During college, I spent every day reading about the food adventures of my peers on a college wide forum called “Foodies”. Through foodies I expanded my palate, learned about global food traditions, and occasionally regaled the forum with my own adventures, including the infamous “Iron Chef Banana” and “Iron Chef Molasses”with partner in crime Lizzy.
After college, shut off from the college network, I turned to food blogs, waiting patiently for my favorite bloggers to post their new stories and creations. This was almost perfect, but I realized I missed one essential part, coming up with my own contributions- so I created thesecondlunch to fulfill that joy.
My RSS feed is overflowing, and I’m always looking for new things to read. I apologize in advance for any hours that may be lost by discovering some new ones on this list you may have overlooked.
Also, this list is ever growing, and I’m always forgetting people. If you know I read your blog, or you are my twitter friend, and I haven’t gotten to you, I welcome you to give me a nudge – and get yourself on here.
101 Cookbooks: by Heidi, in San Francisco. Heidi writes about the most wonderful healthy foods – and is the author of a wonderful cookbook, ‘Super Natural Cooking’. And when I say healthy, I mean, yes, they are healthy, but also they are some of the most delicious recipes ever.
A Cat in the Kitchen: by Dagmar, from Sweden.
Alice Q. Foodie: by in Southern California. One of my favorites!
Cafe Fernando : by Cenk, from Istanbul. Features swoon-worthy photos and some of my favorite Turkish foods. His blog is one of the first ones that I read on a regular basis and got me hooked on food bloggers.
Canelle et Vanille: by Aran, a Basque ex-pat living in the US. Painfully beautiful photography of elaborate pastry and sweets. I wouldn’t mind being her neighbor…
Chez Pim: by Pim, a Bay Area blogger. The creator of Menu for Hope, and one of the original food bloggers. Partner of David Kinch of Manresa – and has a thing for jams. And is the author of ‘The Foodie Handbook‘. And she’s a sweetheart!
Chocolate & Zucchini: by Clotilde, from Paris. A wonderful blog filled with food and fun. She’s also the translator of the Beee-autiful “I Know How to Cook” the English version of Ginette Mathiot’s classic french cookbook.
Cookbook Catchall: by Sabra, from New York. Professional food photography and easy recipes. She also takes gorgeous photography of children. Good food and cute babies? Yes please!
Cooking with Amy: by Amy, from the Bay Area. Amy is a veteran foodblogger, and cookbook author. Her most recent book is William Sonoma’s New Flavors for Appetizers. She also runs a useful calendar of food events for the bay area on her blog that is a great resource!
The Cooking of Joy: by Joy, in Massachusetts. (She gets extra credit for her amusing blog title). She also gets extra credit for some really great Taiwanese recipes, among others.
David Lebovitz : my Ice Cream god! A former pastry chef at Chez Panisse, David Lebovitz moved to Paris many years ago and now is living the sweet life writing about his city, food, and a healthy dose of chocolate and sweets. Also one of the influences for my camera choice (A Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3)
The Delicious LIfe: by Sarah, from LA, who also runs the site Tastespotting. Her posts run the gamut – a little bit of everything that will make you hungry, envious, and on a food high.
Dorie Greenspan: One of the queens of baking, Dorie is the author of some of the best baking books, including ‘Baking from My Home to Yours’ and ‘Baking with Julia’. She has a cult following on the internet of people baking through her books (a well-deserved cult following!)
Foodhoe’s Forraging: by Sandy, from the bay area. She hunts for the best meals around, and occasionally whips up some of her own tasty grub. You’ll want to eat on the town with her!
Give Recipe: Zerrin, from Turkey. This blog has been one of my go to blogs for great Turkish recipes that I’m used to from my mother’s kitchen.
Hedonia: Sean and DPaul, from the Bay Area. I’m always pleasantly surprised at the posts here – it’s always exactly what I want to read about. I’m also impressed by the innovative blogroll – one star for the bloggers that he has met, and two stars for the ones with which a meal has been shared…
Honey and Jam: by Hannah, in Georgia. She was homeschooled, has run her local farmers market, and her baking is to die for.
Inuyaki: by Arnold, from the Bay Area. Arnold might be best known for his obsessive love of Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc (he posts the daily menu on his site), but he also treats food like an adventure to conquer – and it’s not unlikely to see results from his home sous vide machine, or even using a blow torch to make prime rib. He’s also a supremely nice human being!
Jamie Oliver: one of my culinary heroes. He also happens to write a pretty excellent blog.
Just Hungry and Just Bento: by Maki. These are two of my favorite blogs devoted to Japanese food and Bento – really the authority on the subjects. She was one of my biggest inspirations for starting to create my own bento, and her great japanese recipes are often in rotation in my own kitchen.
Lisa is Cooking: by Lisa, in Texas. Like me, Lisa has a bit of a thing for cookbooks. She’s adventurous, has great taste, and is always making the food I want to eat!
