Food isn't like music or movies. The hospitality business doesn't obsess over every restaurant or bistro or pub that opens during any particular year; it doesn't base its overall health on the success or failure of the newbies coming into the market. Restaurants, young and old, must complete against each other. In some ways, the older restaurants have it easier: They may already have a loyal clientele that doesn't require expensive marketing to lure them back to the place.

I say all this as prologue. You don't see as many Year in Food lists as you do lists for movies and music. And when you do see them, they tend to be trend oriented, like the one Chow posted earlier this month. Now come two more:

• Howard Mortman at D.C. Examiner has put together his "top ten food-related presidential campaign stories from 2008."
• Robyn Mincher at Express Night Out has collected a few "Snapshots in D.C. Food."

Photo by Flickr user mediajorgenyc.

Among the subjects are Michael Phelps and his 12,000-calorie diet, Batter Blaster, and the ousting of Gael Greene from New York magazine. But the funniest item may be James Norton's take on "That Darn Penis Restaurant":

It’s difficult to prove, but it seems likely that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games received roughly equal to or slightly less coverage than Beijing’s now world-infamous Guolizhuang penis restaurant. Not since the premiere of Deep Throat ... what’s that? Rein it in? OK, just the facts. Go to Guolizhuang and order lovingly prepared deer, snake, yak, horse, seal, and/or duck wangs, among others. Eat them. Gain strength! Improve the quality of your skin! And, most important, finally look Andrew Zimmern in the eye and say: “Andrew Zimmern, I have risen to your level.”