• Nothing says "thirst-quenching" like Italian soda! [MP: Boston]

• Top Chef scandal! Were frozen scallops planted by producers? [MP: Chicago]

• This secret firehouse bar story is amazing. [MP: Philadelphia]

• San Francisco needs more healthy delivery! [MP: San Francisco]

• A French oasis in a Cuban oasis in an American state. [MP: South Florida]

We're very excited to announce that next week, we'll be welcoming a host of new bloggers here at MenuPages: Boston. Repping everywhere from Somerville to Beacon Hill, they'll be bringing hot news, good tips, and big excitement to this here blog. Look for their introductions starting on Monday.

We'd like to deeply thank Jess Mullen, who stepped in to help us out for the past few months. We'll miss her abiding love for Veggie Planet Pizza and her witty remarks, especially about our shared home neighborhood of Roslindale, but we're also thrilled to welcome our new team. Get excited!

It's Friday and we're on the road again, heading to a graduation near Santa Barbara, CA. Jealous? It's cattle country down in the Santa Ynez Valley and we'll be going to Mattie's Tavern, one of the better steakhouses out there. The meal's going to be great, but it's hard for us to visit a steakhouse, even a high-end one, without thinking of the Patton Oswalt skit about Black Angus. Most likely, we won't be subjected to a gravy pipe at Mattie's, but hey, you never know. Happy Friday!

Brothers' Restaurant at Mattie's Tavern [Offical Site]

We think it's brunch season in Boston, though one may argue that it never isn't brunch season. Something about the birds chirping and the sun shining and the breeze drifting down the streets makes us want to get up late and saunter into our favorite brunch spots. We brunch a lot, so our top picks are everywhere.

• You may consider the Globe Bar & Cafe a popular Boylston St. bar. It is that, so it's fitting that they seek to take care of you when you come back in the morning. Try the smoked salmon benedict, with warm focaccia and mixed greens.

• In Union Square in Somerville is a hidden gem called simply the Neighborhood Restaurant. You can sit outside under a ton of grape vines, and you are given the option of orange juice or coffee, grits or fruit salad. You are not paying for those. The menu is filled with everyone's brunch staples, and the food is plentiful. No wonder there's a line.

• The community feel of Veggie Planet Pizza makes the food taste even better, we think. Waffles covered in nuts and berries are delicious, and even the vegans in your life can enjoy the tofu scramble. With nice music (of course - it's at Passim!), this is a calm and fuzzy-feeling brunch.

Globe Bar and Cafe [Official Site]
Neighborhood Restaurant [Chowhound]
Veggie Planet [Official Site]

[Photo: Foodaphilia]

• High energy prices have stoked the theft of restaurant grease [NYT]
• High organic fertilizer prices are rocking Peru's guano industry [NYT]
• It is somehow possible to predict high food prices through 2017 [TheStar]
• S. Korea holding a "tasting" of N. Korean food to raise awareness [hani]
• Also, the S. Korean minister who OK'd US beef imports to be fired [hani]

Celebrity chefs Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller are on a mission. The pair are teaming up to find a chef to represent the United States at the Bocuse d'Or, a Lyonnaise cooking contest widely regarded to be the world's most exclusive. Over the past few weeks, the following email has found its way into the inboxes of hundreds of American chefs:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Twenty one years ago, Chef Paul Bocuse created the Bocuse d’Or in Lyon, France. As the most rigorous international culinary competition, the Bocuse d’Or provides a platform for talented young chefs to represent their countries on the world stage. Together with Thomas Keller, Jerome Bocuse and many of America’s best chefs, we have established a not-for-profit organization to recruit and train a USA team to compete at the Bocuse d’Or. Our goal is to promote a team on par with the culinary status this country has earned. With the generosity of our sponsors, including All-Clad/Krups, Diageo, Moet & Chandon, American Express, SYSCO, Acqua Panna/San Pellegrino, Avero, Chefwear, Crystal Cruises, and OpenTable, we hope to create a legacy of support that will extend beyond this year’s competition for many years to come.

Today we are launching our website, www.bocusedorusa.org, and our appeal for candidates. In our efforts to attract competitors from across America we are sending applications to top restaurateurs, chefs, culinary educators and members of the media so that they will encourage the best young chefs in the country to apply.

I hope that you will help to spread the word about the competition. Applications are due by June 30. Potential candidates will need to begin working on their applications immediately.

The USA Committee for the Bocuse d’Or looks forward to seeing America win the international culinary recognition that it so rightly deserves. We are in search of the best USA team ever, and we know that our country’s talented young chefs are up to the challenge.

Best Regards,
Chef Daniel Boulud
Chairman of the Board
Bocuse d’Or USA

In case you're wondering, the application [PDF] is quite rigorous. Qualifying candidates will be called to compete in the USA Bocuse d'Or Competition in Walt Disney World this September before going on to the contest in Lyon, France in January.

