Eating Humble Pie: A cough-syrup-in-the-gravy scandal? Furor over a switch from soft Wigan pies to a crustier kind from another British town? Just another year in the annual world meat-pie-eating contest in England. (The winner ate an entire pie in 35.86 seconds. Probably much bigger than the ones in this picture.)

Will There Be a Domino's Classic? The pizza chain is changing its recipe for sauce and dough, and will change up its cheeses so that it can keep up with changing American tastes. The new pizzas will be in all stores by Dec. 27.

Face Time: Food Network's top "foodgasm" shots of the year. 'Nuff said.

Bark If You Love Beer: A dog collar that opens beer bottles. C'mere, boy!

Want Wi-Fi With That Big Mac? McDonald's plans to offer free Wi-Fi at 11,000 locations as part of its bid to turn into a place to hang out.

Feels Like a Brown-Bag Day, Kids: In its continuing probe of school cafeterias, USA Today reports that 26,500 of them haven't had their required health inspections. It's never a good sign when "norovirus" replaces tater tots as the side of the day.

Sounds Fishy: If you're someone who takes fish-oil supplements, consider where it comes from ... and how a single company has control over 90 percent of a vital, but little-known fish called the menhaden, according to this New York Times opinion piece.

Drinking and Dying in the Line of Duty: A Chinese police officer drinks himself to death at a government function. What does the Chinese government do? It declares him a martyr who died in the line of duty.

When I read the headline Could a Reveillon dinner help you fight the flu? on Anne Berry's blog, the New Orleans Healthy Restaurant Examiner, I imagined a meal composed of a giant plate of some sort of cold medicine or supplement called "Reveillon." I could hear the "Revive with Reveillon!" tagline in my head.

Even though I have roots in Louisiana (it's my mother's home state), I had never heard of the tradition of Reveillon: "During December, New Orleans restaurants host these prix fixe feasts, featuring Creole and seasonal foods," explains Berry in her blog. Berry had read my article about flu-fighting foods and noticed that a number of the immunity-boosting ingredients (including apples, onions, chiles, and citrus) were showing up on Reveillon menus around New Orleans. Leave it to a Louisianan to find a health reason to eat chicken and andouille gumbo or roasted goose with braised red cabbage and apples.

Berry's blog also reminded me that sometimes one of the healthiest things you can do when it comes to food is put aside your stress and enjoy a nice long, leisurely meal with good friends, and, as they say in New Orleans, laissez les bon temps rouler! If your meal happens to have a few immunity-boosting ingredients, all the better.

December is the season for Year-End Roundups of all stripes: The Year in Music. The Year in Movies. The Year in Tube Socks.

My favorite roundup so far has been Time Out's list of the 100 best things to eat in my hometown of New York, because reading it prompted me down a happy memory-lane tour of some of my best meals out this year. (Mmm, the fried chicken with cheddar waffles. And that banh mi at the Brooklyn street fair. And oh yeah, the bowl of noodle soup that was bigger than my head...)

And it's prompted the irresistible question: In a year of great eating-out opportunities, which meal was the best? For myself, I'd have to say it was the positively intimidating lobster I ate while on vacation this summer in Maine, at The Edge restaurant outside of Camden.

What's the meal that stands out in your own personal Year in Restaurant Food?

Fighting for Brown Moo Juice: The dairy industry has formed the Raise Your Hand for Chocolate Milk campaign as a bulwark against the growing movement to strike chocolate milk off school menus. Those who want chocolate milk banned from school say it's a sugary drink that encourages unhealthy food choices. The dairy industry says that when you take chocolate milk away, kids stop drinking milk altogether and simply choose even less healthy beverages instead.

Man Killed by Exploding Gum: A Ukrainian chemistry student blew his own jaw off when he chewed gum that had been dipped in explosive liquid. The 25-year-old, who died, had a bizarre habit of soaking his gum in citric acid before putting it in his mouth, and may have mixed up his solutions.

I won't go into all the salacious stuff that's coming out about the guy who used to be among the most private people in professional sports (I think we can agree we're all a little Tigered out by now), but among the breathtaking number of brainwash-necessitating details that have spilled is one that, to me, is the most staggering of all.

The guy actually eats at Perkins.

And not just once, but, like, a lot.

When's the last time you sat down to a Country Cookin' Benedict and expected to see a $1 billion man putting ketchup on his hashbrowns the next booth over?

Gourmet Geometry: Do you cut your sandwiches into triangles or rectangles? NPR makes a surprisingly detailed argument for triangles.

Who Has Better Chefs: the East Coast or the West? The debate continues (rather nastily) in the New York Times.

Worst Drive-Thru Robbery Ever: A Michigan man goes to a Wendy's drive-thru with a sawed-off shotgun and demands the cash in the till. Guess who learns that you should never rob your own mother's restaurant?

More food news after the jump ...

1. The FDA has pushed through a ban on raw oysters during warm months, effective in 2011, sparking restaurateurs' and consumers' complaints about a "nanny state." How many deaths does the FDA say bacteria from raw oysters causes each year?
a. 15
b. 50
c. 100
d. 150

2. Which of the following wasn't on the menu when Rachael Ray made a visit to a Cincinnati soup kitchen last weekend?
a. cheesy potato casserole
b. roast beef
c. ham
d. chicken soup

Way back in January, Epi-log readers were invited to throw in their two cents and suggest a name for the new, upscale restaurant at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.

Museum writer Don Dale explained at the time: "The goal is to have a one-word name, something simple, creative, and evocative, ideally with references to the museum, art, or the environment."

Well, you posted 36 comments, some with more than one idea, giving the museum directors plenty of food for thought.

Don has just written to tell us that the name has been chosen....

Pundits have been declaring that Spain is the new France for years. That modern chefs look to Spanish cuisine for culinary innovation. I wanted to taste some of this revolution so I packed up my bags and flew to Barcelona in late October. I knew my trek was limited: I had neither the time nor the money to go Madrid, Valencia, or Basque country; El Bulli was closed; and wine country would have to wait for another vacation.

My short take: Yes,  I had some terrific food. But I also chowed down on a few truly awful meals. In retrospect, I should have known that not every tapas joint serves up miracle morsels. Barcelona is like any city: You need to know where to go and when to go. Actually, you need reservations, a lot of money, and/or tons of patience because the most critically revered spots are mobbed. Even on Monday nights at 10pm. Below is a partial report, with original photos (like the gorgeous fruit bowl above), as well as tips for anyone thinking about visiting Barcelona.

Kellogg's Yanks Health Claims: The cereal company's getting rid of the immunity claims on its boxes of Rice Crispies and Cocoa Krispies because of the heightened concern people have about swine flu.

Meet the White House Food Guru: Sam Kass isn't just another University of Chicago history major-turned-food dude, he's also hugely influential on the Obamas' take on food and health.

Do You Know How to Eat Sushi? No? Then consider taking sushi lessons from this guy. (Or just save yourself $105 and remember to dip the fish, not the rice, and not put wasabi in your soy sauce.)

So the Yankees Won the World Series: No. 27 for the Bombers. What did you eat or drink to celebrate? Or what did you throw at the TV in your fury? Just curious.