Calling all gossip girls and dirty laundry-loving dudes, it’s DLT’s column dedicated to the Valley’s juiciest rumors, spottings and innuendos. Check in regularly for the latest (unconfirmable), but too-good-to-not-be-true tidbits.

Hey hey, everybody. Long time no chat, but we’re back with a tasty scoop on the media shakeup du jour. In case you missed it, local foodies are still in shock over the sudden departure of one of the Valley’s two remaining full-time food critics. Yes, Michele Laudig, the Phoenix New Times‘ longtime Chow Bellista up and left the table on Tuesday, writing only that, “It’s been a blast, but I’ve decided to embrace the future – just wait until you see what I’ve got in the works.”

Well, we’ve also seen the future and think we have a pretty good handle on where Laudig is planting her flag fork next.

Ever read a certain foodie free-for-all by the name of Eater.com? Based in Manhattan, it’s true food porn in the best sense of the term, meaning snarky drive-by commentary on everything from fast food trends and Food Network shows to “Half-Assed Food Stunts.” And besides the national edition, Eater also has localized sites in eight food-forward eight cities across the US, including NYC, DC, Miami, Chicago, Austin, LA and Portland.

Now, sources tell us, Eater is expanding to Phx/Scotts with Laudig overseeing the whole shebang. Of course, it was pretty obvious this was happening to anyone who read Eater’s most recent Heat Map (a way-cool interactive map of the best places to eat & drink in any particular town) featuring our little Valley of the Sun. Or as they wrote at the time, “This week [Feb 11] we head to Phoenix, a city not yet under the Eater purview, and select ten newish locales that have been garnering serious buzz. This time around, we’ve been fortunate enough to consult Phoenix New Times restaurant critic Michele Laudig, who has shared with us some of her picks.”

So, um, yeah. Welcome to the Interwebs, dear Michele.

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