Voracious: Up in Seattle at our sister paper, food critic Hanna Raskin interviews one of the city's four contestants in the upcoming Top Chef: Texas season, and finds that the chef -- Colin Patterson, in case you want to watch for him tonight -- has some pretty asinine ideas about Texas. It really goes a long way to making Texan viewers extra glad that the State spent $400,000 in taxpayer money to bring Bravo -- and such enlightened contestants -- to Texas.

Aghastronome: Mary Jane has some insight into the new incarnation of Bibas on West Gray, after a chance run-in with the new chef/owner: "Beginning, allegedly, this weekend, the breakfast menu will be overhauled. I overheard things like a scratch biscuit, topped with a pork chop and country gravy and then something about crawfish, brown butter and crab." Guess where I'll be this weekend...

Barley Vine: If you think the new Saint Arnold Pumpkinator is exactly like the Divine Reserve No. 9 upon which it was based, think again. Ted did a side-by-side tasting of both recently, and found that he even liked the Pumpkinator better. The student has surpassed the master!

Chili Bob's Houston Eats: When a mainstream place impresses Bruce's tough palate, my ears always perk up. In this case, it's a place we both like -- Sammy's Wild Game Grill -- and Bruce dug into the one sandwich there I always wanted to try, but never got a chance to: BBQ pulled wild boar.

Jack Tyler Dines: Jack brings up a great point in his latest post on Caesar salad: It was invented in Mexico, and a city like Houston with our great Mexican population should ideally have better Caesar salads in our many restaurants than we currently do. Luckily, he includes a recipe for the original, should you decide to make it the right way at home.

The Mija Chronicles: Thanks to the Wednesday scheduling of our weekly Food Blog Sampler, this beautifully photographed post from Lesley on creating a Day of the Dead altar of your own is one day late. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, learn from it, and keep it bookmarked for next year.