The Houston food blog explosion

My list of links is growing.

Houston has had an explosion of food blogs over the past year. Three years ago, you could count on one hand the number of blogs that discussed Houston restaurants. Now we have over 20. It seems like I have added at least 5 new blogs to my links in the last week.

What is the explanation?

These are a few possibilities:

1 - Jenny did it. She has jump-started the Houston food dialogue in a way that no one else has. She started the Houston Chowhound web board less than a year ago. She also has organized countless meals where bloggers mingle with other food fans, many of whom were inspired to start their own sites.

2 - Everyone wants to write a blog. There has been a lot of discussion about blogs for the past 5 or 6 years. But now, a much wider group of people know how to do it. And they believe they have something to say.

3 - Food flavors have become a topic of conversation. For years, wine writers such as Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson have engaged in a dialogue about wine that focuses on texture and flavors. "This medium dark ruby-colored effort reveals soft, berry flavors with steely/mineral-like notes in the background." For the most part, no one wrote that way about food. Sure, restaurant critics wrote about dining and chefs talk about cooking. But there was a lack of conversation about flavors. Food blogs focus more on the minutiae of flavor.

4 - Gladiator chefs. Do you remember the thrill and excitement of the first time you saw the original Iron Chef? The idea was so audacious -- turn chefs into gladiator heroes and pit them in battle against each other. Five years later, we are inundated with chef challenges and battles and contests. Cooking has become a gladiator sport. And the equivalent of the sports spectator blogs are the food blogs.

Recommended blogs

My list of blogs on (on the right side of the page) is democratic. If I hear about an active blog that addresses Houston food regularly, I include it. If you have a blog and want to be on it, just mention your blog in a comment.

Still, I have several favorites. To me, these blogs epitomize the diffent types of food fans:

Tasty Bits. Misha puts Houston in an international perspective. He travels around the work on business, and eats very well. So when he talks about a Houston restaurant, he really can compare it to places like French Laundry, Brasserie Roux, and Alinea. He's been there.

She eats. This is perhaps our most casual, funniest, and most personal food blog. Who else could create an hour-by-hour account of every weekend -- and actually make it interesting? The number of posts are down recently because the author has been writing slightly more serious pieces for the the Houston Press blog (below).

I'm never full. Houston's best-named blog. Great photos. Some of the most authoritative writing about Houston's Chinatown. The author has exposed me to more restaurants than anyone else in town.

Texas Burger Guy. There is nothing better than a healthy obsession. Ok, maybe not so healthy.

Eating . . . Our Words. The Houston Press's blog has a great collection of writers, from Jay Franciss to Katharine Shilcutt to Robb Walsh. There is no betters source for food news.