Bocuse d'Or [Official Site]

Blogston Proper is your weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

• Beantown Bloggery keeps us up to speed on the Hot Dog Safari. Wait - safari? This exciting event, we are told, is taking place at Suffolk Downs this Sunday. [Beantown Bloggery]
• Is it normal to put mayo on a hot dog? We think not. After reading Food and Whine's poll, we are relieved to find we are not in the minority. [Boston Food and Whine]
• Chowhounders give us the word on Speed's Hot Dog Wagon, which can be found in Newmarket Square. Jury's out on how it compare's to Spike's Junkyard Dogs. [Chowhound]

[Photo: New Hampshire Fisher Cats]

Good news for sweet toothed vegans everywhere: Hydrox, the cookies our dairy-eschewing college friends used to call "Orthodox," are coming back after their January disappearance from store shelves.

The Wall Street Journal broke the news yesterday that the main competitor to Nabisco's Oreos will return to store shelves, to the delight, we're sure, of adolescent vegans everywhere. But the reinstatement seems to have more fuel behind it than just that specific counter-cultural subset. According to the Journal:

Bowing to more than 1,300 phone inquiries, an online petition with more than 1,000 signatures and Internet chat sites lamenting the demise of the snack, Kellogg Co. has decided to temporarily relaunch Hydrox, the left-for-dead cookie.

"These loyalists can be proud to know they've been heard," says Brad Davidson, head of Kellogg's snack division.

But will that affinity come from the same places? The constituency with which we're most familiar--the college vegans--may be out of luck. Apparently Kellog is changing the recipe somewhat from the original Hydrox:

[Davidson] doesn't guarantee the relaunched version will have the same recipe. One difference: no trans fat. "We maintained all the good we could and took out a little bad," he says, noting this year marks Hydrox's 100th anniversary.

Breaking News: Hydrox Cookies are coming back! [Slashfood]
Hydrox Redux: Cookie Duals Oreo, Again [Wall Street Journal]
The Hydrox Cookie Page [Official Site]

[Photo: via The Hydrox Cookie Page

Is it that we're lucking out with weeks filled with glorious days, or did spring finally arrive in Boston? No matter, really. Today we guide you to one of our favorite local picnic places: the Esplanade. Pre-Pops, this place is a wonderful (and not at all crowded) spot to settle down for outdoor lunch. We think the best place to pick up your food is nearby Charles St.

• The Mass Ave. location of Panificio may have closed, but its original shop is still open. Take any pastry you like from their display cases, or try their crispy duck salad with herbed goat cheese, spicy walnuts, and roasted peppers.
• Though the French aren't fond of take-out, we're sure you won't offend at Pigalle. We would highly recommend the truffled parmesan risotto, with exotic mushrooms and brunoise vegetables.
• The Upper Crust is always a great place for some of the most interesting pizzas in town. Put together your own pizza with anything from their extensive list ingredients, or go for the Uncommon Pizza, topped with bacon, fresh pineapple, and jalapeno peppers.

Panificio [Official Site]
Pigalle [Official Site]
The Upper Crust [Official Site]

[Photo: RootsWeb]

• UN: global food prices may dip but will stay high [AFP]
• German dairy farmers dumping milk to boost prices [NYT]
• Spam sales soar as food prices rise while wages don't [AP]
• No more free peanuts on USAir as fuel prices rise [Trib]
• OMG Rachael Ray is some kind of donut fashion terrorist!!!1! [ABC]

It's taken us a while to get to the latest copy of Gourmet, but we finally did last night, and we were struck by a brief note on Community Supported Fisheries. Community Supported Agriculture has been here for a while and has really taken off in the past few years, but only recently has the same idea been applied to fish in an effort to save the dying fishing industry, just like CSAs have helped save many a small farm.

There are still a few issues: there's a lot of confusion about what exactly are sustainable fishing practices, and while it's one thing to deal with a head of lettuce that's full of dirt, it's quite another for the average home cook to gut and scale a whole fish.

Still, it seems like the idea is catching on. The CSF mentioned in the Gourmet piece, Catch a Piece of Maine, offers the entire catch from one lobster trap for $2,995. That's at least 40 1.5-lb lobsters, although each trap usually catches 50. They've currently got 150 subscribers.

The Island Institute, also in Maine, offers 12-week shares of 8-12 lbs per week of haddock, cod, flounder, hake, dabs, grey sole, monkfish, pollock or redfish for $360. For those who can't quite see themselves going through that much fish, half shares are $180. North Carolina also boasts some CSFs, though they seem less organized; we get the sense you just call up a fisherman and negotiate how much to pay up front for a portion of the season's catch.

