The James Beard foundation announces the semi-finalists for this year’s Restaurant and Chef Awards.

Messy Nessy investigates New York City’s oldest dim sum restaurant.

Anh and Chi bar Manager Vanessa Coupar maps out her favourite spots to eat and drink around Vancouver.

It’s been three decades since the USA began cultivating Perigord black truffles, and yet none of the producers have succeeded commercially. The Wall Street Journal looks at why.

New research published this week in Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience suggests that alcohol makes us meaner.

Approximately 35 percent to 66 percent of violent crimes involve alcohol, ranging from murder and physical assaults to sexual violence and domestic abuse. Less severely, booze makes us a bit nastier than normal; our criticisms become more cutting, our anger feels more palpable, and our tolerance for frustration evaporates. We lash out when we’re drunk, and drunk people lash out at us in return.

On its own, however, alcohol doesn’t just suddenly make us violent or mean. It’s when we combine booze with tense, unwanted, or potentially hostile situations—and with a personality that tends towards “dispositional aggressiveness” (i.e. an urge towards forceful or violent behavior)—that meanness sometimes trickles through. Alcohol acts as a lubricant that facilities this underlying aggression. The new study was an effort to learn more about this “lubricant,” where it’s located in the brain, and how it works.

Eater on the growing trend of cashless restaurants and the problems it potentially poses.

With or without raisins? The New York Times explores our love of the butter tart.

What’s that, Trump? You want to replace your country’s food stamp program with boxes of food with no fresh produce? Yeah, that sounds about right…

Unsurprisingly, folks had some things to say about this asinine idea.

Meanwhile, his cheeto-looking ass spent his nine month affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal ordering the same meal every time they met: well done steaks and mashed potatoes.

In a rather hilarious blunder, a Chicago news station referred to the 2018 Olympic Games at P.F. Chang. Every gold medal comes with a side of lettuce wraps.

Check out the trailer for this Oscar-nominated documentary on former inmates moving out of prison system and into the kitchen.

And speaking of the Olympics, Pyeonhchang has 180 chefs on hand to cook for 2,952 athletes from 92 countries. Here’s a look at what they’re all eating.

In a move towards increased transparency, some whiskey distillers are disclosing more information about ingredients and process on their bottles.

While the number of brands that are adhering to a reveal-everything mentality is relatively few, distilleries big and small are starting to realize that a greater degree of transparency might be necessary for a growing base of consumers who are interested in how, and where, spirits are actually made.

From sea cucumber to jellyfish, The Vancouver Sun’s Mia Stainsby reviews the annual Blue Water Cafe Unsung Hero menu.

If you’re on the hunt for a healthy snack fix, head down to Kokomo in Chinatown and try their ‘Macro Bowl Of Love’.

Interested in sampling local spirits? Check out B.C Distilled in April, when 40 distilleries will be pouring their wares.

This week in interesting food podcasts: the folks at The Atlantic explore the curious history of dieting.

The latest news on the revamped Canada Food Guide suggests that the government will be recommending a diet high in plant-based foods with a lower emphasis on meat consumption.

Eating via Instagram honours this week go to @markyuenvisuals and this beautiful spread for Chinese New Year.

Happy Chinese New Year!!! Took this photo recently for Lunar New Year themed shoot for @thelazygourmet We celebrated it early yesterday and had a great home-cooked meal and family time by starting a new tradition for my twin girls since we don't have family in town. . . . #vancouver #vancouverfood #vancouverfoodies #yvrfoodie #vancityeats #vanmagram #yvreats #lunarnewyear #chinesenewyear #nomnom #foodpics #foodstagram #foodiegram #feedyoursoul #gastronomy #igersvancouver #igfood #instafood #onthetable #tastingtable #food52 #feedfeed #f52grams #eeeeeats #huffposttaste #liveauthentic #yahoofood #getinmybelly #dhvanfood

A post shared by Mark Yuen (@markyuenvisuals) on Feb 16, 2018 at 9:50am PST

The New York Times’ Robert Simonson on the history of the Caesar cocktail.

In the least surprising news of the week, researchers find that processed foods are linked to cancer. Shocking.

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