Carnival of Dining Out - Inaugural Edition

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Carnival of Dining Out. Many blog carnivals take the midway theme, but I suppose this may be more of a "County Fair of Dining Out" as there will likely be more references to cotton candy, corn dogs, and fried Twinkies than ferris wheels and bearded ladies. I hope to have a companion map put together soon of all the places that are included in the Carnival (and will add future submissions in subsequent months). I am working on getting it together and it should be done soon. In the meantime, as they say, on with the show...

I literally had submissions from all over the world. Sometimes I forget that the Internets stretch out far past my own backyard. The first ever submission to the first ever Carnival of Dining Out, as a matter of fact, came from neighbor to the north, Mark Levison, who presents Cafe Chez Victor posted at Notes from a Tool User. Next time you are up in Quebec, check them out!

Keeping the international flavor going, a late submission wins the "distance from home base" award. Gillian Polack, from Melbourne, Australia sent us an update on the Melbourne Chinese Food scene posted at Food History. Gillian's current pick is "Tea and Rice." I am a big believer in eating local and regional cuisine. Based on this post, should I find myself in Melbourne, I would definitely consider hitting a few local Chinese restaurants.

I am smart enough to know that Alaska is not an international destination, but I can't think of a better way to transition back to the states than with this post from Michelle Mitchell: Favorite Places to Eat in Anchorage, Alaska posted at scribbit. Three posts - three places I would like to visit to check out the food scene!

We will make one more stop out west before heading back to the east coast (sorry - nothing this month in flyover country!). I have a friend who lived in Seattle for awhile, and one of the things he tells me is that he could never find a good slice of pizza in Seattle. Not so says Mary Jo! Savor the Taste of Authentic Neapolitan Pizza at Tutta Bella Pizzeria is posted at The Seattle Traveler. As a New Yorker (there is no such thing as a "former" New Yorker), folding Neopolitan pizza is the way to go. Maybe the next time my buddy "wanders" out to Seattle (ahem....baseball trip next year?), he will weigh on the merits Tutta Bella. Poor Seattlites have been without quality pizza for far too long.

The Hungover Gourmet tells us about his birthday jaunt to the famed White House Sub Shop in Atlantic City, NJ at The Hungover Gourmet. This guy knows a thing or two about cheesesteaks, Joan Jett, and chowing down with a good view of the water!

Heading down the eastern seaboard, Mary Jo tells us about some DC dining on Pentagon Row. Lebanese Taverna is the place, and it is posted at Flyaway Cafe. In the nation's capital, this is the place to get your shwarma on.

We also had some welcome posts from folks discussing the topic of dining out, rather than specific restaurants. We'll call this "Dining Out in the News" (you should be hearing my best Ted Baxter voice right now!).

Cub reporter, Praveen, tells us about an ongoing battle between Panera Bread and Qdoba Mexican Cafe. Fortunately, a Judge Says Burrito Is Not A Sandwich and immediately clears things up! Check out the rest of Praveen's blog at My Simple Trading System.

My favorite Boston Gal (who will always be Jane Dough to me!) reports on something that hits a little close to home for me: Eating Out is the Reason Americans Can't Save? Yikes. I know that I spend way too much on dining out, but I also save a goodly part of my pathetic income. Boston Gal's Open Wallet is one of my daily reads.

I am not a big wine guy, and one of those reasons may be that it just seems like the price of wine in restaurants is just too much for me. Will Chen presents Pop that corkage: Giant list of restaurants that allows you to BYO wine posted at Wisebread. Perhaps my wino buddies from ROGUEfood already know about these places, but if there is a way for me to save money on wine (see Boston Gal - I can tie almost anything to saving money!), I could definitely find myself imbibing a touch more often.

Lastly, I leave you with my own submission. I thought for awhile about which of my own posts I should choose and I finally settled on my first foodie post of 2007, which was really just a recap of The Best of 2006. I was fortunate enough to hit a few of this country's corners in my travels in 2006, and I think I compiled a pretty good "Best of..." Besides, this gives me 9 extra pins in the map (when it is completed!).

The Carnival of Dining Out II (Roman numberals are en vogue this week with the Super Bowl looming this Sunday) will be up on Thursday, March 1, 2007. Make sure that you submit your blog article to the next edition before 5 pm on Wednesday, February 28 using our handy dandy carnival submission form. Future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. I hope to see you back here next month. Tell a few of your blogging friends and maybe we can get a few more submissions for the next edition. Thanks!

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