Small Fishermen Borrow a Page from Small Farmers [Christian Science Monitor]
Catch a Piece of Maine [Official Site]
The Island Institute [Official Site]
Community Supported Fisheries [Project Green Leaf]

Photo: herons/flickr

Wednesday, May 28
• The Four Seasons hosts a "Step Into Summer" benefit for the Greater Boston Food Bank from 6-9pm. Tickets are $75. [Greater Boston Food Bank]

Saturday, May 31
• The cutest thing (and possibly the most suitable thing, for the South End): Beehive hosts the "Bark Brunch" - brunch for you and your pooch! Treats provided by Polka Dog are paired with brunch for humans so that people really can eat brunch with their dogs! This event benefits the Companion Animal Protection Society. We want pictures! [Beehive]

Sunday, June 1
• Is it ever too soon to escape down the Cape? If you think so, guess again - the Cape Cod Life Food and Wine Festival runs from Sunday to Wednesday. Wine dinners and cultural happy hours abound. Depending on what you want to do, tickets range from $15 to $50. [Cape Cod Life]

A couple of major brewery merger stories came across the RSS over the last couple days, leaving us wondering what the future will look like in the beer cooler at your corner store.

First, we read on Realbeer about a possible takeover of Anheuser Busch by Belgian brewing giant InBev. Then, a story went up on Epicurious about the future of Miller after that mega-brewer merged with Coors (hint: it might leave Milwaukee).

This has us wondering whether to be sad or glad. It's not like Budweiser, Miller and Coors exactly set the standard for good brewing. In a blind taste test could you tell them apart? Perhaps it makes sense to have the beer cooler eventually consist of one watery American brand and scores of micro-brews.

Except that it turns out these mega-corporations own a lot of the ubiquitous "boutique" brands that go for a few dollars more a six-pack than your standard domestic cans. What will a future of consolidation mean for Stella Artois (an InBev brand), for example? Will Budweiser become more Stella-like, or will Stella become more Budweiser-like, or will both stay the same?

We're not sure what to think about this trend yet, but as long as local brands like Anchor Steam and Brooklyn keep going strong and independent, we're not going to shed too many tears. Of course, it will probably be hard to get Milwaukeeans to share in that opinion.

InBev, A-B Rumors Hot [Realbeer]
Wisconsin: Plenty Of Brats But No Miller [Epicurious]

[Photo: via Vulcan Beverage]

Oh, the humidity! The air is like shaving cream, and our spirits and feet are dragging! What could possibly save the day? Oh, right: Italian soda! What can be more refreshing than a cold and sparkling water flavored lightly with sugary syrup? We've replaced our afternoon coffee with it, with a little help from these guys...

• Espresso Royale Cafe never flavors their sodas too much, and the flavors they have are many. Our favorites are blackberry and raspberry, but the word from the friendly baristas is the new banana syrup is surprisingly delicious, as well.
• A raspberry soda from 1369 Coffee House is a little too sweet for our taste, but we know many people like their Italian sodas saturated in color. If that's your bag, you've found a home in Inman. Or Central.
• Being a Spanish cafe, Cafe Pamplona doesn't seem like the prime spot for Italian anything. Believe us, though - it is one of the best! Bonus: you can sip it on the Bow St. patio.

Espresso Royale Cafe [Official Site]
1369 Coffee House [Official Site]

[Photo: Small World Coffee]

• How can we turn high food prices into poverty relief? [APO]
• How can we turn high food prices into massive profits? [Philly]
• Canada's adoption of food origin labeling going alright [Gazette]
• U.S. defunding research on approaching deadly wheat fungus [AP]
• Child obesity levels off as...standards for obesity drop? [NYT]

In this annoying Slate piece that came out yesterday — on a day we were supposed to be remembering our fallen soldiers, no less — Christopher Hitchens assaults us with his huge pet peeve about waiters pouring wine for him, unbidden. What audacity must one's server have to top your glass off in a Machiavellian scheme to get you to buy more wine? And boy, does he go on about it, for nearly a thousand words, coming up with non-reason after non-reason concerning "snobbery and insecurity" and other imaginary foes.

There's an extent to which this piece is tongue-in-cheek, and Hitchens ultimately determines that you can simply ask your waiter or waitress not to pour your wine for you (this is, of course, if the bottle is even stored at your table; in really fancy places, or where they're pretending to be really fancy, your 750ml is chilling/staying warm with its half-drunk buddies in Pernod purgatory or something).

Interestingly enough (or not really because it's so obvious), Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle and Helena Echlin of Chow's "Table Manners" both came to the same conclusion late last year, when this issue was on everybody's mind for some reason. Perhaps holiday-induced-but-lifelong control issues surfacing in the most effete, bourgeois manner possible?

At any rate, all three disregard the obvious, if lopsided, advantage to this practice: the fast-drinking lush gets a disproportionately large share of the vino without having to betray any boorishness by constantly refilling his or her own glass! Woe to the light — or worse, slow — drinker in this scenario, but so goes evolution: the meek shall not inherit the wine. Consider this the...glass half full perspective.

Wine Drinkers of the World, Unite [Slate]
Stop pouring my wine! [Between Meals]
Stop Refilling My Wineglass! [CHOW]

[Photo: "I want two glasses half full" via spiky_simon/flickr]

We are glad we don't have to report the closings of any local restaurants. Nothing but growth - ain't-a that good news?

