Sampler Plate: This Week In Food Blogs

Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below.

Confessions of a Gluttinous Chinaman: One of two blogs that we were just turned onto this week by one of our favorite Twitter users, @HTownCheapEats, this is a man's food blog. The entries are short, punchy, to the point and full of hilarious profanity. And although Daniel has been stuck in the horrendous-sounding Tulsa recently, we learned something new from his January entries: Brian O'Neil's has brunch. Fifty cent mimosas? This we need to try...

No Sweet Meat: This is the second new blog this week, and every single post of Tim's makes us giggle like mad. As the title indicates, he doesn't like anything sweet mixed with anything savory, and tends to go on Lewis Black-esque rants against things like Mo's Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix: "Are you freakin kidding me?! Perfect mix of salty, smoky, and sweet is akin to saying there's such a thing as a perfect mix of babies, kittens, and hand grenades!"

Great Food Houston: Ruthie's writeup of Stella Sola echoes the feel of the restaurant itself: fun, down-to-earth and full of life. If you were on the fence about trying the Texan-Tuscan place for yourself, you'll definitely want to give it a shot after reading this.

Beyond Beltway 8: Cory takes the rather uneventful news that yet another wine bar is closing and turns it into a fascinating treatise on the soul of Houston's food scene and the direction in which the rise of "Gulf coast cuisine" might yet take us. An excellent read with plenty of talking points.

And on the national scene...

Eater: The highly anticipated second season of Top Chef Masters is on its way, premiering on Bravo on April 7. Eater reveals the entire lineup of "cheftestants" (yes, we hate that word too), which includes -- as expected -- Houston's own Monica Pope.

Serious Eats: Do you want your Valentine to go into diabetic shock and die? Then give them the Deathcake Royale from (who else?) Cupcake Royale in Seattle.

Boing Boing: Speaking of death and royale, it's a battle royale in Arizona, where Battle Deathburger is currently taking place: "The owner of the Heart Attack Grill in Arizona, which offers a 'quadruple bypass burger,' is suing the owner of the Heart Stoppers Sports Grill in Florida." Both restaurants have a disturbing hospital theme, complete with "sexy nurse waitresses." This is all a little too much for us; we'll keep getting our heart attacks at Hooters, thanks.