"50 things every foodie should do"

Slate's column on "today's blogs" offers a nice account of reactions to the Observer's list:

Gag me with a spoon: Bloggers are poring over the Observer's list of "The top 50 things every foodie should do" before dying. Readers are advised to: "Dive for sea urchins … Eat fish on the Pampelonne St-Tropez … Make love in a vineyard … Sniff a white truffle … Kill a pig."

On Kaetchen Rides the Short Bus, an ex-caterer scoffs at the high-priced suggestions and at the term "foodie." Her list of alternate suggestions includes, "Eat something you grew. … If nothing else, buy a basil plant, keep it for a week, then eat the basil." 360 Degrees of Sky, the blog of an NGO volunteer in Zambia, suggests, "1. Picking and sorting tea, to fully appreciate exactly what people (yes PEOPLE, human beings) have to do to get you your bloody Earl Grey 2. Living for a week with some villagers who eat one meal of maize porridge a day, to truly appreciate what it's like to be hungry. …" But Megnut's Meg Hourihan, who co-founded the company that created Blogger, exclaims, "Amazingly, I've already done ten of the items they've listed! Is that because I'm a 'bon viveur'?"

Read more about the Observer's to-do list.