Palate Cleanser, August 3, 2005 — I really love this website. And frankly I never imagined when I started it almost 3 years ago that it would become such an enjoyable endeavor for me much less be useful to the scores of people who read it, consult it, comment on it (both positively and negatively), and steal the food photography using it without attribution. ; )

That said, I enjoy every minute of it and appreciate the fact that some people find it to be a useful resource. And I have lots of ideas for how to make it way way better than it is today. But sometimes I admit that I've been doing this for (what seems like) so long that I have a hard time posting as often as I'd like and not compromising the quality. Alex thinks I may have this. I don't know if he's right, but I have had less patience lately for same old same old food.

It's time for a break. Hey, pretend we're in Europe where everyone takes off August. tastingmenu is officially on holiday for the month of August. But have no fear there are plenty of great blogs to keep you busy through the month while we're gone. A few of my favorites:

• 101 Cookbooks
• The Food Section
• Amateur Gourmet
• Candy Blog
• Obsession with Food
• Orangette
• Chez Pim

That should be enough for now. They're all super high quality. I know there are plenty more so don't be hurt if I left your favorite off the list.

In the meantime I'll be catching up on my blog posts, doing some traveling to eat more food that I can photograph and report back on, and planning even more travels all over the world to really try and make this the year our site becomes truly global. We also have more interesting plans for additional publications. You won't be disappointed. And at the very least stay tuned as when we return we'll have our write-up of our meal at Fat Duck. That should be enjoyable.

Have a great August. tastingmenu will resume broadcasting on Thursday, September, 8, 2005. Thanks!