Openings
Harvard Square: Is it just us, or is the Upper Crust suddenly popping up absolutely everywhere? We're not complaining, either. [Boston Business Journal]
Roslindale: Does Rozzy need another Chinese restaurant? Can we sit down in this new one? Next time, can we have Indian? [Universal Hub]
South End: Chowhounders see a sign for Circle Plates and Lounge, but nobody's really sure what it is - yet. [Chowhound]

Expanding
South End: Is there anything not to like about the South End Buttery? Maybe that it doesn't offer enough excitement? We never thought so, but it seems they're looking for line cooks and prep cooks for an "exciting new concept for the South End". We look forward to its development. [Craigslist]

[Photo: My Ninja Please]

A disturbing article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer last week reported that nutrition information on many chain restaurant menus is just plain wrong.

Now we know you, discriminating MenuPages reader, don't make a habit of eating at Chili's, but just in case you do get by there, or Macaroni Grill, or Taco Bell, or the Cheesecake Factory, or Applebee's, or any of the other restaurants mentioned in the article, wouldn't you like to think that the nutrition info. you're getting is even close to right? Well, according to the Scripps News Service study, the actual calorie and fat counts can be several times the posted numbers.

While some items contained only as many calories and fat as the restaurants claimed, many dishes were found to have several times as many calories and fat as the companies stated

Unlike packaged food, restaurants are not required by the Food and Drug Administration to provide nutrition information, Wootan said. But if a restaurant decides to publish such information, it cannot be misleading.

The FDA did not return multiple calls for comment.

To test the food, Scripps ordered dishes from restaurants in Phoenix, Kansas City, Mo., Tampa, Fla., Detroit, West Palm Beach, Fla., Cleveland, Baltimore and Tulsa, Okla.

Items were packed in coolers and sent to Analytical Labs in Boise, Idaho. Technicians performed nutritional tests, determining the items' caloric and fat contents. They did so by breaking the food down in a simulated digestion process.

The lab separated fat and other molecules, then measured them. After determining the amount of fat, protein and carbohydrates in each meal, the lab was able to calculate the overall number of calories.

The Macaroni Grill sample showed the widest variance from the menu's claims. Its "Pollo Margo Skinny Chicken," which was supposed to have 500 calories, actually had 1,022, according to the testing. The chicken dinner was supposed to have 6 grams of fat. It had 49.

Restaurant menu promises buried in calories, fat [Seattle Post Intelligencer]

It's strange when the local newspapers are mostly occupied by coverage of every graduation on this side of the state, but we all know what it means: the students are leaving, and we have our city back! Here are some on-campus favorites you can't try outside of summer and winter breaks.

Boston University The Terriers have gone home, and now we have Comm Ave. back! Sort of. At the very least, enjoy Noodle St without hearing about what a drag it is to be studying pre-med while researching the best residencies in the country. Pick your own topic of conversation and your own curry dish. We recommend the yellow curry to those who seek out the mild but are ready to kick it up a notch.

Harvard University The charms of Grendel's Den in the summer far outweigh their school-year counterparts. Go for their express lunch and have a soup and half-sandwich combo - maybe even sneak in a half-pitcher of sangria before you head back to work. We won't tell.

Northeastern University: Okay, we all know that the best way to shave off some of that 5-year degree that goes along with co-op is to go to school in the summer. So no, you cannot go to Tigerlily and avoid the NU DogHouse at the same time. We would, however, highly recommend a walk in the opposite direction on Huntington. The Squealing Pig offers a fine selection of beers (we like the Franziskaner hefeweizen) and rather delicious food (like the brie and cranberry toasted sandwich).

Noodle St. [Official Site]
Grendel's Den [Official Site]
Tigerlily [MenuPages]
The Squealing Pig [MenuPages]

[Photo: La Shawn Barber's Corner]

• After immigration crackdown, farmers decamp to Mexico for legal cheap labor [NYT]
• Are private food safety labs cheating for unscrupulous food importers? [Trib]
• McD about to be priced off the Champs-Elysees, Paris' priciest strip [IHT]
• Food banks around the country crunched by increased demand and prices [AP]
• Restaurateur thinks he's being moral by serving shark and not shark fin [Reuters]

[Photo: A fine specimen from St. Paul's Downtowner Woodfire Grill, which we will totally visit when we go to Minnesota next month: Monkey River Town]

• Vegan ice cream comes to the Hub, complete with Big Lebowski jokes. [MP: Boston]

• The Chicago farmers' market is full of appealing veggies. [MP: Chicago]

• An urban farm is rocking it in the City of Brotherly Love. [MP: Philadelphia]

• This video is intense. And awesome. [MP: San Francisco]

• Who doesn't love a gourmet salad, especially in diet-conscious South Beach? [MP: South Florida]

This weekend being the semi-official kickoff of summery activities (if not actual summer), it seemed appropriate to join the blogging hoards and do a barbecue post. But what's there to be said about barbecue that hasn't already been said, or that could be at all construed as original?

Nothing from us, that's for sure. We've been using the same recipes for 10 years. But the Cupcake Project has you covered, in the originality department, with its weird recipe for smoke-infused chocolate barbecue cupcakes (with cream cheese-corn frosting!). Yeah, we think it's kind of gross, too, but there's a chance it could be really good. And at least it will be a conversation piece. All the feedback in the actual blog post indicates these are tasty, so we think you've got even chances of receiving oohs versus eews.