Local Lemons: by Allison, a brooklyn ex-pat living in Berkeley. Cooking locally and seasonally is her specialty – but she’s wowed people recently by making some glorious versions of fast food [ie.. organic, best ingredients, and carefully crafted]…
Lottie and Doof: by Tim, from Chicago. Great, just great.
Luna’s Kitchen Magic: by Luna, from the Bay Area. This lady is a TRIP! One of my new favorite twitter friends, Luna is a professionally trained chef who does a little bit of everything!
Lunch in a Box: by Biggie, from the Bay Area. Biggie has some of the best bento tips (japanese lunchbox making) on the planet. She’s also a riot of a human being.
Martha’s Blog : by Martha Stewart, one of my Culinary Heroes. Her blog is great – a fascinating look into her personal life, which I reassure you is really as awesome as I imagined it to be.
Matt Bites: by Matt, from LA. A beautiful photography blog by photographer and food lover Matt Armendariz. This guy is just plain awesome.
No Salad as a Meal: by Haas, from the Bay Area. This guy does the best little restaurant reviews of the greatest restaurants around. I’m always so jealous! He also is able to take great photography inside restaurants, which is an impressive feat!
O Pistachio: by Philomena. I first started reading her blog while she was living in New Hampshire, my home state. Her large, really clean photos are so incredibly beautiful and appealing. And she’s always baking up something sinful.
Offal Good: by Chris Cosentino, Chef at Incanto restaurant in San Francisco. His blog is the whole hog!
Nordljus: by Keiko, in the UK. An absolutely beautiful food photography blog.
Orangette: by Molly, in Seattle. The author of the lovely book: A Homemade Life. An absolute sweetheart – I must admit I acted a bit like a crazy fan girl when I got her on the phone a few months ago.
The Pioneer Woman: by Ree, from the Frontier. Her new cookbook ‘Pioneer Woman Cooks‘ features some of the amazing recipes on her site, but she also devotes a good amount of time to photography about the most beautiful land, animals, pets, and her dear family – I could get lost on her site forever. She’s also a spitfire woman, who should be an inspiration for everyone.
Ravenous Couple: by Hong and Kim. When I first found out about their blog, I read the entire contents in a lazy day. Their varied Asian cooking is superb and empowering – the recipes really work and make the cuisine accessible!
Rancho Gordo: by Steve, in Napa. The BEAN MAN!!! Steve runs Rancho Gordo, my absolute favorite source for heirloom beans that are fresh, delicious and of the greatest variety. He also does a good deal of cooking that I envy!! I’m always checking out his posts for new inspiration.
Simply Recipes: by Elise, in Sacramento. One of the original queens of foodblogging, Elise has been doing this longer than almost anyone else. Her blog is the go to for simple recipes that are foolproof and sure to satisfy. She’s also so, so, nice.
Smitten Kitchen: by Deb, in New York. What can I say, it’s one of my favorite food blogs – I cook from her blog quite often. And, she’s a new mom to the most adorable little baby. New York comfort food, every day comfort food, and the best variety. I’d love to be her kitchen guest!
Steamy Kitchen: Jaden, from Florida. Love, love, love her blog! Making Asian food accessible to even those with just a Walmart to purchase all their food at. She also has the CUTEST kids – and is the author of a fantastic cookbook ‘The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook’. She can also be seen on TV, on the TLC website, and in print – an inspiration to food bloggers everywhere!
Tartelette: by the lovely Helen, a french ex-pat living in Charleston, SC. Her pastries and beautiful food styling are to die for.
Tiny Urban Kitchen: by Jen, in Boston. One of my go to sources for both food ideas, and reviews of restaurants in the Boston Area. I’ve spent the entire day reading her blog at times…
Wasabimon: (gluten free) by Stephanie, in the Bay Area. In addition to gluten free goodness, Steph writes a really great column called Food Blogger Spotlight – interviewing food bloggers from all across the blog-o-sphere. She’s also a cool lady in real life!
We are Never Full: by Amy and Jonny, in Brooklyn. This tasty twosome shares their travels and their adventurous home cooking.
The Wednesday Chef: by Luisa, in New York.
Wendolonia: by Wendy, in the Bay Area. One of my inspirations for creating Bento! This mama serves up tasty bento’s to her little ones (who’s cuteness is also prominently featured on the blog.)
White on Rice Couple: by Todd and Diane, in Southern California. This duo comes up with the greatest recipes, cooking tips, and food photography ideas. They also do culinary tours and classes that I wish I could participate in!
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GreenUpgrader: a site that I write for.
Eat, Live, Run: by Jenna, from Healdsburg, CA.
Kath Eats Real Food: by Kath, from Charlotte, NC. One of my favorite healthy living blogs – Kath writes about her daily meals, exercise, living, and her passions for Oatmeal. A real inspiration!
This is Reverb: by Pastor Ryan, in Cincinnati.
Blogs from My Neighborhood:
Noe Farm Report
Noe Valley Buzz
Noe Valley, SF
haha bananas. molasses. next time we should combine the two.