The Munchies

Where do you like to eat?

Places get foodie vibes as much as any style of cooking or any type of food. (Except bacon. Bacon is its own thing.) We’ve got some amazing cities with crazy-great people, and each one has different things to offer the food-lover who travels and those of us that call the city “home”.

We know you – you’re planning where you’ll eat on your next trip around what makes that place great. As it should be. So…is it barbecue you’re looking for when you head through Austin? Are you after the final word in California cuisine when you get to LA? Do you plan at least one meal on the street when you’re in New York? (‘Cuz how can you not?) Is the challenge in Portland to top the local-sourced list? Does San Francisco have your heart, or is the food on the wharf that gets you?

Foodie doesn’t just mean you like food. Foodie means you LOVE food, and the things that make food interesting. New ways to cook, new ideas in meals, better ways to scramble an egg… you get the idea. The end product matters, but the way to get there is worth talking about. A lot.

So you read the blogs. You know which ones offer what ideas, and your friends look to you to share the coolest stuff. THAT is a foodie.

So which blogs get your attention? Do you check out the interviews on Eater? Are you secretly asking questions at Food 52’s hotline just to see if they answer the same way you would? Is your browser homepage set to Grub Street to keep up with the new openings? Do you use the “surprise me” button at Smitten Kitchen to keep on your toes? Is it the videos at Tasting Table that keep you coming back?

Coffee. Love it.

Can you love coffee too much? No. No, you really can’t.

Sure, there’s a caffeine kick and that’s great. But really, our relationship with our coffee isn’t just about waking up. It’s ritual, it’s comfort and it’s … who we are. Are you a large dark roast, no room for cream? Or are you a half-caff, skinny, soy latte? Your coffee says something about you. Now you should say something about it!

Do you enjoy your java with the clean white walls at Barista Parlor? Do you crave the cold brew coffee at Blue Bottle? Are you a Dunkin’ Donuts loyalist for the joe or maybe because you want a bear claw, too? Do you care so much about beans that you chat up coffee origins with Intelligensia? Is Stumptown your morning brew because the baristas keep the conversation rolling while you get that just-for-you blend? Could be we missed something completely. We’re not about to get between you and your coffee. We know better than that.

Food blogger Dan Whalen from The Food In My Beard re-creates one of his fave BBQ foods in homage to The Munchies BBQ category.

It’s that time of year again – time to honor the best of the best in American food and dining with The Munchies People's Choice Food Awards! 

Team Tablespoon asked me to make something that was inspired by one of my favorite food places. I was browsing through The Munchies categories like Best Pizza, Best Taco, and Best Burger, trying to think of something tasty to make. I finally settled on one of my favorite foods – BBQ.

Looking at the BBQ joints nominated for the top spot, I saw some familiar names like Franklin Barbecue, Pappy’s Smokehouse, and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, and some others I hadn’t heard of like Arthur Bryant’s and Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Que.

Unfortunately though, I haven't been to any of these places yet. But that's not to say I don't have a fave BBQ spot!

My personal fave is a place in my neighborhood called Sweet Cheeks Q. Sweet Cheeks is hands down the best BBQ I have ever tasted, but the real surprise there is the biscuits. These biscuits are tender, moist, flaky and pretty much melt in your mouth, which is admittedly an odd thing to say about a biscuit. 

It wasn’t that long ago when beer was just… beer. Standard American ales have their place (as any baseball fan can tell you), but the last several years have seen an explosion of creativity in the craft brew movement. Sure, you can still get a beer that is just a beer. But now – now we have some spectacular choices that make us true fans and not just ordering whatever’s on tap. These meisters’ spin on the ancient art of brewing makes us gasp with awe, but what comes out instead is “You have GOT to try this…”

Beers like a Founders’ Porter that describes their chocolate malt as “cozy.” Or Namaste from Dogfish Head spicing it up with orange rind and coriander.  Maybe the complexity of six malts in the Brooklyn Brown Ale is more your style? Could be you could go on for hours about ditching barley for the Boulevard 80-Acre Hoppy Wheat Beer.  Perhaps this all just makes you Furious, like the crimson-contender from Surly Brewing. There’s a specialty beer waiting for your mood, your tastes, and your style. Which one says the most about you?

Nothing says weekend quite like brunch.

A good sleep in, a little time to adjust to the world, and then meeting friends for some food and talk. Strike that. Lots of food and lots of talk. It’s one of the things that makes brunch… brunch. You’ve got time, you’ve got an appetite, so what’s not to love?

Not everybody loves the same things about brunch, because after all, you’ve got some serious choices and it can be hard to pick. Take our nominees for Best Brunch Spot over at The Munchies Awards. There are a lot of great places to choose from, and a lot different things that make them great. The fish sides with the omelets at Barney Greengrass; the Charleston Nasty Biscuit at Hominy Grill; the bittersweet chocolate French toast at Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink; The Cubano at Tasty N Sons; the pastry board at the Publican; you really just can’t go wrong.

The question for your brunch is how to decide, and we’d like to know what makes the choice for you. Is it the coffee in one place, or the décor in another? Are you really just going to see if you can get the same wait staff you had last time? Nothing wrong with getting a little spoiled by hard-working folks. Not as long as you tip well.

Take a picture of what makes brunch great, or maybe share a favorite recipe here. Then head on over to The Munchies Awards and cast a vote. And tell your friends about it.