Cheap Eats, Traveling Abattoirs, and Other Food News

Food news stories from around the country:

Lessons From Dario Cecchini, the World’s Most Famous Butcher by Russ Parsons (LA Times): Tuscan butcher who influenced Armandino Batali and Bill Buford comes to Los Angeles and charms the hocks off the Times' star food writer.

Chefs’ Blogs - Even Sharper Than Their Knives by Regina Schrambling (LA Times): I feel a little dirty linking to two LA Times stories today, but the section's great today. Schrambling writes about chefs who blog, citing Brasa's Tamara Murphy as a trend pioneer for her 2006 Life of a Pig blog.

Another Layer of Enjoyment by Greg Kitsock (Washington Post): Black and Tans are not the only beer cocktail in your local brewpub's repertoire.

Organic Milk Option at Starbucks Never Caught On by Mateusz Perkowski (Capital Press): Northwest farming newspaper tracks Starbucks' decision to drop organic milk -- apparently, customers only care that it's hormone-free.

How to Be a Foodie Without Breaking the Bank by Novella Carpenter (SF Chronicle): How does a single mother living on $1200 a month maintain her gourmet lifestyle? Shopping at Grocery Outlet, gardening in her back yard, and Dumpster diving.

Local Meat Locally Inspected by CR Roberts (Tacoma News-Tribune, via Ethicurian): Instead of trucking their cattle to Oregon, Western Washington ranchers and small-scale farmers raise money to start up a traveling abattoir service.

Bonus Link: Extreme Eating for the Wii (Chow): A competitive eating video game is set to launch in May. I hereby challenge Aimee Curl to a duel -- I’ll buy the game if you host the party.