Eat Me, David, and Ezra: Web Crushes

I spend entirely too much time on the Internet. Sometimes I'm working, sometimes I go into a Facebook Scramble trance, and other times, I am taking a look at what other food bloggers are doing.

There are, for better or for worse, a dizzying amount of food blogs out there. And most of them are, frankly, unappetizing. The sinister flash photography, the "look-what-I-had-for-dinner" sharing, the heavy reliance on the exclamation point, the word "yummy" or the suffix "-icious." It's enough make me show you what-I-had-for-dinner. After I have eaten it.

And don't get me started on the number of cupcake blogs out there or I shall cry.

Fortunately, there are a few places of refuge: sites that sparkle like the Emerald City set against the background of a sky blackened by millions of flying, food blogging monkeys.

The following are my current web crushes, in no particular order. One is relatively famous and respected in the food world, one should be, and the other is just plain interesting. They are sites that always have me coming back for more. If you don't know them already, you should. Give them a little look-see. If you're anything like me, you'll be hooked instantly.

David Lebovitz

You probably already know him or, at least know of him. If you don't, you should. He's one of the most visible food bloggers around. And for very good reason. Lebovitz is a pastry wiz who made a name for himself right here in the Bay Area. Now an American in Paris, he shares his experience of living in a city that many Americans fantasized about without the irritating look-at-me-I'm-in-Paris tone of other writers, for which I am deeply grateful. In fact, he can even mention cupcakes without upsetting me. Of course, showgirls were a mitigating factor.

His recipes and food photography are solid and enticing, his writing style is concise and informative yet chatty and personable. David Lebovitz might heart Neufchâtel, but I heart his blog.

Ezra Pound Cake

Several weeks ago, while trolling about the Internet, I found a food photography website. I couldn't tell you the name. What I can tell you is that, as I was thumbing through the thumbnails of dessert photos and whatnots, I discovered that most of the images I was clicking on were taken from the same food blog. Ezra Pound Cake. I clicked on over to the website, just kicking myself for not having thought up that name before this particular blogger did.

Ezra Pound Cake. It's just plain brilliant. Rebecca Crump, the force behind the blog, describes the name as a "Wheel of Fortune-style Before & After phrase, like Toby Keith Urban or Whitney Houston Texas." It spells out her own "before" and "after" as a writer-turned-baker. And, man, can she do both.

Filled with a recipes culled from her favorite websites and cook books, Crump tackles them with charm, wit, and a healthy dose of pop culture references. She is a blogger after my own heart, except with better photography, baking, and naming skills.

Ezra Pound Cake isn't budging from my blogroll.

Eat Me Daily

I don't even know where to begin with this one. Eat Me Daily is a fascinating group blog that started doing its thing in October 2008. Almost pointless to describe, this website is primarily devoted to food-related media: visual arts, television programming and commercials, cookbooks, print ads, and news-related items.

From Martha Stewart to meat bingo to frog blancmange, this site really has it going on. It is, however, not for the squeamish or, as they put it "your mom (unless your mom is awesome)."

Meet me there for a daily dose of odd.