they sit, belching diesel fumes into the torrid summer air as you wait in line for your overpriced-but-hip snack. Well, a St. Louis couple has hit on a way to make their truck greener -- by growing a garden on the roof of the vehicle, releasing at least a soupcon of oxygen into the atmosphere in the process.

More »

Vegan mac and cheese from Seasoned Vegan

As the internet blows up with rants about culture, race and authenticity in food, and Eddie Huang draws rigid lines between what does and doesn't belong in the Harlem restaurant scene, here's a brief reminder about the project we mentioned two weeks ago.

More »