Happy 3rd anniversary, LTHForum, with podcast!

Three years ago today LTHForum.com was first announced to the public-- specifically, to the members of a list-serve created to facilitate social events from the Chicago board on Chowhound. By the end of the day, 106 people had registered... and LTHForum was off and running, changing the history of food in Chicago by giving regular folks the chance to explore and share their obsession online like never before.

Today we have over 3500 registered members, and over 130,000 posts on over 13,000 topics-- the equivalent of something like 50 books on the subject. But more than racking up numbers, we've carved out a place on the local food scene as the unparalleled explorers of our city's culinary diversity, the go-to place for little restaurant discoveries and ethnic food, and the most informed and interested audience for anyone who writes about food, whether here or in other publications (which we then talk about here). And by now, it's not just a local splash we're making; from Jane & Michael Stern to John T. Edge to the AP's coverage of Cicada '07, national writers and broadcasters on food are beginning to recognize that LTHForum is the expert resource on our parts of the world and the culinary scene.

So hey, take a bow, all of you in the LTHForum community, for this cool thing we've all made together!

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One of the most intrepid local food journalists is Michael Nagrant, familiar here as poster MJN as well as for his writing for many publications and for the articles and podcasts on his own site, Hungrymag.com. His well-informed, probing interviews with local chefs, available from his site and iTunes and Yahoo as podcasts, have established a new standard for talking about Chicago food in depth.

To mark our 3rd anniversary, some of the moderators of LTHForum sat down with him recently, like all those James Beard-winning chefs before us, for a lively discussion about LTHForum-- why people like us are so interested in food, how people use the site (and how that sometimes surprises us), where LTHForum fits in the overall universe of local food media and commentary, how we deal with ethical questions relating to writing about what you eat, what we'd choose for our last meal (something some of us have devoted a lot of thought to, apparently), what the future holds for LTHForum, and many other things. If you use the site I think you'll find it an interesting peek behind the curtain of running a site like this and keeping it useful and fun-- and if nothing else, it's ideal for listening to in the car while making the drive to Great Neighborhood Restaurants like Chuck's or Amanecer Tapatio.

To listen to the podcasts, click here.

Thanks, MJN, for inviting us to sit in the hot seats. Happy 3rd anniversary, LTHForum!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY.

And a heartfelt thanks for starting this.

So, when's the party?

I really enjoyed the podcast. Those of you who have made this forum so inviting, interesting, and informative deserve to feel deeply proud of your accomplishment.

Even though I live far from your fair city, you inspire me to seek out the best restaurants I can find wherever I am. And to find the best ingredients and be a better cook.

Congratulations!

Bill/SFNM

congrats and thank you. i know you've helped make my return to my hometown that much nicer. i knew the streets. just not what was on them anymore.

Excellent news and congratulations! I love Michael's podcasts, and save them to listen on flights, so I'll be listening on my way either to or from DC later this week.

MJN is right that this is for hardcore foodies; it will be, I hope, a valuable historical document, and some newer folks to LTH might find it interesting to hear how we got here.

I am honored that this clip has been placed in Hungry Mag's podcast pantheon, which along with "Splendid Table" is one of the very best reasons to get an iPod.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through the podcast and am really enjoying it - amazing that so much history has accrued in such a relatively short period of time!

Congratulations, everyone - and a heartfelt thank you!

Er...did anyone else try to get the podcast through iTunes and end up with the Rick Bayless interview from awhile ago? Or is this just a problem with my computer specifically? Not that I minded the Bayless interview...I didn't listen to it the first time around. But I still wouldn't be opposed to hearing the actual podcast I was trying to download.

GardenofEatin wrote:Er...did anyone else try to get the podcast through iTunes and end up with the Rick Bayless interview from awhile ago? Or is this just a problem with my computer specifically? Not that I minded the Bayless interview...I didn't listen to it the first time around. But I still wouldn't be opposed to hearing the actual podcast I was trying to download.

Yes. The same thing happened to me. I ended up listening to the podcast at the direct link in this thread.

stevez wrote:

GardenofEatin wrote:Er...did anyone else try to get the podcast through iTunes and end up with the Rick Bayless interview from awhile ago? Or is this just a problem with my computer specifically? Not that I minded the Bayless interview...I didn't listen to it the first time around. But I still wouldn't be opposed to hearing the actual podcast I was trying to download.

Yes. The same thing happened to me. I ended up listening to the podcast at the direct link in this thread.

The Bayless interview is worth a listen, too.

Bumping this thread to say I finally had time to listen to the podcast (well, as it turns out, I didn't really have time, on account of I didn't realize it's an hour long) and it's really terrific. Nice to hear all those enthusiastic and wise voices. Thanks again.