Tuesday Megalinks

Casual Kitchen: Favorite Food Photography Links
Need tips and practical advice on how to best set up and execute your food pics? Dan has a nice list of everything you ever needed to know, but couldn’t locate.

Chow: Eat Well and Save - Tips for spending less on good food
Quick and dirty rundown of highly effective grocery shopping strategies. Worth a gander if you’re new to the savings world.

Chow: Public Transit Picnic - Is it rude to eat on the subway?
I tend to agree with the columnist here. Yes, if it’s small, non-odorous, and you genuinely have no other time to eat a meal. No if it’s a ten-course curry banquet from the local Indian joint. Respect public transit!

Clever Dude: Dining as a Group. Paying as a Group.
To sum, Clever Dude and Ms. Clever Dude went out with a bunch of friends, ordered about half what everybody else did, and paid accordingly. (The split-11-ways bill came to $22.50 each, and they forked over $12 each.) While I understand the reasoning, I’m not sure I would have done the same thing. I figure it's a given that group gatherings necessitate equal bill-splitting and order as such. BUT. I’d love to hear opinions.

Consumerist: 13 Confessions of a Waiter
Summary of a longer Reader’s Digest article compiling the … take a guess. Confession #3 is for real, yo. I worked at Wendy’s in high school, and legend had it that one of our sandwich guys punished jerky customers in kind.

Cracked: 7 Most Bizarre Fast Food Industry Lawsuits
Super nifty countdown of cases like Krispy Kreme v. Entenmans, McDonald’s v. Hippies, and Hooters v. Another Chain That Wants to be Hooters. It’s like a law course and a VH1 countdown in the same article! Rated PG-13 for language. (Thanks to Eater for the link.)

Epicurious Blog: What’s the Longest You’ve Ever Waited in Line for Something Edible?
Shake Shack. Burgers. Would do it again.

Epi-log: The Great “Ghetto Latte” Fracas
There’s a controversy brewing over certain Starbucks drinks. Apparently, asking for an espresso, pouring it over ice, and adding free milk from the counter will save about 50% of the cost of a regular latte. Baristas hate this, since it messes with the pricing structure and the drink quality is less-than-great. Has anyone ever tried it? Do tell.

Festival of Frugality #135: Antishay Ventenne
This week’s festival takes a “Frugal All Over” theme, and CHG’s own The Booze of Summer: A Quick and Dirty Guide to Lighter, Cheaper Drinks is an Editor’s Pick. WOOT!

Get Fit Slowly: Want to Lose Weight? Use a Food Diary.
Whether you’re dropping poundage or trying to save some bank, one of the best things you can do is keep track of what you’re eating/spending. According to GFS writer Mac, this acts as a motivator, guilt inducer, nutrition guide, and secretary all in one. Read on for more of his insights…

New York Magazine: Eat Cheap 2008
New Yorkers, take note! And for you non-Bigappleites, How the Rising Cost of Food Trickles Down is interesting, too.

Slashfood: Coffee – Suddenly, it’s good for you
Yay! I just had three cups to celebrate. Screw you, heart disease!

Slashfood: Fruit juice – an invitation to diabetes?
*Sigh* For every piece of good news about coffee, there must be an equal and opposite sliver of bad news about fruit juice. Apparently, eating whole fruits is way better for you. Which makes sense, when you think about all the added sugar in beverages.

Slashfood: My Conversion to Dried Beans
Okay. I’ve tried using Goya dried beans twice now (chickpeas), and both times they came out harder than a rock. I followed the directions to the letter, so what am I doing wrong? Is it me or is it Goya?

Slate: The Mac-and-Cheese Effect - Why family dinner makes working parents (especially moms) feel better.
Oh, what a great article. To sum: “Happily, according to a new study, family dinner appears to be good for parents, too. … Among 1,580 parents who worked at IBM, those who said their jobs interfered less with being home for dinner tended to feel greater personal success, and success in relationships with their spouses and their children ... even if they still worked long hours. They also felt more kindly toward their workplace. Parents who missed dinner at home because of work, on the other hand, felt gloomy about their professional futures.” (Thanks to Serious Eats for the link.)

The Simple Dollar: Ten Ways to Find Bargains on Fresh Food
Nice Top Ten list focusing on produce.

Wall Street Journal: The Candidates Dine Out - What Obama's and McCain's favorite restaurants say about the men
Extensive piece on the candidates’ preferred eateries/cuisines. Both like Tex-Mex, pizza, and burgers. Maybe they’re more alike than we believe… (Thanks to Eater for the link.)

(Photos courtesy of Helping Hands of Detroit, Associated Content, and Random Aussies.)