"Washington Post" news and stories

• Celebrated chef Frank Ruta is a modern rarity -- despite all the attention, he really wants to stay in the kitchen.
• This 11-year-old kid is a prodigy of the cooking variety.
• You've heard of locavores, but how about locapours? We're talking wine here, folks.
• And speaking of local: The most talked about Washington insiders right now happen to be turkeys.

• Despite the popularity of cheap, delicious food in tough economic times, "Street food trucks roll into red tape."
• "Sustainable" food and "green" cuisine may attract conscientious eaters, but their meanings are at best loosely defined -- and may be misleading.
• Allison Hooper of Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. picked up the cheese-making trade as a student in France, and her company now produces 1.5 million pounds of fromage a year. She published a cookbook, "In a Cheesemaker's Kitchen," to celebrate their 25th year in the business.
• Leftover season is upon us -- so find out everything you need to know about freezing food with the "Big Chill."
• Industrious food-industry businessman Payam Tabibiam got his start selling candy bars at double profit to fellow middle school students -- and has finally opened his own restaurant, the successful Z-Burger, which offers initiatives from food-eating contests to a whopping selection of 75 milkshakes to attract customers.
• Recipe highlights: a healthy but hearty Cod in a Fennel-Tomato Broth; Moroccan-inspired Spiced Carrots; an autumnal Fennel, Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad.

Today, the Washington Post published an article discussing the effect of the economy on area restaurants. It's not a pretty story. Not only do ingredients cost more, but people are eating at home more often than they used to. There's no question that fine dining restaurants are suffering, and that they're adjusting their menus and business strategies to cope.

On the flip side, however, the article mentioned that some less expensive restaurants are actually doing well. Personally, I think I'm in the camp of people going out less frequently, but still attending the restaurants that I would ordinarily attend. I'd rather save up for a few nice meals than eat out regularly at places that I don't love. Check out the article if you have a minute, and let us know what you think!

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It's so exciting when carry-out pizza arrives at your doorstep, and terribly dissapointing if the pizza became smushed or the cheese slid to one side or some other disaster occurred. The Washington Post tested out various pizza parlors in the area to see which pizzas withstood the delivery process the best, and found seven that fared pretty well. Though the actual list applies mainly to those of us hanging out in the D.C. area, I'm wondering if there are any national chains notorious for delivering pizza that has fallen apart? And similarly, which service provides pizza that looks like it came straight from the oven?

For more on the Post's recent pizza kick, check out Ellen's recent post on The Washington Post in 60 seconds.

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Do you consider yourself a pizza lover? A specialist of sauce? A connoisseur of cheese?

Can you express your love for pie in poem form?

The Washington Post wants your pie-kus, written in - you guessed it - haiku form (which, for those of you who weren't paying attention in fifth grade, is an un-rhyming poem consisting of three lines: The first is five syllables, the second is seven, and the third is five.

Get your creative juices flowing, because the deadline is April 30. E-mail your poem to food@washpost.com with "PIE-KU" in the subject line, or send it to: Pie-Ku Contest, c/o Joe Yonan, Food Section, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Make sure you include your full name, address and telephone number.

Good luck, my pizza-loving poets.

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