Back in the saddle after a few weeks off, there have been a handful of interesting food newsbits that have come across my desk over the last week.
First, the latest on the McCormick & Schmick’s saga. As I noted back in April, the 94-unit Portland-based steak and seafood house was looking at a possible takeover after Tilman Fertitta, an M&S shareholder, made what some deemed a hostile bid to acquire the slowly sinking ship. The board of directors, however, did not take Fertitta up on the offer and as reported …

Via a speculative post on Eater, restaurant fans learned today that Colicchio & Sons chef de cuisine Shane McBride would be moving on from his position at the New York restaurant. McBride, who has been a part of the Colicchio staff for the last three years, formerly manned the Craftsteak kitchen helm before making the transition with the restaurant to Colicchio & Sons. Though there’s always curiosity as to whether a departure is part of a restaurant’s master plan or simply a change of scenery, Craft’s Damon Wise left a …

With the new year nearly upon us, it’s time for the annual Daily Blender wrap up of predicted food and beverage trends from around the web.
Starting us off is food service research and consulting firm, Technomic. Always with a finger on the pulse of the food industry, the folks at Technomic suggest that food trucks and pop-up restaurants will continue to thrive in 2011, with an increase in consumer spending, thanks to “frugality fatigue”, as well as a growth in recognition for farmers and producers. Unsurprisingly, they also predict that …

When I began in the food industry, it had more to do with paintbrushes and less to do with pots and pans. The local apple orchard was a popular one and they hired high school students to work their frenzy of a fall festival from August to November every year. Seasonal hires would work tirelessly every weekend from morning to night, entertaining whiny kids, enduring country music cover bands, and staving off nausea from the rampant smell of french fries and horse droppings, all while trying to stay warm as …

This week, the Humane Society of the United States began a campaign against popular breakfast spot, IHOP, or the International House of Pancakes. Following the release of details from an undercover investigation by activist group Compassion Over Killing, which reported the horrendous conditions of IHOP egg supplier Michael Foods, the Humane Society is petitioning IHOP owner DineEquity, Inc. to move towards the use of cage-free eggs. It’s a move that many national restaurants, including Wendy’s, McDonald’s, and Red Robin, have already made.
“Given consumers’ overwhelming opposition to the mistreatment of farm …

Here it is – the official wrap up from my Food & Wine Classic weekend extravaganza! I made sure to throw in a few of my favorite photos from the event as well!
My five favorite moments from Aspen:
1) Cooking Demonstrations with Jose Andres. Oh Jose! Such a funny man. The sassy Spaniard brought along his daughter, Carlotta, to assist in the demos, and harassed her about throwing in too much salt. But my favorite moment was an impromptu visit from Chef Ming Tsai, where Jose commented, “You give a man …

Father’s Day is upon us once again! Time to give thanks for those special Dads in our lives. As with every Hallmark holiday, though, remember Father’s Day should be every day – not just one day a year.
Today, we’re listing our five favorite foodie fathers – Dads who are proactive  foodies and fathers!
1) Rick Bayless. I’ve only recently started to follow Rick on Twitter, but I’m impressed with the amount of time he still spends with his family, even while he’s busy winning – OOPS! – competing on TV or …

Even as I prep for my adventure to the extravagant Aspen Food & Wine Classic this weekend, I’m still focused on the current recession and the depressing state of the economy. Job growth slowly inches up, home sales are slowly increasing, people might actually start eating out again.
Your neighbors are still struggling, though. Food banks across the nation continue to report increases in numbers of those in need, particularly from non-traditional families – those previously considered to be in the middle to upper-class arena. I read an article just the …

We’re only a week away from the mother of all food festivals, the Aspen Food & Wine Classic. Sponsored by Food & Wine, the Aspen Food & Wine Classic looks to be a fantastic adventure!
A few of the events we’re looking forward to include:

Asian Tapas with Ming Tsai
Osteria Mozza with Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton
Burgers, Shakes, and Fries with Bobby Flay
The Farm-To-Fork Connection: Creating a Sustainable World at Your Table with Michael Chiarello and Peter Jacobsen
Food and Wine’s Grow for Good Green Living Panel Discussion
In The Kitchen with Top Chef …

More new Daily Blender categories! Yay! This week, we’re starting a Friday Five, where we feature our favorite foodie fives – recipes, websites, YouTube videos, social media links, and anything else we like that’s food-related!
Today, we’re listing a few of our favorite foodie Twitterers (Tweeters? Tweeties? Tweeterazzi?). Sure – I know you’re already following us @Dailyblender but why not add a few more fellow foodies to the mix?
Here are a few of our favorite fellow foodies to follow on Twitter:
1) @Lee_Schrager – This food festival mogul tweets about his favorite …

Thanks to the Twitterverse, we’ve stumbled across a great collection of food blogs at Real Food Media. Today, the Kelly the Kitchen Kop is hosting Real Food Wednesdays, packed with great links to real food posts! Check it out here!

Woo! I finally made it in to Las Vegas late last night to start the Vegas Uncork’d show! Arriving to the late-night benefit at PURE for Three Square, the intimate gathering atop the Caesar’s nightclub was a great way to start the party. Fellow foodie guests included Bon Appetit’s Barbara Fairchild, Andrew Knowlton, spirits consultant Steven Olson; celeb chefs Bobby Flay, Cat Cora, and Kerry Simon; and Las Vegas restaurant reviewer, John Curtas. The drinks were fab, the seats were comfy, and the view of the Strip was well worth …

Posted by Jennifer Heigl
Recently, there have been two websites that have developed suggested lists of ethics for food bloggers. It’s been quite the discussion within the food blogging community, and I took a moment to write up a post on Accidental Hedonist about the recent controversy!
Daily Blender is headed to Vegas today for the Vegas Uncork’d show. You can follow us live here on Dailyblender.com or via Twitter! And we’re off!

The Daily Blender staff had such a great time at the 2008 New York Wine & Food Festival that we just couldn’t wait to get ourselves to the 2009 Vegas Uncork’d event!
Kicking off this Thursday with a champagne toast hosted by Bon Appetit’s Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, the Vegas Uncork’d show looks to be a blast!
Follow our live coverage of the weekend’s events here at Dailyblender.com and via our Twitter feed. We’re even introducing a new Las Vegas Daily Blender correspondent! Could it get anymore …

Posted by Jennifer Heigl
It was quite the Twitterfest for last night’s James Beard Awards! Between @seriouseats and @eaterny, as well as @beardfoundation, tweeting live from the awards ceremony, Daily Blender was able to stay on top of the winners as they were announced!
In case you didn’t get a chance to follow us, we’ve wrangled together the complete list of winners for you!
Outstanding Restaurant:
Jean Georges (Chef/Owner: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Owner: Phil Suarez, New York, NY)
Outstanding Chef:
Dan Barber (Blue Hill, New York, NY)
Rising Star Chef:
Nate Appleman (A16, San Francisco, CA)
Best New Restaurant:
Momofuku Ko …