Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

Eater Houston: Reports of Red Onion's imminent demise were confirmed this week when the cafe closed its final location last week. To add insult to injury, employees were reporting that instead of focusing on saving the restaurant, chef/owner Rafael Galindo was instead focused on filming and pitching a reality show. Eater Houston has the trailer for the abominable-looking show, which is called -- appropriately enough -- Wannabe Chef.

Dude, You Going to Eat That?: In better news, Dr. Ricky reports that in his time since leaving The Burger Guys, chef Steve Marques is doing better than ever at The Tasting Room in Uptown Park. Ricky has also given Marques a nod for creating what he calls "The Best Chocolate Ice Cream in the World," a dark chocolate blend made with duck egg yolks.

Hungry In Houston: Adam and Stef are still going strong on their raw foods diet so far this year. And the pair's latest post showcases one of the best and most popular raw food recipes of all time: banana ice cream, made only with frozen bananas, water, agave nectar and almonds. You'll never know it's not dairy.

It's So Dericious: Can't wait for conat to open? Keep abreast of pastry chef/partner Chris Leung's beautifully abstract dessert creations and concoctions at his blog, the intentionally misspelled It's So Dericious.

Houston Entree: The Digest section of Houston Entree has a brand-new look, and -- this week -- a reminder that one of the city's great food radio shows is now back on the air. After parting ways with 1560 The Game, Southbound Food is now on the airwaves at 740 KTRH every Saturday from 4 to 5 p.m.

CultureMap: Lastly, CultureMap makes an argument for (or is it against?) a "dying" downtown restaurant scene. Granted, the always ill-fated Houston Pavilions haven't been pulling in the business its creators had hoped, but we don't see downtown's restaurant scene dying. Do you?