A giant in journalism and a legendary eater, Johnny Apple died today at 71.

I had the privilege of meeting this razor sharp man at last year’s Southern Foodways Alliance symposium in Oxford… but our we had a long acquaintance through E-mails the past few years… when I saw his name in my E-mail in-box for the first time, out of the blue, I couldn’t believe it. It was like having the Pope stop by for a cup of tea.

But Johnny Apple was always on the hunt for great food, and when I heard from him, he was traveling to Idaho to write about, you guessed it, potatoes… he wanted my suggestions on where to eat. I sweated bullets over those recommendations. We later swapped E-mail about barbecue and hot spots in Walla Walla.

I loved reading his stories, felt absolutely transported. He will be missed.

Of course, beyond his contributions to the food and travel pages of the New York Times, R.W. Apple was one of those writers/reporters/muckrackers/editors that inspire and awe journalism students, starting his career in the 1960s covering wars and politics. Click here for the eloquent obit in the Times.