Last week, readers of D Magazine's food blog, SideDish, were introduced to a new contributor. She went by the name "foodbitch." Moniker aside, she seemed like any other after-work food blogger: sassy, smart, obsessed with food trucks. She brought some readers with her, folks who knew her from her foodbitch Twitter feed and web site, and was received with a mix of excitement and suspicion by the blog's fleet of dining-obsessed commenters.
Then, not long after it went up, the post just ... disappeared.
If anyone noticed, they probably just figured the link was killed off by some accidental technical glitch. But foodbitch, who emailed last week after seeing our call for contributors, says the link's death was no involuntary manslaughter. From her email to me:
A few weeks ago, Nancy Nichols at D Magazine's SideDish blog invited me to write for SideDish. I'm a copywriter by day and food blogger by breakfast, lunch and dinner so I said "of course!" It was my big break. Or so I thought. This past Tuesday at 9:02 a.m., my first post sprung up on SideDish. 'Meet Our New Contributor: foodbitch.' 28 comments and 24 hours later the post was removed.
Foodbitch says she was told that the magazine's publisher, Wick Allison, had been on vacation when Nichols, the mag's food editor, enlisted her services. Allison came home, saw the post, and smothered it with a pillow. We can only hope that there was a lot of stomping involved.
I emailed Nichols and Allison about it. Haven't heard back from Allison. Nichols just fired back:
Basically here is the real story. Wick is our editor in chief. He did not like the name foodbitch. He preferred foodcunt, but I didn't approve of that. So we flipped a coin and let her go.
Yes, freelancers, your life is so fucked.
"That was the end of my 1-day stint as a food writer for D," foodbitch writes. "Good thing I had already told everyone I know about my good fortune. And face hits desk."
Of course, the post still lives in the Google's Magical Cache Forest. I've pasted it below as well, just in case the forest gets logged before you read this.
We're also talking to the 'bitch about making some sort of contribution here at City of Ate. Our Bastard always said she wanted a bitchy sister.
Hi there, I'm foodbitch.I don't like to be disappointed. When a restaurant disappoints me, I tend to let people know about it. And when a restaurant delights me, I will do the same in equal force. You may not agree with me, but I think you'll agree my motives are genuine. I'm not a professional chef, effusive food reviewer, or famous culinary expert. But I am an expert orderer (in my opinion), a lover of the culinary experience, a home cook -and yes- a food snob. Most of all I'm a writer; I aim to entertain. But I'll keep it short and sweet.
Jump and take it or leave it.
Let's talk about Dallas. I grew up here, moved to Austin for college, and came on back home to find a whole new city. My eyes opened to what food can do by charmed travels to New York City where I dined at spots like Jean Georges and Bouley. I know some call Dallas a dining Mecca and others a dining disappointment. But I say: we all live here, so let's just eat what's good and avoid what's not. Let natural selection take care of the rest. I know, I'm an optimist.
So here are three things I'm loving about food in Dallas right now.
1) Local/Farm/Seasonal/Fresh/Organic
This trend is something I was a fan of before it existed. It's something chefs have known forever and diners are only just beginning to understand. If you aren't on board, get there. And I'm no hippie. I mean to say that fresh, organic, seasonal ingredients from local farms makes for better tasting food, better quality and a better economic impact.
2) Food Trailers
I recently partook in an Austin Food Trailer Tour. Austin's food trailer scene is so Austin it's crazy. But in Dallas? Why the hell not? I love that this is happening here because it's something bigger than just mobile food. It represents a change in Dallas, brought about by the people who live here who defy the Dallas stereotype. Big-haired, diamond-wearing real estate beyatches didn't bring food trailers to Dallas. Real people looking for vibrant, delicious, real food with less fluff brought it. And did they ever.
3) Our Dallas Chefs
No, I don't know any of them personally. We do not hang out. And I don't idolize their celebrity. I'm not a chef groupie. But I do admire our Dallas chefs for their passion. They put themselves out there day after day, trailblazing, taking compliments and complaints that sometimes get personal. But it's their enthusiasm for their work that keeps them cooking, and creating dishes we should try. I'm proud that they represent our city. And yes, I'll call them out when they disappoint me.
This concludes my introductory bitch on SideDish. Big thanks to Nancy and the team at D Magazine for giving me this tasty, Dallas-scented soap box to scream from. I'm almost certain I don't know quite what I'm in for, but I'm excited for the ride.
