This week in notable food-centric links:

◊ The Story of Rhubarb: According to Saveur, "in English-speaking lands, rhubarb is so closely associated with pie that it's often called pie plant" but the now-humble plant has a much richer history than its crust-bound reputation would have you believe. 

◊ Portland Monthly's own Karen Brooks gets the interview treatment from Bon Appetit to mark the release of her PDX-centric cookbook The Mighty Gastropolis. Read on to find out, in her own words, "why Portland is even a thing."

◊ You've probably seen Portland's own 9-year-old food critics on Eat Beat several times by now, but those precocious cuties from KidChowPDX are on to bigger and better stages: check out their adorable turn on PRI's The Takeaway (just remember us little people when you get famous, guys).

◊ Does this middle school science project signal the amazing health benefits of organic fruits and veggies? Or does it simply prove that pesticides are harmful to, well, pests? You be the judge.

◊ Speaking of contentious issues, Bon Appetit's BA Daily Blog tracks the rallying cries of Portland coffee and beer brewers for and against the fluoridation of our city's water supply. 

◊ Just in time for Earth Day, Chicago's Midway and O'Hare International airports have announced plans to make all on-site eateries recycle and/or compost waste and use eco-friendly materials by the end of 2013, and include sustainable ingredients in at least 20 percent of their food by 2016.

◊ Los Angeles attorney David Chan began chronicling his national Chinese restaurant meals in 1955, and more than 6000 unique visits later he's still ready for more. The LA Times has the full story (plus a great interactive map of the rise of Chinese restaurants in LA).