Announcing my SXSW "Nom Nom Nom: The Secrets of Successful Foodblogging" panel

Update: Of course as soon as I posted that, I found out my panel is on Tuesday, March 17th! Don't have a time yet, but will announce when I do...

I still don't have an exact date, but if you're going to SXSW Interactive, you do not want to miss my panel, "Nom Nom Nom: The Secrets of Successful Foodblogging." Yes, there will be free cupcakes from Austin bakeries, but check out my awesomely successful, talented, food porn and hunger pang creating panelists (more on them later). I love that I am so out of the loop I didn't even know Cathy has a book coming out late this year. I truly cannot wait.

I have discovered so many food blogs I'm now following through researching this panel and so many amazing resources that I hope to post more about in the coming months. I am looking forward to learning much from these talented folks! (Tip one: Buy your own domain name. Live and learn.)

Shauna James Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl

Zach Brooks of Midtown Lunch

Kalyn Denny of Kalyn's Kitchen

Cathy Erway of Not Eating Out in New York

Please vote for my SXSWi Foodblogging panel "Nom Nom Nom"

The SXSW Interactive Panel Picker went live yesterday. I would really appreciate it if you'd do me a favor and register and vote for my panel proposal “Nom Nom Nom: The Secrets of Successful Foodblogging.”

(details below). And yes, I know there are dozens, if not hundreds of other worthy panels being proposed by my friends and colleagues. Do your research and check those out too, but, you know, please vote for mine. FREE CUPAKES! (Yes, I am up for bribing, plus I want to sample as many Austin cupcakeries as I can.) And if you can't figure out the Panel Picker system (it's easy, I promise), drop me a line at cupcakestakethecake at yahoo.com and I'll try to help.

Here's the official description:

What does it take to build a successful food blog? From niche single-food specific blogs like Cupcakes Take the Cake to broader blogs like Midtown Lunch, we’ll share the secrets of making readers hungry for more and attracting press and advertisers. Free cupcakes.

Panelists include (this may change slightly, but hopefully will stay as is):

Rachel Kramer Bussel (Moderator) of Cupcakes Take the Cake

Nichelle Stephens, Cupcakes Take the Cake

Zach Brooks, Midtown Lunch

Hunter Walker, Editor-at-Large, Digital City (formerly Associate Editor, Gridskipper)

Cathy Erway, Not Eating Out in New York

Voting closes on August 29th.

I’ve yet to peruse the numerous listings, so if you are pitching a panel I should vote for/know about, please let me know at rachelkb at gmail.com (put SXSW in the subject line). Same goes if you run a unique food blog and are interested in being on the panel; that’s iffy cause right now we have enough people, but there is a chance I may need someone down the road. Thanks!

I eat lunch at The Pump

A few weeks ago, the wonderful Zach of Midtown Lunch interviewed me for his weekly profile.

Since I'm kindof obsessed with healthy food chain The Pump, I praised them. Every week, I drop a business card into their little fishbowl, and I recently found out I won 10 sandwiches! (To share, people, to share.) Very excited about that and highly recommend The Pump. I promise it tastes better than the whole no oil/no white flour stuff makes it sound. I recommend the Olympic Games, Lean and Mean, Lean Body, and Homerun (yes, the names are a little funny). Note: the cupcake in the photo above is from Magnolia Bakery, not The Pump!

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: The Pump – it’s on my way back to work from my gym, Crossfit NYC, and I love it because you can get anything on the menu and it’s cheap and healthy. And for any naysayers who think “no oil, no fried foods, no white flour, no sugar, etc.” means it tastes bland, that’s so not true. Plus they have fun names like “Big Arms” and “Lean and Mean.” And hot sauce. Mmm…hot sauce. Really, everything I’ve gotten there is delicious, and I go so often they know my name. I’m very much a creature of habit and really like having one place where I know what my favorites are and it’s cheap and easy and also healthy; I am not a health freak but after I work out it makes sense to me to eat something not drowned in oil. Plus I like vegetables but don’t always eat enough of them so most anything I get from the Pump has spinach or broccoli. (Four Locations in Midtown)