All American BBQ Cupcakes: Smoky Chocolate Cupcakes with Sweet Corn Cream Cheese Frosting [Cupcake Project]
Here, Have A Smoky Cupcake [Slashfood]

[Photo: BBQ Cupcakes via Cupcake Project]

• Congress passes farm bill again, or at least part of it [WaPo]
• Evil Burmese junta finally allows in any and all foreign aid [CBC]
• Japanese rice aid row leaves U.S. looking like the bad guy [NYTimes]
• S Korea: probably no massive famine in N Korea this year [AP]
• McD keeps a stiff upper lip on (mediocre) premium coffee sales [Trib]

The annual Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Contest is one of the highlights of the national barbecue contest circuit (and yes, there is one.

But this year's Memphis in May was notable for its high percentage of foreign contestants. Over at the Washington Post, reporter Joe Yonan wrote an interesting piece on the trials & travails of international contestants at a barbecue contest.

The culture shock, after some initial clashes, wore off.

A Belgian team from French-speaking Walloonia got into trouble by using a staggering cord and a half of wood for their rapid-fire pig barbecue — a no-no in an American culture that values slow cooking:

The Belgian team, called Deominox, made no apologies for its unconventional approach. "We're going to explain the best we can and hope the judges like it," Stephane Deom, 39, the sole English speaker on the team, said Thursday as the event started. "We're not trying to change the way we do it." His cousin Christophe Deom, a butcher and caterer in Libramont, a town near Bastogne, is the team's head cook.

Because of the unique miniature-airplane-hangar look of its 1,500-pound cooker, Deominox drew far more than its share of crowds at its tent, right across from a daiquiri stand topped with a giant blow-up bottle of Southern Comfort. The most common questions from the stream of onlookers: Where'd you get that setup? What temperature are you cooking at? And when can I have a taste?

Meanwhile, American expat Craig Whitson led a Norweigan team in barbecuing rack of lamb and Norweigan salmon. There was even an Estonian team, the Firemen from Tuni serving pork accompanied by vodka. In the end, everyone was happy... as Estonian barbecuer Roland Ounapuu put it, "barbecue is sex, hogs and rock and roll."

Taking it Slow [Washington Post]
Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Contest [Official Site]

We are often brought to Allston to see a friend's band play at any of its smaller venues along Harvard Ave. Last night was one such occasion, and though we were not drinking much, we observed those who had been throughout the show and weren't ready for the night to end. First thing on a drunk person's mind when the night is near its close? Food. Anything. What's open? Fortunately, Allston has enough offerings to let the end-of-show tipplers be choosy.

• You'll probably start off at the Sunset Grill & Tap for their legendary beer menu, but their food is also really good. We love the Baja Burger, with bean spread and avocado spears.
• It was exciting enough when Spike's Junkyard Dogs was available outside of Rhode Island. Consider the excitement when you can have a Freaking Hot Hot Dog (with hot peppers, naturally) in the wee hours. Open 'til 1am, kids!
• We all know where to get great ice cream in Allston, right? Herrell's Renaissance Cafe is open until midnight when you desperately need a milkshake after a night of local music. If you miss the cutoff, know that this particular Herrell's serves a full breakfast in the morning to help you with your hangover.

Sunset Grill and Tap [Official Site]
Spike's Junkyard Dogs [Official Site]
Herrell's Renaissance Cafe [Official Site]

[Photo: Satan's Laundromat]

While cruising around on Bon Appetit this morning we found this rather unexciting little How-To on filling deviled eggs using a pastry bag. The instructions are the basic steps that anyone in possession of this kitchen tool would already know.

We're here to provide you with a far more useful technique. By way of establishing credibility, believe us when we say we've made more deviled eggs than maybe any other dish. We've made up recipes for Japanese ones, Mexican ones and curry ones, and are known in some circles as "that guy who always brings those great deviled eggs to parties."

Unless you're entertaining at home or are on a very weird diet, you won't be eating deviled eggs in your own house. Here's how to bring them to a party as intact as possible. This technique can also be used in the home if you don't want to worry about dealing with a pastry bag:

1) You make your eggs and the filling, and put the whites on a plate, egg carton or whatever else you're carrying them in.

2) Fill a Zip-Loc bag with the filling (a rubber spatula works well for this) and zip it shut. Put the whites, the bag of filling and a container of whatever garnish (like paprika) you intend to sprinkle on the done eggs, in your car or backpack and go to your party.

3) When you get to the party, ask the host if you can have five minutes in the kitchen to assemble your eggs. Take your bag and sort of smoosh the filling into one of the lower corners. Cut that corner off to create a maybe 1/4-inch (or however wide you want) opening. Then use the bag like a pastry bag to fill the whites. Garnish that mess and you're done. Go get your oohs and ahs.

