"francis lam" news and stories

This weekend, the fifth annual Brooklyn Book Festival brought together a smattering of food writers from across the boroughs, including the Franks of Frankies Spuntino and Prime Meats; Rachel Wharton of Edible Brooklyn; chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant; Francis Lam, senior writer at Salon.com; and the Lee Brothers of Southern cookbook and boiled peanut fame.

There were many lively discussions on a variety of topics throughout the festival, but we've collected the most delicious quotes here:

On writing about food:

Gabrielle Hamilton: "It's a lot easier to cross off items on a prep list as opposed to figuring out the human condition."

Francis Lam: "I eat food because I love food. I cook food because I love food. I write about food because I love people."

Rubix Cube sandwich. Photo: Insanewiches.

A few of the best stories we've spied elsewhere on the Web this week:

Not everyone is loving the attention Julie Powell (of Julie and Julia) is getting. Gawker sums it up.

The Gluten Free Girl waxes poetic about the Northwest's incredible heat wave, her hatred of the Yankees, and a cornbread she adores.

Our sibling site Shelterpop discovers a treasure trove of gorgeous Danish peppermills.

The Huffington Post picks the top 10 U.S. cities for eating locally. Vote for the one you think should win!

Rubix cube on rye, anyone? Urlesque discovers, yes, Insanewiches.

Gourmet writer Francis Lam gets his hands dirty at a Chinese barbecue joint in suburban Toronto, Canada.