Giving you a delicious dose of the weird and wonderful things going on in the world of food . . .

Compliments of the House.  German tourist claims to find bloody tampon in steak at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.
A $14 Popov Martini.  Clubs throughout the city fined for secretly replacing top-shelf liquors with cheap substitutes. 
Don’t go messin’ with my honey.  Florida dictates stringent purity standards for honey
Corroborating Kikkoman.  Scientists confirm existence of the “umami” taste receptor, enhancing our experience of certain meals. 
At least we know the chicken came before this egg:  Dominic Wilcox creates a genetically modified egg that can function as its own cup. 
If you can’t take the heat, get out of my kitchen! Jennifer Maiser’s book accounts for the importance of compatibility in selecting your cooking partners. 
Out of sight, out of mind.  Desperate restaurants turn to crude means to hide notices of closure by order of the Department of Health.
From Per Se to CPK.  Ruth Madoff’s expired coupons get declined when she dines at California Pizza Kitchen. 
What’s your beef?  Actor Sam Neill’s latest commercial for Australia’s meat industry engenders backlash from PETA. 
The student gourmand.  College students increasingly turn to cooking in their dorm room to satisfy concerns for health, cost and taste. 

Image courtesy of eatmedaily.com

Giving you a delicious dose of the weird and wonderful things going on in the world of food . . .

Shorter, fatter, still creepy. Ron English’s portly Ronald McDonald sculptures on display in Milan
Hands off. German chef loses both hands while performing an experiment
What a doll. Jewish American Girl doll is supposed to be from 1914, but her bagel (a necessary accessory) comes loaded with the more recent American cheese. Oy vey! (Pickles and rugalach also included.) 
Hairy frank. Haired sausage is all the rage among Russian bloggers
The high cost of expired yogurt. British chef fined heavily for storing expired yogurt in the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi
Squirrel antics. Video captured of squirrel with head stuck in Yoplait yogurt container
Beware of the blight. Late blight began in the south and is infecting tomatoes and potatoes in various places
Wine for sanity. New study shows wine may prevent dementia in older adults
Go local or go home. Five Canadian grocery stores go independent so they can offer more local foods

Photo courtesy of photobucket.com

Giving you a delicious dose of the weird and wonderful things going on in the world of food . . .

Repulsive eats. Graph charts relationship between attractiveness of food show hosts and the repulsiveness of the foods they eat
Water, water everywhere and too much in my drink. SLA pours lawsuits on clubs who water down drinks or replace quality liquor bottles with cheaper alcohol

Fat facts. Examining the evolutionary and historical reasons why people are fat
Farms and the city. Urban farms are sprouting
Whatever works. Larry David’s ex-wife wrote a book about family dining
Chick-peace. Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno confuses Hamas and hummus
Fueling the masses. People chow down on kebabs from an unlicensed cart in Delhi

Photo courtesy of www.petioivanov.com

Giving you a delicious dose of the weird and wonderful things going on in the world of food . . .

The joke’s on you, vegetarians!  Food coloring in products actually comes from a tiny bug but has never before required labeling as such.
Why were you so slow with my 17th free coke?  (Who in the restaurant industry is really paying for all your free refills?)
Eat it to beat it!  New short-term diet available for purchase which advertises itself as successfully combating jet-lag. 
Blog bashers.  What are the ethics of blogging these days when everyone is an online amateur journalist? 
The Mystery Meat thieves in hairnets.  Lunch ladies apologize for stealing 1000 dollars worth of lunch food from the local school where they work. 
I wouldn’t eat that even if you paid me to! (Unless it’s on the dollar menu.)  Columnist Peter Hartlaub compiles the most disgusting fast foods
Keeping your health at Bay- San Francisco Mayor demands sweeping reforms of land allocation and food distribution to make his city a healthier place. 
Food Fight!  Mr. Chow may have stolen his name, his concept, his menu, his location . . . but how does that make him a copycat? 
Breaking News! Cheerios are not actually medicine! FDA attacks General Mills for posting exaggerated health claims on their cereal packaging. 
Who’s hungry for some brocciflower?  Monsanto and Dole make plans to develop new breeds of more nutritional vegetables.  (Because, of course everyone’s already eating their 5-A-Day and it just isn’t enough.) 
Don’t call it dude food until you see me eat.  Author Rebecca Traister composes poem in response to the engendering of food.  of all time. 

Image courtesy of xoxoerin.com

You can expect your restaurants to provide you with great food, good service and a pleasant ambiance. But, can you also expect them to operate conscientiously, and to treat their employees with exceptional standards of respect and care?  Well, the New York City Restaurant Industry thinks that you can, as they’ve shown with the inaugural round of their annual Exceptional Workplace Awards. Restaurants were awarded this honor for displaying workplace practices above and beyond the requisite standards and committing to the highest level of employee concern. Fundamentally, the awards are also a means of informing consumers so they can consider this distinction when choosing which restaurants to patronize. The necessity for change was exposed after a 2005 study which indicated that over half of restaurant workers earned poverty level salaries and illicit wage and tip withholding deeply pervaded the industry.