May 24th is National Escargot Day. Though it appears on fancier menus, the snail is an ignored food, kind of like cicadas and dandelion greens.

So, out of the past six meals or so at Katy's, I had one that was half not-so-goo. I'm glad to add this data point to the mix lest my high regard for this place appear, perhaps, uncritical. 

At last week's Farmers' Market, Nichol's was selling wasabi for $2 for a pound. The wasabi root was actually in cold storage all winter, so this was last year's crop. 

In May's Name That Restaurant game, the mystery dish was Pear Pizza from Cucina Paradiso. The winner was Nedra Boyer who told us, "I would recognize that pizza because I order it a lot!  The pizza and the rustic salad are dinner many times."

A general rule about harvesting from the wild, it's usually best to eat stuff when it's young and tender; as it gets older, according to Klehm, it acquires more medicinal qualities but it gets less pleasant to eat.

It is fantastic and foresighted that the folks at Pilgrim Congregational decided to hold a Food Truck Rally in their parking lot this afternoon. They had no way of knowing what they were bringing forth.

A lot of people I know were quite happy with Hutong, and I'm not exactly sure why they felt they had to move to the side to let Katy's in, but I'm glad they did.

Wandering in the streets and alleys around Austin Gardens, we found over 24 edible plants (usually considered weeds), all of which we nibbled as we walked. I've included just a few of them in the slide show above.

The pigs that were used at Cochon 555 were all "heritage" breeds, which means they're usually raised on small farms. These are the breeds that were once deemed unsuitable for the corporate supply chain. Now, heritage hogs are being appreciated, and their marvelously rich meat savored.

As part of this year's Pastoral Artisanal Producer Festival, which took place last Saturday, April 27, I was asked to judge this year's participants based on a number of criteria, including Most Likely to Become a Trend, Most Innovative Product and Best-in-Show. Here were my choices.