The folks over at Wheat Thins shared their “Crunch is Calling” campaign with me the other day. They keep an eye on Twitter and watch for Wheat Thins fans. Then they surprise unsuspecting Twitterers like the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Prize Patrol. I’m not being compensated for this post. I just thought it was a clever campaign, and I admire a brand when they embrace new media in a fun and creative way. Here are a few of the surprise drop-ins.

Welcome LA Times readers! Thanks to journalist Andrea Chang for a great piece on the transformation of Los Angeles food courts who have moved from serving subpar grub to dishing out decent food from time to time.

Hopefully, Los Angeles’s most famous chef doesn’t come after LA Foodie for the quote, “I’m sure even Wolfgang Puck pops fish sticks in the oven every now and then.” Let me know what you think of the piece. And let me know what you think about the trend toward “fine” dining at the mall.

I’m usually happy to promote another local food blog, especially a good one. Eastside Food Bites is a recently launched blog dedicated to spreading the word about the awesome food and culinary culture available on the east side of Los Angeles.

Directly from the editor of Eastside Food Bites:

Eastside Food Bites is a blog about LA food culture from an eastside perspective. The focus is mostly on Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Echo Park, Downtown, and pretty much everything east of La Brea, but I do venture to the westside one in awhile.  My real goal is to celebrate  the innovation and uniqueness of Los Angeles restaurants—from taco stands to fine dining—and to inspire people  to try new places in this amazing food town.  I also do farmer’s market reports because I want to promote buying locally, and an “Eat at Home” series because as much as I love restaurants, I think it’s important for everyone to realize they can create good food at home, too.

Check out this new blog and let me know what you think. The latest post praises Masa, the deep dish mecca of Echo Park. Are they right? Does Masa live up to the hype?

In honor of National Iced Tea Day and the recent trend of Bros Icing Bros, I feel it’s high time for a Schwarzeneggeresque pun.