Hello from the Fancy Food Show, the trade show for the gourmet foods industry! The annual West coast show has moved from San Francisco to San Diego this year, well within driving range for this So Cal reporter. Here’s a few colorful photos from the first day of the convention.

The alchemists at Sweetfields turn organic flowers into edible candy creations made to adorn wedding cakes, pastries, and even drinks! These are coated with edible 24 karat gold dust. Their bright colors and luminescence are even more vivid in person.

Sweetfields even makes waterproof candied flowers that float in water!

Tsar Nicoulai Caviar produces fine caviar from American farm raised fish. Their sample bowl contains caviar from white sturgeon, salmon, whitefish, and trout. The orange jars of trout caviar in the foreground are designed by Chef Roland Passot. They burst in the mouth with subtle flavors of vanilla bean, kaffir lime, and brandy (from left to right).

The internet’s like air, or water. Or sex: taken for granted until you don’t have any. Last night, an internet backbone connection went down at my webhost, taking my site down along with countless others for six hours.

Six hours without email or a working website seemed interminable to me. I may need to get outdoors more often.

Our fellow L.A. blog pal Dylan of Eat, Drink and Be Merry threw the rest of us bloggers into jealous hissy fits last October when he was invited to lunch with chef Anthony Bourdain. They taped a show about Thai boat noodles at Thai Town’s Sapp Coffee House. That episode of No Reservations airs on the Travel Channel this coming Monday February 5, 2007.

Set your Tivos. I’m very proud that one our own was chosen to represent L.A.’s love for great ethnic eats. Can’t wait to see your TV debut, Dylan!

You probably didn’t notice that I upgraded my site’s software today. From my end of the screen, the new WordPress v 2.1 release installed without a hitch. If the three of you reading along are having issues, let me know.

In contrast, yesterday’s train wreck of a site upgrade at Chowhound has thousands of angry villagers lighting the torches and sharpening their escargot forks. CNet management continues to respond to pissed off site users, and repairs to the massive pooch screwing flow forth.

While the Chicken Little types run around like Bill Paxton’s character in Aliens, I’m certain a company with Cnet’s resources will sort out the mess they made. It’s easy to get pissed at them. Chowhound’s about us, the community. Hell, them‘s are us. What’s with the hating, people?

Give it time, chowhounds. These site changes will work out. In the meantime, I’ll be twiddling the knobs on my own little website, waiting for the inevitable day when something breaks…