Linkety Split: Food Writers Edition

So, what did you do this weekend? I spent much of it at a food writers’ conference (luckily, right here in NYC). It was a chance to meet, for the first time, countless people I consider friends–from Twitter, from Facebook, from all over the Internets. And what do you know, a lot of the folks at the conference write food blogs! Here’s a handy-dandy list of writers I met and those whose panels I attended:

The Oyster Evangelist by Joy Manning. Joy is a restaurant critic in Philadelphia who, much like New York’s own Sam Sifton, also has a wicked way with a spatula. Plus, Joy and Tara Mataraza Desmond (who I’ll get to next) are coauthors of a wonderful cookbook, Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet (I blogged about it back in July). They also write the Meat Lite column on Serious Eats.

Crumbs on My Keyboard by Tara Mataraza Desmond. Tara’s about to have a baby (literally, she could pop at any time), and while she waits she’s writing a companion blog called Crumbs on My Belly.

A Life of Spice by Monica Bhide. Monica was, as far as I could tell, the belle of the conference. There were dozens of people, like me, who considered Monica a friend but had never met her in person until this weekend. She’s just that kind and generous. She’s also the author of Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen, which I blogged about back in May.

Healthy Green Kitchen by Winnie Abramson. As the blog’s name implies, Winnie takes a holistic, healthy approach to food. And get this, New Yorkers: Her parents owned the legendary restaurant The Quilted Giraffe! Winnie didn’t mention this amazing fact; I discovered it when browsing through her blog.

Christie’s Corner by Charmian Christie. Charmian and I spent much of the conference trying to figure out how the heck we knew each other. Just a few hours ago she finally figured it out: We’d crossed paths a while back on a message board. Small world.

Poor Man’s Feast by Elissa Altman. Elissa’s like me, a book publishing pro. But while I was in marketing, Elissa edits cookbooks (and still does).

FoodJobsBook by Irena Chalmers. This woman is the insider’s insider. She literally wrote the book on jobs in the food industry, Food Jobs: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers.The blog is related to the book, but her subject matter ranges across all sorts of food issues.

Food and Things by Laura Weiss. If you live on the Upper West Side of New York, I’m betting you already know about this one. Laura’s blog is devoted to all things food in her stomping grounds.

Food Writer’s Diary by Bret Thorn. Bret is the food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, a major trade publication for the food service industry. His blog covers his nights out and about as well as topics of interest to people who, given the choice, would rather dine out than cook.

Were you at the conference? If you were and you have a blog, give a shout in the comments and I’ll add you to the list. And if you’re curious about just what was discussed at the conference, you can stream some of the panels here.