The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

What Do You Like to Eat?: Top Chef's Gail Simmons talks about her favorite restaurants, comfort food favorites, guilty pleasures, and the perfect meal. Hint: it doesn't include root beer ("I despise root beer. It makes my skin crawl.") [Serious Eats]

See Spot Eat: Russ Parsons celebrates the West Coast's spot prawn, with a brief history and recipes. [LA Times]

Break Out the Tux: It's a black-tie affair this Sunday as the winners of the 2008 James Beard Awards, the "Oscars of the food world," will be revealed. Bobby Flay and SATC's Kim Cattrall share hosting duties. [James Beard Foundation]

Your Own Personal Joy of Cooking: Learn how to turn all of your favorite hand-written recipes into a one-of-a-kind family cookbook. [Chicago Tribune]

You've Been Served: What do Daily Show alum Ben Karlin and celebrity chef Mario Batali have in common? One big fat lawsuit over Batali's upcoming cookbook on Spain. [The NY Sun via Grub Street]

Bruni Beat: It's one star ("good") for cozy Greenwich Village eatery, Elettaria. "It's whimsical and adorable and reflects significant investments of money, thought and, yes, hope by its principal owners... But Elettaria doesn;t work as well practically as it does visually." [NY Times]

--BTP