David Lebovitz/Appetite for China

When I first opened the David Lebovitz artical, I was immediately drawn in by this massive picture of a bowl of clams. Some were open, some were closed. My first instinct was to say "Ewe! Gross!" But the more I looked at it, I found it different, beautiful, unique. This picture hooked me in to reading the rest of the artical. Honestly, I have to admit I was expecting to read about clams, or even goat cheese, which happened to be the next picture. Instead, I found an artical describing one man's life in France, particularly his favorites foods to eat and cook. This artical, when I was reading, seemed like this man was on Good Morning America giving a tour of the finest recipes in France.

He wrote as if he was having a conversation with somebody; I could even picture him looking into a camera. His writing style was very unique. The way he seemed to be talking to the computer rather than typing on it, made everything he said personable and friendly. Although the fact that the artical was very interesting and informing, throughout my reading I was very distracted. Many might consider this a bad thing, but I thought the random pictures mixed within the story showed some humor and personality. What enhanced this artical even more was the credibility. The ads posted on the sides of the artical were all of French businesses or travel info to Paris, and were not distratcing to me at all. Similarly, when I clicked on the about portion the author provided, it was very helpful. This gave the author fabulous credibility. My only critique is that the links page was very messy and overwhelming. Nothing on this page was very descriptive or detailed. (image: Harter, Jess. 2003. Photograph. Regis and Kelly Live, New York.)

The next artical I read was Appetite for China. I personally am a huge fan a Chinese food, thus I had an immediate interest on this topic. I loved seeing the familiar Chinese meals that made me hungry, even though I had just eaten, and being acqainted with new visuals of foods I have never encountered. The short and sweet stories that came with each food image added a very nice personal touch. It is most pleasing when an author relaxes from the standard professional writing and ventures deep within herself to find a story or a meaning to her topic. This is something that the best of schools and occuaptions cannot teach. The layout was also very pleasing, with its vibrant colors, mouth-watering pictures, and easy navigation. This is particularly attractive, as the links on the right side of the page take the reader right to the place he needs to go.

With the author's various encounters and stories with food inside and outside of her own home, it is easy to see that she possesses a very strong background in foods and their preparation. With this amount of exposure and experience, one can easily understand how the author landed up writing for major newspapers and magazines on travel and food such as Time Out New York and Boston Globe.

After reading this artical, I found myself hungry for Chinese food, even though I had recently eaten!