How To Fill A Deviled Egg [Bon Appetit]

[Photo: Deviled eggs under wraps, but you don't have to live like this any more! via htlvhwy/flickr]

Of all the places in Boston one can have a picnic, the Arboretum is our favorite. With lush grass, bubbling brooks, and thousands of varieties of plants and trees, it is the perfect urban escape, with only the occasional skyline landmark peeking out behind the trees. Due to its many iron gate entrances, takeout options around the border are plentiful.

• On Centre St., between Knoll St. and Weld St., is one of the best Mexican restaurants in the Roslindale area. Yucatan, which also has a location on Washington St., has a fine selection of "Mexican food made by Mexicans". We are absolutely hooked on the ceviche.
• Village Sushi and Grill is located on Corinth St. in Roslindale, and has been making the Square smell good since it opened. Even if you don't like sushi, there is a maki for you. Our favorite? Idaho Maki, with sweet potato tempura rolled up in rice.
• Wapo Taco on Poplar St. is tiny, family-owned, and has a special - six tacos for six dollars! What makes Wapo special is that they make a lot of vegetarian options. Not just rice and beans, though - they make use of soy-based protein as well, for those of us who miss the ground beef tacos we appreciated so much in our youth.

Village Sushi and Grill[Official Site]
Wapo Taco [Dwellings]

[Photo: Emerald Necklace Conservancy]

• House overrode Bush's farm bill veto by large margin, on its way to Senate when... [SFGate]
• ...it was discovered that 34 pages were missing from the version Bush signed! [AP]
• (and legal challenges and embarrassment and wrangling and recrimination ensue)
• Tide turning more strongly against ethanol subsidies [AFP]
• Meanwhile, restaurant grease biofuel industry roaring [Trib]
• Chick-fil-A launches entertaining campaign against McD's new Chicken Sandwich [NYT]

In honor of National Waiters and Waitresses Day, we present "Waiters Who are Nauseated by Food," a skit from the Dana Carvey Show featuring Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell way back in the mid-1990s. On this day in which we honor those who bring us our food in restaurants, let's all thank God that they don't act like this pair.

Waiters who are Nauseated by Food [YouTube]

Wednesday, May 21
• A little bird told us that tonight is Girls' Night Out at Masona Grill in West Roxbury. From 7-9, this event, which features food, fashion, prizes, and sangria, is $40 a head.

Tuesday, May 27
• Leave it to UpStairs on the Square to be adorable about asparagus. The Glory of Asparagus is a four-course dinner with wines for $75 at 6:30. [UpStairs on the Square]
• From 6-9, Vlora will be hosting a Mike's Hard Lemonade tasting, featuring Mike's drinks and Vlora's tasty comestibles. [Vlora]

Did you write this down on your calendars? It's National Waiters and Waitresses day today. Oh noes, you forgot? Well, according to Holiday Insights, you really didn't need to do much preparing:

You already recognize your waiters and waitresses every time you go to a restaurant. That recognition comes in the form of a tip. The tip should be commensurate with the quality of the service.

You can recognize your waiters and waitresses on National Waiters and Waitresses Day by giving them a little something extra. In addition to a generous tip, a card or simple verbal recognition is sufficient.

Wow, even the Waiter at WaiterRant doesn't ask for a card. His only input: "If you go out to eat today you have to tip 30%" that seems fair enough. As a former server, take it from us, unless you're a regular who servers really know and like, a card is going to wind up in the same place as your chicken bones and paper napkins. Drop a couple extra dollars on the table and try not to be a jerk while at the restaurant and we guarantee you it will brighten your server's day.

National Waiters And Waitresses Day [Holiday Insights]
It's National Waiters Day! [WaiterRant]

[Photo: vebate/flickr]

What is Pimm's? It's gin-based, with an otherwise top-secret recipe that features herbs and spices. The Pimm's Cup is Pimm's served with lemonade (or lemon soda, or ginger ale), cucumber, mint leaves, and lemon, orange, and strawberry. Very refreshing, we daresay, and it's fun to think that's what they sip at the Henley Royal Regatta.

We recently traveled to London, and were delighted to find that we could buy a bottle of our favorite British beverage when we came home. Pimm's, while not yet popular in the States after nearly 200 years, can be bought by the bottle in some liquor stores. What we were even more excited about was the fact that we could order it in some of our favorite bars and restaurants. Brilliant!

• Our first Stateside foray into Pimm's at a bar was where we learned that you can't ask just anyone for a Pimm's Cup. The senior bartender at the Milky Way Lounge & Lanes recommended a number of good mixers, and we settled on a Pimm's and Ginger, which was garnished with lime.

• Miracle of Science (by the MIT Museum, on Mass Ave) serves their Pimm's in a pint glass, garnished with a cucumber! Probably the closest approximation of a Pimm's Cup.

• We've applauded Silvertone Bar & Grill for their mac and cheese, but their British Isles motif is surely conducive to an enjoyable Pimm's-drinking experience. Bonus points to the bartender, who was apologetic for the lack of cucumbers.

