• Michael Bauer on the Best Chef: Pacific James Beard category. All nominees are from Northern California. [SF Gate]
• The James Beard Awards, so-called "food Oscars," draw the country's best and most prestigious chefs, writers, and food-luminaries for black tie galas, awards ceremonies, and of course, the lauded "Duckathlon." Wait, what? [Food Gal]
• The nationwide rollout of McCafe, McDonald's Starbucks imitator specialty coffee bar, begins today. [AMNY]
• A map of organic farms in the United States reveals clusters in the Northeast, Northwest, and California - a strikingly different distribution than conventional farms. [NY Times]
• Cookbook sales are up despite the recession, but many popular titles are impractical for the home cook. [WSJ ]
• PETA is pressuring McDonald's to change the way its chickens are raised with a series of new ads. [WSJ]
• Two food bloggers have proposed a code of ethics for their ilk, which includes provisions like "We will reveal bias" and "We will be civil." [Foodethics via NY Times]
