What he said: Bruni, Bourdain and Paula

Interesting reading from the New York Times: Former restaurant reviewer (and now op-ed columnist) Frank Bruni joins in on the brouhaha over Tony Bourdain dissing Paula Deen.

Background: In a recent interview, Bourdain - who has been on a tear for the last few months, railing against everything from the James Beard Foundation to newspaper food writers - came out swinging against Paula Deen, calling her "the worst, most dangerous person in America" for the fat level of her food. Deen returned by noting that not everybody can afford the kind of high-art cuisine that Bourdain might prefer we all eat.

Bruni stepped up with some interesting thoughts on the elitist elements in the debate:

"When (Paula) Deen fries a chicken, many of us balk. When the Manhattan chefs David Chang or Andrew Carmellini do, we grovel for reservations and swoon over the homey exhilaration of it all. Her strips of bacon, skirting pancakes, represent heedless gluttony. Chang’s dominoes of pork belly, swaddled in an Asian bun, signify high art."

Want to read the rest? Here's the link.

Bourdain likes us, he really likes us

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a little love for the Old North State from professional grumper Tony Bourdain: The March issue of Budget Travel isn't online yet, but Eater.com reports that Bourdain makes the call on five food rivalries: Mexico City vs. L.A. for tacos (Mexico City), New York vs. Chicago for pizza (New York), L.A. vs. New York for burgers (L.A., because of In-N-Out), Chicago vs. New York for hot dogs (Chicago).

And finally, in the most important contest of all: Kansas City vs. North Carolina for barbecue.

And the winner (grab a couple of bottles of Texas Pete and drum them on the table):

North Carolina. "It's so minimalist - dressed with only a little bit of vinegar, salt and pepper. It's hard to argue with that."

Hard to argue, indeed. Thanks, Mr. Bourdain, sir. Drop in anytime.

Who's the most powerful in the food world?

Expect a lot of debate over the 50 Most Powerful People In Food, released this week by the web site TheDailyMeal.com. Of course it will be a debate: The Daily Meal is headed by Colman Andrews, who was founder of Saveur magazine.

You'll have to go to here to see the whole list. But to give you an idea of Andrews' reasoning, here are the top 10:

1. You. "The reader. The consumer. The restaurant-goer. The home cook."

2. Thomas J. Vilsack, secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

3. Hugh Grant. Not the actor. The chairman and CEO of Monsanto.

4. Michelle Obama. For her White House garden and her "Let's Move" initiative.

5. Steve Jobs. Yes, the Apple chair. For all those food-related aps.

6. Alice Waters. For, well, I suppose for being Alice Waters.

7. Brooke Johnson. The woman in charge of Food Network and its new spinoff, the Cooking Channel.

8. Mike Duke. CEO of Wal-Mart, not only the world's largest grocer but now the nation's No. 1 purchaser of organic foods.

9. Sam Sifton. The New York Times restaurant reviewer.

10. Jim Skinner. CEO of McDonald's. Who knew Mickey D is now the largest purchaser of apples in the U.S.?

The rest of the list will certainly be parsed and diced. Wolfgang Puck and Rachael Ray are almost evenly matched, at Nos. 13 and 14 respectively. Tom Colicchio is on there, at No. 30, but "Top Chef" co-host Padma Lakshmi isn't. And fellow judge Tony Bourdain didn't make the cut, but Martha Stewart did (No. 47).

Read the full list