Personalities

On Ruth Bourdain, Regina Schrambling, Anthony Bourdain, and Cupcakes

Maybe you, like us, have heard speculation that Ruth Bourdain (the satirical Twitter mash-up of Anthony Bourdain and Ruth Reichl) is food writer Regina Schrambling of Gastropoda. Interesting fact: When you Google “Regina Schrambling and Ruth Bourdain,” Ruth Bourdain’s Twitter comes up, even though Schrambling’s name isn’t anywhere to be found in the feed. Make of that what you will. The Wall Street Journal doesn’t bother investigating this in its story about Ruth Bourdain (Tom Colicchio’s response to the profile: “WSJ is ok but I would hold out for the cover of High Times”), but the dance between Schrambling and Bourdain is getting more and more delicious.

In Medium Raw, Bourdain calls Schrambling “both a hero and a villain” and “easily The Angriest Person Writing About Food.” He admits she’s “very funny — and, frequently, right about things,” but also has this to say:

For inventing cute names for her targets, though, and not having the stones to simply say what everyone knows she is saying, she’s a villain. If you’re going to piss on Mario every other week, say “Mario Batali.” Not “Molto Ego.” Stand up fucking proud and tell us why you hate Mario Batali and everything he touches.

If Schrambling is the author of Ruth Bourdain, she isn’t standing up proud just yet — but she’s still toying with Bourdain. Bourdain, whose book was likened to “puke on a page” by Time Out, confesses to the Post that he likes red-velvet cupcakes, and Schrambling promptly issues a post titled “Red velvet ‘puke on a page.’” Though “my biggest fan” is one of the tags, the post itself doesn’t mention Bourdain, but like many things Schrambling, it’s worth reprinting.

The ultimate sign that cupcakes have nowhere to go but down: Some flack pitched them as a gift suggestion for graduates. Unless the recipient is moving on up from kindergarten, I can think of many things more appropriate. Cash, say. At least evolve to macarons.

Anti-cupcakes and pro-macarons? Now that sounds like Ruth Bourdain!

Update: Asked for comment, Schrambling referred us to this tweet that indicates she isn’t Ruth Bourdain, and ain’t much of a fan either: “Kinda crushed people would think I’m wit-deficient.”

Ruth Bourdain: A Delicious Mystery [WSJ]
Food Fighter [NYP]
Red Velvet ‘Puke on a Page’ [Gastropoda]

On Ruth Bourdain, Regina Schrambling, Anthony Bourdain, and Cupcakes