Thank god some folks are such serious gluttons for punishment. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to present you with our new DCFud writers. We’ve roped them in with offers of fame and fortune and now their culinary writing will be ours, all ours!

Patrick (PKG)
PKG has got our restaurant reviews and recipes covered. He also plans to write about the joys and thrills of outdoor charcoal grilling, since he’s threatening to buy a sophisticated infrared thermometer just so he can measure grill temperature as a function of number of Kingsford briquettes.

Avram (SouperAvram)
SouperAvram’s not much of a cook, or even much of a writer, but DCFud’s unofficial Free Food Offer Correspondent is known for going to great lengths to NOT pay for food, from hounding corporate offices to standing in line for hours at a time just to get a decent deal.
Chunae (CZ)

Chunae is on a Socratic quest for the best food and is determined to find it. He’s not sure at what point he turned into a foodie, but he thinks the advent of FoodTV had something to do with it.
Jenn (JEB)

JEB is a lover of food and drink, and even though she has taken several classes about wine, she believes that there is no better way to learn than to taste.

TC Duong (TDC)
With no professional “cred” at all, TCD continues to find new venues to spout off about cooking and dining because he does both all the damn time. He and his partner J run the DCFood Blog. Their wedding was described as a Quaker, social justice, feminist, anti-racist, Southern barbecue, pan Asian fusion, and scent free wedding.

Today’s article for discussion:
Let them Eat Canned Tomatoes
“For the newer generation, a love for traditional fine cuisine is cast as fussy and snobbish, while spending lots of money is, curiously, considered egalitarian and wise. I object to this equation. Shopping is the province of the privileged; fine cooking is not. Indeed, great cuisine arose from privation.”
Julie Powell discusses the foods we eat, what they say about class and decency, and how that can be misread.
(Bonus mention of Brillat-Savarin!)

Well look at that – we got a mention in the Washingtonian Online. Man oh man, do I feel like a slacker now for being on vacation at the moment. Thanks, Washingtonian!
Congrats are also due to DCFoodies‘ excellent Jason Storch and our own new writer TCD of the DC Food Blog.
Woohoo! And such.

…I would SO be into attending this event being held tomorrow. Perhaps other Fud-readers are in better financial shape than I am.
The S. Dillon Ripley Center at the Smithsonian will hold an all-day workshop, “Food Writing For Food Lovers,” this Saturday, led by Dianne Jacob, author of Will Write For Food: The Complete Guide To Writing Restaurant Reviews, Cookbooks, Recipes, Stories and More. In the morning, there will be workshops and tutorials to help writers find their style.
In the afternoon, however, there will be three impressive appearances: Kim Severson of The New York Times, Jeffrey Steingarten from Vogue and DC’s own Tom Sietsema from The Washington Post. Attendees will get to hear their words of wisdom in a panel discussion, with Severson on trends, Steingarten giving personal appearances, and Sietsema – in disguise, of course – letting us know his reviewing methodology. Sadly, though, your $131 admission won’t even buy you lunch at this shindig.
Would it be wrong for me to cancel on my good friend visiting from NYC and just throw this on my credit card? Sigh, I suppose so. If anyone ends up going, well, then, we’re expecting an article on it. And it better be good; you’re learning from the best!

Today’s 7/11. Do those numbers ring a bell?
If they bring to mind a ubiquitous convenience store chain, you’re onto something. DCist beats us to the punch to inform you that in honor of the date, 7-Eleven gives out free 7.11 oz Slurpees each year to customers.
In the interest of not completely turning into www.DcFreeFud.com, we won’t bore you further, but find your nearest location on the company’s website. The chain has over 20 locations in the District alone.
What’s your favorite Slurpee flavor?

When it comes to potato chips, I generally think of them in four flavor categories: Regular, Sour Cream and Onion, BBQ, and Probably Inedible. Perhaps the tides are turning, but can chips flavored with Norwegian Lobster and Tientsin peppers really be good? Too many times have I been fooled by a New Flavor!, like “Spicy Salsa” or somesuch, that turns out to be all sugar and no spice.
A recent report from the UK says that the market for spicier, more exotic flavors is increasing rapidly, due to a more world-wise population with more adventurous tastes. I certainly hope that this is true, because I cannot wait to try Sage or Cantonese Black Bean flavored chips. Yum!
I cannot wait for Cantonsese Black Bean chips to hit my local vending machine.

So you love to write. You love to eat. You’re dying to find a way to combine your obsessions.
Sounds like you’re a great candidate to be a DCFüd writer. This month, our website is eagerly looking for new voices to add to our staff.
Say you’ve tried out a new restaurant and think Tom Sietsema is crazy for giving it 2 stars. Or you’ve got a great family recipe you’re just dying to share with the D.C. community. Or you just have a really passionate opinion on which local joint serves the best falafel.
Our style is informative, but casual. If you think you’d like to write, just toss a couple writing samples, or a few story ideas, to dcfud.writers@gmail.com. We’re hoping to hear from you!

Are you a celebrity chef stalker (some of us have already admitted as much)? Do hearing the names Emeril Lagasse or Charlie Palmer get you more excited than spotting Christina Aguilera or Christian Bale on the street?
If you follow the D.C. restaurant scene, purchase cookbooks like they’re crack or want to see people like Roberto Donna in action, you should check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s Food Culture USA. Events begin today.
This is the first time the festival’s taking on food as one of its themes, and it will feature book signings, three areas for cooking demonstrations and lectures and events dedicated to various food topics, such as immigrant cooking, slow food and farmers’ markets.

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For farmers, making sure that only the most marketable goods leave the farm is crucial to business, and agriculturalists have long sought better ways to test and examine their produce. Now, USDA researchers have developed a laser taste-testing system that measures the sweetness, acidity, and texture of apples and peaches quickly and non-invasively. It’s the latter that’s critical: traditionally testing is done on samples taken from each batch, which reduces yield and sale volume.
This new technique promises better and more efficient quality controls, but will the cost be over-homogenization? Customers want a consistent product – an apple should taste like an apple, etc. – but at some point we could lose all the variation that is so exciting about good fresh produce: sometimes you bite into an apple that’s just amazing, and it’s a great surprise. If they all tasted that way, where’s the fun?