Here on Eat Beat, we love tooting our town’s horn when it comes to national press and awards, and this month is no exception:

Plan B: Cooking Light revealed its top “Delicious Food Destinations” with a photo map of the top spots for dining across the country. Their recommended Portland pit stops? Distillery Row and Beaker & Flask. But since Beaker & Flask is taking a brief booze break, let’s hope Cooking Light readers have a backup and an education—in geography, that is: San Francisco’s Bi-Rite Market got lumped into Northwest destinations.

You’re not in Kansas anymore: Windy City writer Cindy Dampier ate her way through Oregon recently with a little help from Allium Chef Pascal Chureau. Her tour led her to hotspots like Broder, Ned Ludd, Wolf & Bear, and The Meadow, which she highlights with some hardcore food porn in her Chicago Tribune Magazine piece.

Sugar and fat for...glamour? Portland was also highlighted as one Glamour Magazine’s July destination cities alongside Nashville and Santa Fe. The balsamic strawberry with cracked pepper ice cream from Salt & Straw and Screen Door’s fried chicken and sweet potato waffles topped their must-try list for “serious foodies”. Follow their fashion advice: don’t bring the whole closet. Most of it won’t fit by the time you get home, anyways.*

White trash wins: Details Magazine featured two Stumptown breakfast sandos in its “high-end” egg-and-cheese roundup. Ironically, Portland Penny Diner’s white trash (PDXWT) with duck bologna and coffee mayo got the gold. Pie perfectionists Lauretta Jean’s Brussels sprouts, egg, and cheese biscuit ranked third.*

Speaking of sammies, Rachael Ray showed some Portland pride in her July/August edition of EveryDay with Rachael Ray. Chef Gabe Rucker dished on his top five favorite burgers, which included patties from Paley’s Place (Delish!), Slowburger (Yum-O!), Biwa (Was that kimchi mayo made with EVOO?), and Broder (How good is that!).*

Chef Smackdown: Lincoln and Sunshine Tavern chef/owner Jenn Louis and her sous chef Cory Chunn will compete against 12 celeb-chefs in the fifth season of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters.  The season debuts on July 24. Our bet? Small yet mighty Louis packs a powerful punch in the kitchen.

Thai food teachings: Pok Pok’s Andy Ricker answers seven questions for Chopsticks + Marrow blogger Joe DiStefano, including favorite eating spots and his experiences with ingesting insects. The best part? In response to the question of why Thai food ordered spicy is “just too damn hot”, Ricker retorts that “the whole idea is wrong on so many levels, and emblematic of us Westerners having a very skewed idea of what Thai food is and how it is eaten in Thailand." Distefano might think twice before adhering to the chile star system next time.

*These articles are available in print only. We’ll make sure to update with links as they become available online.