Small Bites

- Former Times restaurant critic William Grimes has written a culinary history of New York.

- The Daily Beast talks to novelist Jonathan Safran Foer about his new non-fiction book — Eating Animals — on animal agriculture and meat production. It sounds like a good read for fans of books like Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma or Fast Food Nation. It has apparently turned Natalie Portman into a vegan. And The Huffington Post has several pieces responding to Foer's book.

- On a similar note, Nicolette Niman, of the Niman Ranch, known for producing higher-quality meat, writes an op-ed defending meat eaters against those who say eating meat contributes to global warming. She places the blame more with farming methods and industrialization.  The Atlantic Food Channel has a piece critiquing Niman's defense. Helene York agrees with some of Niman's points, but takes issue with others, noting that all animals raised for eating contribute to climate change and that the pricing of industrial meats — and the federal policy influencing it — is the more important problem.

- Over on Slate.com, we learn how big farms can be better, at least from a worker's point of view.

- Small grocery stores around the country are trying to bring healthier food choices to low-income neighborhoods.