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.

Examiner: I wasn't the only one to be surprised by how good Hasta la Pasta's entry was in this year's Best Bites competition at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Fellow "supertaster" Mike Ricetti from the Examiner chimes in with his own take on the contest.

Foodie Houston: Jodie's luscious photos from Bernie's Burger Bus are killing me. KILLING ME. I just ate lunch (at the time of this writing) and am now hungry all over again.

Blog of an Aspiring Foodie: Chris comes to the defense of Saint Arnold and its Moveable Yeast series in his latest post, but the lasting point of his writeup is this: Everything is a gimmick. It's true. Welcome to life, folks.

Chili Bob's Houston Eats: Bruce always finds the most fascinating places before anyone else, and this latest gem is no exception. The sign out front -- Al-Nile Restaurant & Bakery -- had him thinking, initially, that it was an Egyptian grocer/restaurant. But once inside, he figured out that it was actually Sudanese, a rare find in Houston.

CultureMap: The Heights is getting all the good stuff these days, as Sarah Rufca reports on a new coffee shop/bar that will soon be opening in the old Heights Bank building at 18th and Yale. The name? Down House. But not downmarket, from the looks of the designers' and financiers' resumes...

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