Best of 2009 Part I: Some Stats about This Blog

I've been late in putting up my annual end of the year post-a-thon. My favorite and non-favorite restaurants of 2009 will be coming this week (such a busy week). For now, I'll start off the recap the way I did in '08: by throwing statistics at you.

Number of blog posts in 2009 - 245 (I didn't have a lot of time this year)

Number of restaurants/festivals/markets/bars/etc. blogged about in 2009, including ones I didn't eat at - a mere 72 (I did a lot less eating out this year - last year it was 372)

Number of restaurants/festivals/markets/bars/etc. "Tweeted" about in 2009, including ones I didn't eat at - a lot, let's just leave it at that.

Number of videos linked to in 2009 (including duplicates) - Oh, who knows?

Number of accomplishments I am proud of this year - 5, most while still finishing grad school. In chronological order:

• Officially concluding my mammoth Beltway Snacking series way back in January
• Posting about my popped sorghum experiment - not a big feat in itself, but out of all my posts, it consistently generates the most comments. I just got one for it yesterday!
  
• Hitting Post #1,000 (watch the video here)
• Getting mentioned in Baltimore Magazine in May. That was pretty cool. Hey guys, I'm still looking for work. Know of any magazines hiring? :)
  
• Starting my new Food Ethnography on a Budget project and sticking to it. In '09 I familiarized myself with Cambodian nataing, Eastern Woodland sassamanesh relish, American Indian fry bread and Romanian ciorbă.
  

Number of states in which I purchased Fat Tire Beer in 2009 - 3 - California, Georgia, North Carolina. Note Maryland's conspicuous absence from that list. And if you need to pack it in your luggage, here's a helpful primer.

Number of blogger get-togethers I have been written about in 2009 - 2 - LP Steamers and Dara's place.

Number of Restaurant Weeks I have taken part in during 2009 - 2, both this time in Maryland

Number of recipes I've written about in 2009 - 28

Number of recipes that didn't quite work out in 2009 - 1 1/2 - Poorman's Meal is not happening in my kitchen again.

Number of food-related New Year's Resolutions I made in 2009 - 0

Number of food-related New Year's Resolutions I kept in 2009 - 0, natch.

Number of foodie movies you should watch! 2: Julie & Julia, of course, and the very disturbing Food, Inc., based on the below-mentioned book.

Number of food-related books that you should read: 2, Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. It'll probably change the way you eat. Just don't read it before Jennifer 8. Lee's Fortune Cookie Chronicles, a fascinating history and ethnography of Chinese-American food. If you read Pollan before Lee I swear you won't be able to finish your General Tso's Chicken.

Number of television shows subject to my live-blogging experiment in 2009 - 2 1/2 (Top Chef 5 and Next Food Network Star 5, plus a few comments about Top Chef: Vega$ that lost my interest before it actually got good)

Farthest I have traveled for a blog post in 2009 - West Hollywood's Bossa Nova, a little bit of Brazil right off Santa Monica Blvd. Or if you just consider locations I drove to from home, the Clubhouse at Rye Patch in Ludowici, a small town outside of Hinesville, GA. Some of the best fried pickles I've had in a while, and don't get me started on their barbeque. Lordy!

Least far I have traveled (not counting my own kitchen) in 2009 - Vito's Pizza at the corner of Cedarcroft and York Roads, only 20 minutes by foot and 5 minutes by car, counting the light

And a useful new term for 2009 -

a spray of hons - collective noun - a gathering of hons. Coined by my buddy Eric at this year's HonFest

a spray of hons

Coming next - My favorite places to eat of 2009!