Food News Friday

• It's time to add another food truck to the list--TaKorean! At TaKorean, you can indulge your cravings for Korean bbq with a Mexican twist. The new food truck hasn't hit the streets just yet but look for it on August 24th. 

• Best Bites Blog reports the arrival of Sidewalk Sweetsations at the end of August. Hmmm... Sidewalk Sweetsations...that sounds like another food truck...and it is! Look for the yellow van around DC in late August.

• Tim Carman of Young and Hungry reported Wednesday that Ren's Ramen is scheduled to close on Friday, August 20th. It is possible the owners will open a new location in Bethesda. 

• Grub Street, New York magazine's food blog, asked the question: Is D.C. the Next Big Food City? I am sure you can imagine the comments that followed. Here are some of my favorites: 

 "Speaking of Peter Pastan, Pizzeria Paradiso had been doing their thing for a good decade before New Yorkers cared anything about pizza outside of arguing over which was the original John's. D.C. had a handful of serious Thai places (and northern Virginia had more) way, way before NYC. D.C. still crushes NYC for Vietnamese/Cambodian and Sushi Ko was doing experimental Japanese for years before NYC got Nobu. They also had the youngest guy to get two Michelin stars (Jean-Louis Palladin) and the guy who was youngest before him (Gerard Pangaud) at the same time. And Yannick Cam, whose Le Pavillon set the bar in the U.S. for modern luxe French dining in the early 1980s while NYC was congratulating itself on La Caravelle and La Cote Basque and Drew Nieporent was still basically a waiter. Guess where Daniel Boulud started out in the U.S., by the way? And Eric Ripert? And Scott Bryan? Yep, that little ol' backwater down the road. Once again your research is shabby. NYC is a great food town in many regards (and less so in others) but that doesn't mean that everywhere else is some Cracker Barrel hick town. And NYC gave the world T.G.I. Fridays so it has to answer for that."

"A small point:

Using NYC as the benchmark for what defines a great city in which to eat does a disservice to everyone. Saying DC isn't quite "there" yet because it doesn't have a good bagel is like saying NYC isn't all that because it doesn't have a decent waterfront blue crab joint.

DC is it's own animal. It has regional quirks just like anywhere, including NYC."

• The sisters behind Georgetown Cupcake have signed on for a second season of D.C. Cupcakes.