‘Achewood’ Creator Chris Onstad Becomes the Food Critic For the Portland Mercury

If you're like me, in that you love both Achewood and delicious food, we have some good news for you: The Portland Mercury has announced that Achewood creator Chris Onstad will be taking over as their resident food critic. Finally, the citizens of Oregon will be able to know where to get the best Breast Man cocktail, and which local restaurant offers the best in Nachos Galacticos and Crispy Stellas.Onstad's new gig shouldn't come as much of a surprise to his fans. He's already had an existing relationship with the Mercury as a newspaper that used to run Achewood strips, but more than that, his status as a "foodie" is pretty evident from the comic itself. There's Teodor, obviously, an aspiring chef who once dressed as an elephant and competed in a challenge of writing lesbian erotica in front of an audience in order to get his cookbook published by Williams Sonoma, but it goes beyond that.

I'd even go so far as to say that the relationship between characters and the food they eat is one of the central elements of his stories, from the meal of turkey and brandy that marks the midpoint of The Great Outdoor Fight -- maybe the first great comic story of the 21st century -- to Roast Beef's neuroses coming to the surface when he asks a waiter if ordering a particular white wine "makes us look like dicks."

He's even written a series of cookbooks based on the characters, though they're sadly out of print:

So given his talent for writing and his obvious love of fine foods, it should make for some pretty entertaining criticism. And for the few members of the comics community who don't live in Portland -- of which I'm one of about fifteen, I think -- don't fret: his columns will likely be posted on the Mercury's website.

(via Portland Mercury)