The wailing, the consternation! In the food blog equivalent of losing journalist Tim Russert, last week food bloggers across the world began wringing their keyboards when the news broke -- on Friday the 13th, no less, via a hand-written note posted on the home page, no less -- that Tastespotting, the daily (hourly? minutely?) fix of food lovers across the world was closing its kitchen of food-porn images that so sumptuously inspired our eyebuds and tastebuds. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Across the food-o-sphere, posts about what was happening began to crop up, generating hundreds/thousands/kazillions of views and repeat views as many of us revisited the pages for new information, new speculation. Tributes began to appear.

SlashFood ~ RIP Tastespotting

"Tastespotting was a joy. I would scan it sometimes twice a day and see what all my fellow bloggers were up to. It was the best way to stroll through a 'Farmer's Market of Food Blogs' and see what was fresh! No lengthy posts -- just quick photos to draw you in and say 'This looks good.'"

"I love Tastespotting. Great recipes, beautiful photos,the best way to find new bloggers and updated several times a day. I hope they find some way to bring it back....soon."

"I used tastespotting for EVERYTHING. I started to enjoy cooking because of this website. I used this website ONLY for recipes and now I am kinda freaking out that I have no where to go, now."

"I am more than annoyed with this. As much as I enjoy checking out other's food blogs, Tastespotting was so much more efficient. My favorite way to use it was to do a single ingredient search. So many droolicious dishes come right up! And what a great way to find new food bloggers. *sigh*"

Serious Eats ~ Tastespotting - What Happened?, a few sample comments

"Tastespotting was one of those rare sites that consistently inspired me."

"How will I plan my dinners???"

"Noooo! This is NOT good. Where else am I going to find the day's selection of droolworthy food photos all in one place?"

"I never heard of Tastespotting, and I am heartbroken about THAT."

Chowhound ~ Tastespotting... oh noes!

"I am crushed. I use to visit that site AT LEAST once a day."

"Aaaaahhhhh! NOOOOOO! I just saw this too! First thing I check every day."

"It's a sad day, either way. Tastespotting was one of my favorite websites I encountered while exploring the innernit's food culture forum. It led me to a number of blogs which I RSS or check daily and opened my eyes to a number of things I had no idea existed."

"Tastespotting.com allowed me to visit so many amazing foodie blogs! The pictures were so beautiful and inspired me to make quite a few dishes. Who needs those cooking magazines when you have Tastespotting.com?"

"I was DEEPLY SADDENED when I visited Tastespotting today. I went there to bring traffic to my blog as well as take in the beautiful photography and recipes that the photos lead to."

But Wait
All is not lost. Before Tastespotting was even in the ground, within 24 hours, Tastespotting wannabes began to appear too.

Food Gawker ~ the creation of Chuck from Sunday Nite Dinner who announced the new site on Twitter and within minutes, received the inaugural submission from Cupcake Project, followed quickly by submissions from A Beautiful Mosaic, Steamy Kitchen and Pioneer Woman. Whoa! Talk about Internet time!

FP Daily ~ the creation of Robin from Caviar & Codfish but not, she emphasizes, a Tastespotting replacement, "I’ll be posting fewer pictures and being more critical of the submission. My goal is high quality food-porn, everyday." Still, she writes, there are five reasons why Food Porn Daily is better than Tastespotting.

Recipe Muncher ~ pulls the feeds from accepted blogs but publishes just one photo linked to the source post

New Tastings ~ adds a fun new feature, 'like' and 'dislike' buttons

Food Porn Daily ~ Food porn to the extreme, backed by Nicole from Pinch My Salt and Amanda and Tyler from What We're Eating. (Please accept my apology for missing this site on the original list, an oversight since Food Porn Daily was one of the first Tastespotting alternatives to appear.)

Recipes2Share ~ set up a so-so gallery of photos, but lacks a critical-vital-essential element, hyperlinks to the photographer/recipes

Have I missed any? At this rate, surely there shall be more to come. Leave a comment and a link.

But for the moment, food bloggers and food people, let's vote with our mice. These new sites are all of four days old. Check them out, see what you love, see what you hate.

But WAIT!
There are hints that Tastespotting just might re-appear. Let's not give up on Tastespotting!

Who Else Inspires Such Passion?
And blog watchers, here's a question. What magazines, what newspapers, what websites might inspire such Tastespotting-like devotion? I see a Harvard Business Review study in the making.

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg loved-loved-loved Tastespotting, her #10 referral source during 2007 and 2008. Top traffic generators from Tastespotting were her mom's recipe for baked apples and beet-stained ruby eggs. Pages per visit from Tastespotting ranged from 1.2 to 1.9. Is it any wonder she loved Tastespotting and hopes it returns quickly?