“… hot dogs, water, fries, ice cream, hot chocolate during the game, $57.50. Taking my son to opening night and creating lifelong memories, priceless.”—a Nats fan quoted in Wednesday’s Washington Post

It’s the talk of the town here in Washington: the most popular food at Nationals Park is not cheap and not for the clogged of artery, but there are many delicious options. The Washington Post food pages led with the reaction to Opening Day, an article called “Step Up to the Plate.” The half-smoke from this town’s beloved Ben’s Chili Bowl seemed to be the “hands-down favorite,” while the “chili mac, spicy chicken wings and enormous plates of nachos sold by Hard Times Cafe were popular and tasty, as were the lavishly topped burgers at Five Guys.” Fries from Five Guys and Boardwalk Fries pleased “happy and guilty eaters.” If you’re trying to go Atkins or South Beach, even, then stay away.

Also from the seat of power there’s a story about blogging bakers which includes a photo slideshow that will kill any last remaining shreds of willpower you may be trying to exercise as bathing suit season creeps into focus. The story goes into which bigwigs of baking are writing (you may know Dorie Greenspan and Michael Laiskonis) and tells us there is a “blogroll” of around 500 home bakers who also compare notes and recipes. Seriously — do not even look at those pictures unless you want to be driven to your oven (or the nearest good bakery).

Yet more on the not-good-for-you-but-oh-so-good front: “The best bargain in Vegas” is breakfast at Payard Patisserie & Bistro, says S. Irene Virbila of The Los Angeles Times. Embedded in Caesar’s Palace, it’s got “good, strong coffee, fresh-squeezed orange juice and as many of Payard’s exquisite morning pastries as you can devour in one sitting” for less than a twenty-spot. Virbila seems to love the “adorable” place for many reasons even beyond the breakfast bargain — she touts the $45 three-course dessert tasting as well, where you can try “macaron stained with squid ink and filled with a savory black olive cream cheese served with Gorgonzola ice cream. Or peanut butter napoleon with milk chocolate pastry, rice crispies and a subtly evocative peanut butter sauce.” Rich stuff, even for the relatively thin of wallet.

Good heavens! More sweetness this early in the day? How about “Nighttime. A Knock on the Door. A Stranger With Warm Cookies.” It’s Florence Fabricant in the N.Y. Times, again finding something cute and witty to report to us. Insomnia Cookies is “a fixture on many campuses” that is expanding its delivery area beyond NYU so that more people can be soothed by butter, sugar and chocolate when they’re trying to stay up all night. Visit insomniacookies.com to get a better idea of what’s on offer.

Just one more bite of (cloying?) cuteness before we move ahead to things healthier and less sugary: Tea cakes! This stuff from Valerie Confections “screams spring,” writes the L.A. Times. Plus, writer Noelle Carter says, you can make them yourself: “these amazing little cakes are worth the time and effort — and you’ll have plenty of them for a party.” Go to the link to see the recipe.

We’re going to taper off into healthier food news. Here is an only-slightly-more-virtuous story about “cheese and garlic, sauce and bread crumbs, fresh veggies.” Regina Schrambling, who is always so lovely and literary, observes in the L.A. Times that “Gratins have a bit of seasonal affective disorder. They turn up in fall and winter but disappear when the sun comes back out in springtime.” But wouldn’t it make sense, she says, to ease the transition from winter to spring by dressing vegetables in rich, thick goodness? “Asparagus, artichokes, green garlic, dandelions, even not-so-green new potatoes can be transformed by the gratin treatment.” We will most definitely be trying one of these “springtime gratins” with whatever jumps out at us at the market.

For any New Yorkers who might be reading, take a ride on the N train and go to Philoxenia, formerly a not-so-polished hole-in-the-wall sort of place to get authentic Greek food in Astoria and now a “huge” restaurant that, after reopening in new digs, has earned itself a review in The New York Times by our guy Peter Meehan. His description of the grilled octopus — “charred, curled, looking lonely in a bath of golden olive oil and pale red wine vinegar on a plain plate,” has us longing for one-way into LaGuardia. It’s an easy walk from the airport if you know the way.

And before we head off for the day, we’ll cleanse your palate with the “Just In” feature from Russ Parsons in the L.A. Times. It’s about mandarins and sugar snap peas — and we are feeling cool because we just bought a huge bag of both of these things on Tuesday. They are nice things to have, cold and snappy and refreshing, in the refrigerator for snacktime.