Milky Way Lounge and Lanes [Official Site]
Silvertone [Official Site]

[Photo: The Publican]

• Burma finally lets in WFP helicopters, too little too late [AP]
• Agr. Sec'y finally calling for ban on slaughtering downer cows [WaPo]
• S. Korea, once a major US beef importer, avoids our old cattle [Reuters]
• Substantial E. coli-contaminated beef product recall underway [WebMD]

Back in February of last year, the whole internet was abuzz with talk of the Miracle fruit, a West African berry whose active ingredient, Miraculin (yes, really) causes the user to interpret sour tastes as sweet. There were underground Miraculin parties where large groups of foodies would chew up a bunch of berries and for the next thirty minutes or so, lemons and grapefruit would be sweet as the morning sun, and chocolate stout beer would taste like Yoo-hoo.

Much later (like, two weeks ago), we were invited to a Miraculin party hosted by our friend Ben. He reasoned, why buy the berry when you can get the extract in powder form from England ? (You can't buy it in America because the FDA is fruity like that, but there's no prohibition against consuming it.) So it showed up in a vial, and after spreading it out on a piece of paper, one guest aptly likened it to "terracotta cocaine" (it's reddish in color). We had all the citrus fruit you'd want and more, plus pickled cucumbers and lemons, sour candy, Greek yogurt, and various beers, wines and liquors.

The correct application of Miraculin involves dumping the powder onto one's tongue, letting it sit around for two or three minutes (much saliva will leak during this period, so have paper towels handy), spitting or swallowing what doesn't get absorbed (Miraculin does not, itself, taste sweet), and then cutting up limes. It takes a few minutes for the Miraculin to reach full strength, but when it does, that lime will taste like no lime has ever tasted to you before: sweet.

Sure, a slight bit of tang remains, but some of that is from the bitter, which Miraculin does not block and can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from sour under normal circumstances. But under the influence of Miraculin, limes tastes like apples, if apples had the texture of oranges and sort of tasted like lime. The sensation of biting into something that has tasted like it's supposed to taste for your entire lifetime and suddenly tastes completely different is unsettling to say the least, but the quest to experience new gustatory sensations is an all-consuming one.

The biggest winners of the night were the chocolate stout beer (it really does taste like Yoo-hoo) and the Greek yogurt. We sampled the yogurt — FAGE's Total 5% if you're interested — at the beginning of the experience and at regular intervals until it faded completely, around ninety minutes in. The first time, it was like heavy whipping cream, and we had visions of starting an incredibly successful diet dairy company (except for that pesky FDA legalese stuff). The second time, we could swear it was sour cream, because sour cream is secretly pretty sweet (in the literal sense. In the colloquial sense, it's no secret). Finally, it tasted like yogurt again.

All of this gave us food for thought: if we ever did it again (or indeed, if you ever do it at all), what kind of restaurants would be good to try? Obviously, we'd have to get some of that new-fangled tangy frozen yogurt the likes of which is sold at Pinkberry and Red Mango or any local third-wave frozen yogurt shop (Oko Frozen Yogurt in Brooklyn, Berry Chill in Chicago, or Red Kiwi in Miami, for example). No toppings necessary!

On the savory side, we were thinking about fish and chips, what with the vinegar and all, but if you want a total mindjob, consider Ethiopian food. Ethiopian cuisine's main starch is the unavoidable and often distastefully sour spongy pancake called injera. Can you imagine turning doro tibs wrapped in a injera pouch into a dessert item? Whoa.

As far as chemically-induced sensory-altering experiences go, this one is cheap, temporary and proven to be harmless (not to mention legal). Throw a Miraculin party; you'll be the hero of your foodie circle, and you'll learn a thing or two about taste.

MiracleUK International Orders [Official Site]

Oko Frozen Yogurt [MenuPages]
Oko Frozen Yogurt [Official Site]
Berry Chill [MenuPages]
Berry Chill [Official Site]
Red Kiwi [MenuPages]

[Photo: at the Miracle Fruit Cafe in Tokyo, Japan (of course) via TheseEyesOfMine/flickr]

Openings
Alewife: Near the new Trolley Square development, a new cafe. Singabella has mostly Italian fare, but there is a Middle Eastern portion of their menu, as well. [Chowhound]

East Boston: Chowhounders prophesy that D'Parma will do well. [Chowhound]

Kendall Square: The theme of MexiCali Burrito Company? Think San Francisco Mission District. But in Technology Square. [Cantabrigia]

Newton: No one's sure who will be more shocked when trendy BOKX 109 opens - Newton, or the folks who just opened up a "steak with attitude" restaurant there. [Hot, Buttered, and Toasted]

Closed

Coolidge Corner: Shabu Village has closed. Too bad, as it was a local favorite. [Hot, Buttered, and Toasted]

South End: We didn't think the Garden Of Eden would ever close. Fortunately, sister store Lionette's Market will only be moving to somewhere else in the South End. [Boston.com]

[Photo: Massachusetts Tours]

Well, folks, today's the last day of the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel trade show in Chicago. Seems like it was a lot more fun to attend than to read about, but Let's look at some highlights anyway:

• John McCain (remember him?) gave a speech that MenuPages Chicago Editor Adam Peltz found just a little politiciany and unspecific.

