Foodies filled Omnivore Books in Noe Valley on Thursday night, some to compete and some to eat, for the first Edible Art Contest. The competitors were judged on taste and creativity and the mix of entries were quite impressive. 

There were "still-life" cookies, a "swimming pool" of chocolate pudding complete with a paddling pup and orange inner-tube, and "salumi" made with dried fruit and nuts created by local gluten-free cookbook writer Jacqueline Mallorca.

Once everyone had sampled each entry, it was time to vote. The runner-up of the contest was an amazing three tiered princess cake covered in edible cameos and gold icing, but the winner was the "Alabama Lane Cake," inspired by To Kill A Mockingbird and said to have enough bourbon in it to have actually been the culprit of the poor bird's demise. All the entries were decadent desserts and after several kinds of cakes, cookies and pudding, I was on a major sugar high and just grateful I could actually hold my camera steady with all that sweetness rushing through my veins.

Omnivore Books, with its incredible collection of awesome new and old food books, hosts all sorts of other cool events (Alice Waters will be there on April 10th) and food contests, making it pretty much a foodie's idea of heaven.