Weeks like this one make it hard to believe I'm actually leaving this post next Friday, because what a whirlwind of activity we've seen in the last seven days.

First is news of four exciting new bars heading to downtown, north downtown and Montrose. Two of those bars are from the Clumsy Butcher team (the guys behind Anvil, Blacksmith, The Hay Merchant, Underbelly, OKRA Charity Saloon -- you know, them), and one was a total surprise. The team had already announced plans for a tequila bar, but a press release issued this week added another bar to their downtown roster.

The Pastry War will be a tequila bar at 310 Main that also carries "an incredible selection of mezcals and tequilas, many of which have never been poured in Texas previously." The bar, named for a Mexican battle against French forces, will also serve classic Mexican cocktails and beer at what Clumsy Butcher promises will be affordable prices.

The surprise bar is Trigger Happy, which will open right next door at 308 Main (yes, that's underneath Bad News Bar). The bar plans to carry "around 50-60 wines and 20 beers on draft," all of which will be "bold and daring," the selection chosen as a "tribute to the drinks Clumsy Butcher loves and wants to share with Houston."

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Crazybananas

Taking pictures of food is a fun way to share with friends and family what you ate.

We are all guilty of whipping out our phones to snap a photo of our food at dinner, then making it look artsy and hipster before uploading it to Instagram for all our friends to see, secretly hoping they will be jealous of the delicious meal we are about to consume.

While many restaurants are banning customers from snapping photographs of food while in the dining room due to the obnoxious distraction it causes, a researcher believes this trend of instagramming pictures of food needs to stop for a different reason.

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It's fair to say I've become obsessed with microwavable desserts in a mug. I've made some fudgey 60-Second Brownies, a gooey Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie and a Crumb-Topped Mug Coffee Cake.

Now it's time for a muffin in a mug, or as I like to call it (because I'm super lame), a muggin. This blueberry muffin makes the perfect breakfast-for-one, easy mid-afternoon snack, or dessert (because who are we kidding, this is pretty much a glorified cake).

Here's how to make it:

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Texans love their homegrown restaurants and grocery stores, and the affinity that people feel for San Antonio-based H-E-B is easily matched (if not surpassed) by the cult of Whataburger. The best thing to come out of Corpus Christi aside from Selena (a.k.a. the Mexican Madonna), Whataburger inspires the sort of passion in Texans that In-n-Out evokes in those silly, silly Californians.

It's only natural, then, that two such beloved food purveyors would come together on a project guaranteed to endear both to fast food-loving Texans for all eternity.

It was announced a few weeks back that Whataburger would soon be selling its Fancy Ketchup, Spicy Ketchup and Original Mustard in H-E-B stores across the state. To anyone unfamiliar with the burger chain's condiments, let's just say they're pretty popular.

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Photo by Joshua Justice

Trent Brooks, pitmaster and owner of Brooks Place BBQ, earned a well-deserved spot on the list.

The last time Texas Monthly released its list of the 50 best barbecue joints in Texas was 2008. During that five-year interim, a lot has changed. Namely, the Austin-based magazine now boasts its very own barbecue editor -- the only publication anywhere to have a single person devoted to the cuisine.

That barbecue editor is Daniel Vaughn, the much-discussed and highly respected former barbecue blogger who's noted for two fairly amazing accomplishments as of late: First is his book, The Prophets of Smoked Meat, which is the debut title under Anthony Bourdain's line of books for publishing company Ecco.

The second accomplishment is driving more than 10,000 miles for that book as well as for Texas Monthly's latest barbecue guide. Indeed, between Vaughn and longtime food editor Pat Sharpe, the team covered an accumulated 33,168 miles and visited 658 places across the state before deciding on the final 50.

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Photo by telwink

New restaurants and bars are opening in downtown Houston faster than we can keep up, thanks to a renaissance around the Market Square Park area that's bringing new life to downtown's north side. But that's not the only part of downtown that's blossoming -- nor are those new restaurants the only game in town.

Note: For the purposes of this post, downtown is defined as the 1,178-acre area bounded by I-45, Highway 59 and I-10.

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Greatist

Wrigley stopped selling its caffeinated gum, Alert Energy, after the FDA raised concerns about added caffeine.

Wrigley's new caffeinated gum, Alert Energy Gum, only lasted a couple of weeks on the shelves of supermarkets, grocery stores and convenient stores after the FDA became concerned about the amount of caffeine each piece of gum offered.

With 40 milligrams of caffeine (equal to half a cup of coffee) in each piece, it's no shock as to why the FDA was concerned, especially because we live in a world where energy drinks and coffee thrive. Although other gum companies have released their own caffeinated items, like Mentos's Up2U Gum and Jolt's energy gum, the FDA has become recently concerned with the amount of added caffeine in foods and drinks.

In fact, the main worry the FDA has about caffeinated beverages and foods is that most of the products are marketed to children, who shouldn't be consuming energy drinks and coffee throughout the day. The FDA's limit for caffeine consumed each day is 400 milligrams, the equivalent of four or five cups of coffee. This limit is set for adults, but the FDA discourages the consumption of caffeine or caffeinated items by children and youths.

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Photos by Troy Fields

A little more than two years ago, I had dinner at a Heights-area restaurant serving Italian-Mexican fusion cuisine and endured a less than appealing meal with two friends. The saving grace of La Casa de Frida was our sweet server, a jovial man who treated us like family.

So when I kept hearing buzz for another Heights-area restaurant serving Italian-Mexican fusion cuisine, I wasn't exactly beating the door down. In retrospect, I feel foolish for having judged one by the other. Not every French brasserie is the same, not every Korean-Mexican food truck is exactly the same and -- as it turns out -- not Italian-Mexican trattoria is the same.

As a result, it took me far too long to discover the jewel that is Bellissimo, the subject of this week's cafe review.

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Photo by Troy Fields

Triniti.

29-95: Can a national media outlet really name the "top" restaurants across the country without putting in the legwork that people such as barbecue blogger Daniel Vaughn do, driving over 10,000 miles to visit 'cue joints for his book Prophets of Smoked Meat? That's the question Syd Kearney asks in a post that addresses "why some barbecue 'best of' lists are suspect."

Chow Bella: You may remember a story out of Arizona three years ago in which a bakery owner -- quickly nicknamed "Crazy Amy" for reasons which will be made clear in a moment -- went on an Internet rage spree after receiving a negative Yelp review of her business, Amy's Baking Company. Owner Amy Bouzaglo is in the news again, this time with husband Samy, after appearing on a recently-aired episode of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. After deciding that Amy's Baking Company was too far gone to save, Ramsey quit -- the first time he's ever done so -- and left the Bouzaglos to rage harder against the Internet than ever before, mostly on their very own business Facebook page. Caution: Caps lock ahead.

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pigeonpie

Graduation is right around the corner, so give your graduate a cookbook that will help them live on their own.

The end of May is approaching, meaning that graduation season has begun. Many high school and college graduates will soon be on their own and no longer under the wings of their parents, which means that they must provide for themselves. Every parent wants to know that their child is feeding themselves properly and that they can take care of themselves.

So gift to these recent graduates, give them a cookbook to help guide them through cooking on their own. With these reference guides, you'll feel better knowing that your child has a cookbook that they can rely on whenever they are in the kitchen.

5. The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen Cookbook

Not only does this cookbook provide 375 recipes made in a test kitchen, but it's all held together by a ring-binder, making it easy to flip through while you're cooking. This cookbook is filled with all sorts of recipes varying in cooking methods and nutrition. In fact, some dishes come with a smart phone tag that links the user to a how-to video for more help.

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