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.

Talking Tolerance: The fallout continues from the story that we broke yesterday concerning Whole Foods and Ramadan. Jill Carroll, a professor at Rice University and blogger with the Houston Chronicle, discusses her take on the topic at Talking Tolerance.

Gawker: Meanwhile, national sites like Gawker have decidedly stronger words for Whole Foods. In its article yesterday, Hamilton Nolan writes: "This story in the Houston Press has actually, against all odds, made us dislike Whole Foods even more than we already did."

29-95: Greg Morago at the Chronicle finally got Bravo to talk about the upcoming season of Top Chef: Texas. It's bad news for Houston, though, as the network confirmed that it would not be visiting us for the show's taping. Bravo declined to explain why that is, however.

CultureMap: In happier news, CultureMap's Ruthie Johnson has a great roundup of the ten restaurants you should try out this August. Some are new, some are old, all are worth a visit.

Hungry in Houston: By way of explanation as to why the blog has been silent lately, Stef at Hungry in Houston tells us all about her new raw food diet. Ever wondered what exactly that entails? Read on and find out.

Cheap Eats in Houston: If you're like me, you like to drink wine. But you're also not wealthy. Cheap Eats in Houston solves this dilemma by rounding up what is possibly the largest amount of free or inexpensive wine tastings across the city I've ever seen. Just look at Friday and Saturday! Mama's gonna get her wine on.

Robb Walsh: Last but not least, Robb asks the important question: "Why waste homemade peach preserves on toddlers?" And then shows us how to make a brandied peach topping for your vanilla ice cream that is not for the faint of liver.