Blogger Karma – Sharing blogs that make my day

The other day I realised that despite the fact I read a good amount of food blogs, I hardly have the time to leave comments to encourage those fantastic bloggers who spend a lot of time and effort creating interesting content for very little reward. But recently I thought, hey, why don’t I actually tell people about the guys I follow, and maybe that would make up for all the comments I should have left but never did. So here’s the first instalment of cool food blogs I think you should follow (and there are many I want to share). I think I’ll name this series “blogger karma”. If you like what you see, let these guys know. Bloggers live for comments and a little bit of encouragement goes a long way.

The Cake + The Knife

Amanda Bechara is one awesome girl, and her obsession with food could only mean one thing: she’s Lebanese. Well, she’s also quite Australian, but her genetics hark back strongly to the Levant, and that really does show in her writing. Amanda’s restaurant reviews are more delicious than the food she discusses; her blog entries as enjoyable as a good degustation and just as lengthy. We are now good friends, but my first encounter with this troublesome lass was a through her blog, where she wrote a ditty to a kebab that she came across at the Sydney International Terminal food court, of all places. Both being fiery Middle-Easterners, we battled things out in poetry in the comments, and the rest became history. Check out her hilarious post and the comments that ensued here.

My Mediterranean Diet

Brian is a journalist living in Gibraltar, one of the world’s unique locations, at the southern tip of Europe as it comes closest to Africa, smack between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. To escape the daily grind, Brian blogs about food, but not about any boring old food. Read about his experience with toro de lidia, meat from the bulls that die at the hands of Algeciras’ matadors, or join him on a trip to Marrakesh to experience how it’s like wandering the bustling streets at night. He has made Gibraltar a high priority on my travel itinerary.

Elegant Sufficiency

This is a very recent addition to my reading list. I found out about the fabulous Stephanie Wood through a common mention in the Foodies’ Guide to Sydney (see previous post). I was as happy about the mention as I was to discover Elegant Sufficiency. Stephanie’s blog is magnetic, charismatic and charming. I know, it sounds like I’m describing my self here, right? Well here’s the deal. Stephanie is a professional journalist and an editor for The Sydney Magazine, but her blog is a personal space, and really, this is what all blogs should be like: confidently clever, extremely humorous, captivating, thought provoking and informative. The man in me hates to admit it, but in reality, I cried when I read her tribute to her late father.