Eater has the info for the third season of Food Network's Great Food Truck Race, but this year, there's a TWIST! Instead of casting people who actually have food trucks, experience, and some sense of how to sell food on the run, they're taking foodies and culinary types who have mobile dining aspirations. I have to admit, this does sound like a lot of fun, although anyone entering should really consider if they want to stay friends with their teammates, because these reality shows seem to take a toll on the fragile bond of human relationships. On the other hand, you could win a food truck! If anyone enters, let me know. It would be great to see some Tucsonans in the mix.

The flyer is below the cut:

Democracy is a wonderful thing, especially when combined with delicious tamales, so why not take a moment and vote on Tucson Tamale Company's Facebook page for the newest addition to their menu. The creator of the winning dish wins two dozen free tamales to make things more exciting. My vote was for the paella tamale, partially because I know the guy who submitted that idea, but partially because I don't think the world needs another vegan tamale (sorry, vegans). Voting ends tomorrow, so hurry over.

If you're a fan of drinks with balls of chewy stuff in them - which I most certainly am - you'll want to check out the new Bing's Boba Tea located in the same shopping center as Lee Lee International Supermarket at 1990 W. Orange Grove Road.

We know so frightfully little about boba tea, other than the fact that it tastes good and that the sensation of sucking little gelatinous spheres through a straw is way more fun than one would think. I've posted a picture of this new place's menu below for your perusal.

• Billy Elliott wants to feed you bacon, burgers and vodka.

Elliott, who is opening the restaurant with his wife Valaree, tended bar at Bison Witches for many years and has held a variety of other restaurant-related jobs around town. He says the new restaurant will focus on American fare, although he's adding in some twists and turns to keep it interesting.

"Our menu is definitely bacon-heavy and pretty spicy," explains Elliott, adding that he's shooting for a casual, comfortable place that can offer fast lunch service, an affordable happy hour and cocktails that are interesting, yet approachable.

A look at the preliminary menu shows a selection of interesting burgers alongside novel items like a club sandwich made with roasted duck.

Salads; appetizers ranging from French fries to steamed mussels; and desserts like a deep-fried peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and chocolate-covered bacon round out the brief but inspired menu.

Elliott says he'll have three or four beers on tap and a cocktail program centered on flavor-infused vodkas made in-house. He's starting with cucumber, jalapeno, horseradish, mint and various fruit flavors, but plans on branching out into others as time goes on.

He says years working in restaurants have taught him that service can make or break a restaurant, so he's putting a lot of emphasis on that. He's also installed a number of new big-screen televisions and is working on rearranging the place to make it a bit more spacious and inviting than the previous restaurant.

He's shooting for an opening this spring.

I often wonder about the creative process Lindy's on Fourth uses to create its burgers of the month. One envisions co-owner Lindy Reilly barricaded in a dark room, sweat beads dotting his creased forehead, until the newest twisted burger creation springs forth from his rather sizable skull. Or maybe it's far weirder than that.

This month the crew at Lindy's has a burger called Bunny Balls. No actual rabbit giblets are involved, but that is surely because they are either not available or Boca Tacos and Tequila already bought them all up for their ongoing Exotic Taco Wednesdays.

I humbly submit this rather delicious sounding description of the Bunny Balls burger, as posted on the restaurant's Facebook page:

New burger of the month Bunny balls! This burger is topped deviled egg salad, bacon on a croissant roll with cream cheese with lettuce, tomato, onion, see you hooligans there!

Happy Easter!

Recently, the writing on The Daily Show has been so smart and on point that I could probably post a video the day after every new episode, but I try to keep my fanaticism down to a minimum. However, last night's segment on "pink slime" is a must see, as Stewart's outrage bubbles over.

However, it's still a bit disconcerting that Safeway, Fry's, McDonald's and other meat purveyors thought this sort of thing was OK until the media shame set in. I guess I have to start asking what other crap they think is acceptable for me to eat, at least until there's some sort of outrage that forces these institutions to change their minds.

Part two is below the cut.

Let it be said that I am an enormous fan of Monsoon Kitchen. The three ladies who run the outfit are doing some truly innovative and superb events that occur beneath the radar of most Tucson foodies, which makes what they're up to all the more compelling.

Every couple of months news surfaces of some interesting event the group has put on. The event in this video happened a couple months ago, but I'm sure Monsoon Kitchen is already planning their next underground culinary wonder. Keep up with what they do over here.

I understand tainted food will enter our food system from time to time, but could you at least tell us where the poison beef was headed so we can plan ahead for the bloody diarrhea and seizures? From the Seattle Times:

Sysco's Seattle branch bought the beef from New Food Classics, the Ontario-based processor at the center of a recall that now extends to more than 135 meat products across Canada. Sysco, in turn, sold the beef to a single customer, which operates restaurants in Washington, Colorado, Arizona and Texas.

Wilson would not identify the restaurants. He said Sunday that Sysco is working with its customer to identify and destroy the potentially tainted beef. Wilson added that he isn't sure whether any of the meat made it onto menus before the recall was initiated.

Oh, and this gem:

The Canadian recalls were launched mid-February, after a person in Alberta fell ill from E. coli O157:H7, the potentially fatal bacteria behind many high-profile food-poisoning outbreaks.

Victims can experience abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea, with severe cases causing seizures, kidney failure and even death. Children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are most vulnerable.

Ack!

If you like bread, or soups served in bowls fashioned from bread, keep the new Paradise Bakery and Café in the shopping center on the northwest corner of Broadway and Wilmot in mind.

The store opened Monday and is giving away prizes to the first 100 customers every day through Friday, March 30. Free stuff! Yay!

I am so guilty when it comes to bitching about chain restaurants, but this one has good points that can not be ignored. Their soup and half-sandwich special, for instance, is affordable and contains enough carb calories to fuel an army of marathon runners, and the cookies are just plain delicious.

Paradise Bakery and Cafe also makes an effort to use natural, organic, antibiotic-free and other less-nasty ingredients than many chain joints. More on all that over here.

Outside of a few taco trucks outside of walking distance, the food options immediately adjacent to the Tucson Weekly offices might be best described as "plentiful, yet mediocre," mostly consisting of fast food joints and the generally packed Sachiko Sushi that shares a building with a Losbetos. However, at least for tomorrow, that'll change a bit since the Animal Farm truck will be down here on Hemisphere Loop serving lunch. I'm unclear on the start and stop times (check their Facebook page tomorrow, I imagine), but you happen to live or work near Valencia and Palo Verde, you should really stop by. You might even spot one of your favorite Tucson Weekly personalities ordering their lunch ("Is that Jimmy Boegle getting a banh mi? I think it is!", etc. etc.) before rushing back to make journalistic magic happen on the page.

For more on Animal Farm, check out Adam Borowitz's 27th entry in his Food Truck Diary.