Disturbing but true: Josh Ozersky gets the gout

In retrospect, this was either very prescient, or in very poor taste.

It's with mixed emotions that we report that one of our own, food blogger Josh Ozersky, has been diagnosed with the gout, the disease of bon vivants and chronic overeaters. We've made light of the ailment in past posts, which we designated with the artwork displayed here. Why, you ask? Because, in an industry in which excess is the status quo, the possibility of overdoing it (and the health implications that come with) always looms in the back of our minds. A post that went up on this very blog about a year ago, following an article in The New York Times commenting on food journalism's overweight, is eerily in line with Ozersky's revelation. In response to the story, which designated him a member of the "Fat Pack," Ozersky told The Feed:

"They wanted to ask some food bloggers about hurting their health, and she asked me my weight, and if I really ate like that every night, and if I had any health problems. I told her I was the Bruce Jenner of gluttony, and I was an exemplary health specimen with clear eyes and a good appetite."

That no longer seems to be the case. But it doesn't seem to bother Ozersky, who writes in today's post:

"I just want you, Feedbag readers, to know that I won't be altering my lifestyle at all, and that you can continue to expect the up-to-the-minute coverage of the city's dining scene that only total bodily dedication can bring."

Perhaps eating, not drinking, is the writer's new affliction, and Ozersky is the Kerouac of the food set. But consumers of food journalism don't need any heros, and one certainly doesn't have to eat to the point of illness to do justice to New York's food scene. While you ponder that thought, we wish Mr. Ozersky well.