• "Bite-sized desserts" were rated the no. 1 hot item by a 2007 NRA survey, so vendors clamored over one another to offer what the Onion AV Club described as "food... designed for Homer Simpson:"

• Eli’s offered full slices of cheesecake dipped in a chocolate shell.

• Junior’s Cheesecake topped that in the innovation department with a cake/cheesecake hybrid: a center layer of cheesecake sandwiched between layers of regular, flour-based cakes, all of it encased in frosting.

• Too many varieties of bacon to name or eat without needing one of McCormick Place’s wall-mounted Automated External Difibrillators.

• ConAgra Foods—owners of everything from Pam spray to Manwich to Van Camp’s and more—offered Biscuit & Gravy Sticks, these fried rectangular bars filled with a biscuit-like substance and sausage gravy, which practically guaranteed a 500-point increase in cholesterol. Also available: a similar bar with baked potatoes and fixins inside. All of this was served under a banner for ConAgra sub-brand Gilroy Foods, which proclaimed “health & wellness.”

• ConAgra also offered the Macatini: macaroni and cheese topped with beef brisket soaked in Manwich sauce. Because why the hell not, America? Why the hell not?

• Chicagoist explored a bunch of gimmicks on display, including the BevWizard, which softens tannins in wine, Bacon Salt, which makes things taste like bacon (duh), and Alcohol Killer energy drinks, which claim to actually sober you up. [An aside: would you want to eat at a restaurant, other than as a novelty, that had any of these things available?]

• And, jumping on a bandwagon that we definitely support, the NRA announced a program called Conserve, which it says will encourage members to be more eco-friendly. At least one news item about the show indicated that environmentalism is a trend into which the industry is sinking big bucks, so that's good, we think.

[Photo: What's a restaurateurs' convention without an ice sculpture? National Restaurant Association]

We know it can be hard to take up a vegetarian diet when you've spent your life as an omnivore. If you're trying to eliminate meat from your diet in this city, you're doing it at a great time - there are lots more vegetarian (and vegan!) options in Boston these days. We told you about Wheeler's not too long ago, and T. J. Scallywaggle's and Grasshopper have always offered vegan comfort food delicious enough to win over any omnivore on the fence.

Also, there are a lot of resources available here for those who are ready to make the switch. Chief on our list is the Boston Vegetarian Society. Apart from the food festival that they organize every Fall, they also can provide you with guides to going veggie, links to local vegetarian restaurants and B&Bs, and - this is our favorite part - vegetarian and vegan cooking classes with local chefs like Didi Emmons of Veggie Planet Pizza.

We know it can be hard to wait for the festival in November, so we'll leave you with a brief tour from last year's event.

Boston Vegetarian Society [Official Site]
The Ladies' Room: Vegetarian Food Festival [YouTube: The Ladies' Room]

• McCain agrees with Bush on subsidies and would veto farm bill... [Reuters]
• ...but McCain is against Bush's foolhardy ethanol push [AP]
• World Bank: 2-3 more years of high food prices, and then...? [Forbes]
• UK pushing for liberalized, free market CAP...will the EU oblige? [BBC]
• Subordinate female monkeys can't get enough junk food! [NYTimes]

We're getting a little tired of the whole "bacon makes it better" mantra. Not that it's not true, but come on, hasn't the novelty worn off? No, apparently.

Just as restaurants don't seem to be in any rush to remove things like maple bacon ice cream from their dessert menus, bloggers aren't really worried about over-using a meme that should have expired two years ago. We're thinking of Boing Boing's recent Web Zen bacon roundups, which featured this bacon bra, allegedly cooked en seins, from Loona.net:

There's also the Hover Bacon song on Rathergood, which we dare you to listen to just once. An aside: Rathergood's Spongemonkeys were the outfit responsible for that really weird Quizno's commercial a few years ago, based on their video "We Like The Moon."

Even MenuPages has helped further this weird cured product's greasy, salty mystique.

It makes sense that bacon's natural weirdness and natural deliciousness have combined to make it a fad on a national level, but who could have foreseen that the trend would last this long? The folks over at the bacon lobby must be happier than pigs in slop.

Web Zen: Leftover Bacon Zen [Boing Boing]
Al Can't Hang's Bacon Of The Month Competition [Loona.net]
Rathergood [Official Site]
Viewing Pleasure: Bacon Bloody Marys [Menupages Chicago]
National Pork Producers Council [Official Site]

Blogston Proper is your weekly roundup of Hub-related food writing from all over the Internet. We read the blogs so you don't have to. But you should anyway, just to be nice.

• In an effort to remove animal byproducts from her favorite cupcake recipes, Anali discovers Earth Balance. She also endorses Trader Joe's vanilla bourbon cake mix. We're sold. [Anali's First Amendment]

• What happened to the Sugar Bakery website? It's just been updated, and it looks awesome! [Boston Food and Whine]

• Finale moves in on prime North End real estate - right along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. [Boston Restaurant Talk]

[Photo: Newcastle University]