When new bloggers join the Slashfood team, we like to make sure they get a proper introduction to our readers. You've met Annie Scott, Monika Bartyzel, Stefani Pollack and Alanna Kaufman. Now meet the latest addition to our team, Mike Pomranz.

Do you have a personal blog?

A friend once told me: "You need to post a website or something. How the hell am I supposed to know what you're up to?" She was kidding. I have serious problems.

For the election season, you can read my Election '08 comedy blog, Slander '08. Coming soon, I'm launching Wiijuvenated to deal with my Wii addiction. You can also often find me blogging on behalf of my rock band here or my musical comedy duo here. And if you're a fan of blogs that haven't been updated in years, feel free to look here, here, here and, uh, even here. (Please note, many of these blogs are not safe for work or for society in general.) Maybe one day I'll stick with a blog for more than two months at a time.

What is your day job, or rather, what do you do when you're not food blogging?

As a writer, comedian and musician, I spend a lot of time on the couch.




How long have you been blogging with Slashfood and what is your favorite post?

I'm on month number three. My favorite post was one of my first -- "When apricots collide" -- discussing the Pyramid/Magic Hat merger. Right off the bat I wanted to do some real investigative journalism type stuff. It was great. Now I just Google "beer" and cut and paste the first thing I see.

Do you have any non-food-related, non-blogging hobbies?

My life is a hobby.

Not every foodie does, so we have to ask. Do you cook?

When I cook, I'm a surprisingly good cook. I'm not a good cook that often.

What is your most prized utensil/gadget in the kitchen?

When we first moved to Brooklyn, we screwed a Brooklyn Brewery wall-mounted bottle opener next to the fridge to make everything official. It was a nice moment... and very useful. But the gadget I'm most impressed with is the magnet thing you can stick knives to that hangs over our sink. Awesome.

List three things in your refrigerator right now.

A two liter bottle of Diet Coke (I drink a ton of it), Green Giant baby cut carrots (Green Giant was on sale) and a bottle of Heinz ketchup that we debated whether to buy and have since only used once (big ketchup people we are not). Beer-wise, I still have Guinnesses, Kronenbourgs and a semi-infamous Redbridge. We do most of our drinking out.

You have to impress a date with a meal. What are you going to make?

If I'm going to impress anyone, we're going to have to go to a restaurant.

What is the last thing you ate?

Cold pizza. Is that show still on ESPN2? That definitely seems like one of those things where they started with the name and worked backwards. The last beer I drank was a Chimay Red.

Confession time – what do you eat that will get you banned from Slashfood?

There is a chain in Southern California called Tommy's Hamburgers. Go to a franchise of one of the originals, not one of the hundreds of knock-offs. The reason Tommy's rules is because everything comes with chili on it -- gross, cheap, congealed, and unbelievably delicious chili. Literally, if you want something without chili, you have to say, "Can I get a cheeseburger, hold the chili?" or they will pour chili all over your burger. I kind of wish everything in life was like that.

As the beer guy, I guess I should also point out that sometimes I will drink an MGD just because the taste triggers fond memories and a lot of times I will drink PBR just because its cheap. Fine. Ban me. Or pay me more.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I can go weeks surviving off pasta and cheese; I don't think I could live without it. It's a problem.

Your Mom makes the best _____.

When we were kids, she made us "happy toast" which we loved. It was toast, but with butter and garlic. We were easy to impress.

Which chef would you most like to have come into your kitchen and cook you dinner?

I'd be happy with anyone coming into my kitchen and cooking me dinner. Can you get people to do that?

With whom would you most like to eat dinner?

Dinner with Brad Douglass is always a pleasure.

Your drink of choice?

I used to go to a bar in Philadelphia called Chaucers. Whenever I walked in, without even asking, the bartender would pour me a Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale. If that could happen at every bar I ever went to, I would be a happy man.

Where was your best restaurant dining experience?

HMS Bounty in Downtown Los Angeles makes the best Monte Cristo sandwich I have ever had. I was so impressed I stole the menu and have displayed it in every apartment I have ever lived in since. I used to keep their number in my phone and occasionally call them up just to let them know how much I loved that sandwich.

The worst?

The time I had an entire plate of white mussel sauce poured on my jacket comes to mind. The weird thing was, no one seemed to care. And then when I pointed it out, the busboy said it wouldn't stain. Yeah, thanks, it definitely stained.

Do you want fries with that?

I'm a fry schizophrenic: Sometimes the craving is unbearable and sometimes I can't stand to look at them. I'm also very picky. Steak fries all the way for me.

What foods do you think should be banished from existence?

I hate raw corn. Corn should be used as a grain to make things, not just eaten as is. I also hate Coors Light.

What do you see as the biggest "thing" in food for the coming year?

Everything will be eaten in pill form and we will use almighty beer to wash it down.

[Photo Credit: Andrew Moisey]