Every weekday, we're highlighting a local or regional blogger we think you ought to know about. We can’t be everywhere at once, so we look to these passionate eaters, cooks and writers to keep us tapped into every facet of the food world. Consider this a way to get to know a blog’s taste buds, because, well, you should.

Meet today's featured bloggers and blog:
Who: James Norton, Editor of The Heavy Table
Where: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Twitter: @heavytable

I hail from a news and politics background (having worked as an editor at the international desk of the Christian Science Monitor, and as a researcher for now senator Al Franken's talk radio show), so food is a bit of a shift for me. The Heavy Table was born from the excitement I felt about local food upon moving back to the Midwest from the East Coast. Unbeknownst to most Americans, there's been a real food revolution here in the Upper Midwest, focused on a booming farmers market movement, world-caliber local cheese, a craft beer boom and a renewed interest in old-fashioned techniques like canning, pickling and foraging.

Working in tandem with my partner (information architect Aaron Landry) and a staff of writers, editors and photographers, I've had the opportunity to expand the Heavy Table from a traditional blog into a daily online magazine covering food and drink in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. We post original content every week day, putting an emphasis on talking to directly to the farmers, chefs, bakers, brewers, cheesemakers and other artisans who are driving the local food scene. We also aggregate local food news, skimming the cream of the crop from the many talented magazine and TV reporters, bloggers and newspaper journalists active in the area. We've had a blast creating and running the site, and are looking forward to being the hub of the local online food media scene for a long time to come.

Do you read a local blog that you'd like to see featured? Send 'em our way for a chance in the spotlight.