The big news on the international spirits scene today is that the country of Sweden has sold state-owned Absolut Vodka to French conglomérat de boisson Pernod Ricard for $8.9 billion after a competitive auction. From Reuters:

Pernod beat the favourite, Jim Beam bourbon maker Fortune Brands (FO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), to win control of Sweden's Vin & Sprit VSG.UL, owner of the fast-growing Absolut brand, and gain a bigger presence in the U.S.

"The combination of a full price and the amount of debt to be raised definitely seems to have unnerved certain investors," said Stephen Surpless, senior analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald.

According to a report earlier this month, the three most popular drinks in the United States are martinis (with vodka or gin), mojitos and Red Bull with vodka. The New York Times just ran a big feature on feminine-oriented vodkas in Russia, which might work for Absolut, with its mastery of marketing and its wide variety of infused flavors.

For its part, Pernod Ricard expressed confidence in its new brand's market strength. From its press release:

In the United States, Absolut is the top premium spirits brand, selling more than 5 million 9 litre cases. It has a unique brand image built around values of creativity, innovation and cultural leadership.

In the rest of the world, with close to 6 million cases sold in 2007, Absolut is one of the most global brands in the industry with a significant presence in all the continents and a strong perception as a leader in the premium vodka category.

Pernod buys Absolut vodka [Reuters]
Traditional Martini Ranks Most Popular [Wine and Spirits Daily]
Russian Vodka with a Feminine Kick [NY Times]
Photo: Absolutini [Absolutdrinks.com]

Basbeball season is (finally) here. Forbes just came out with a list of America's healthiest and unhealthiest ballpark snacks... and we're proud to say that Citizens' Bank Park has made the unhealthy list.

C'mon. This is Philadelphia. Did you seriously expect that we'd make the list of healthiest ballpark snacks? You know better than that. Seriously.

From the magazine:

Don't think you're doing yourself any favors by skipping the hot dog if, instead, you opt for a deep-fried ballpark treat. Country-fried chicken, sold at Angel Stadium, and panzarotti, deep-fried pockets of dough filled with cheese, available at Citizens Bank Park, are full of oil, fat and calories.

There you have it. Panzarotti will kill us all.

Healthiest and Unhealthiest Ballpark Snacks [Forbes]

You know it happens, but it's still disturbing to be reminded of it: News came across the wires Friday that a cook and Seahawks fan in the Seattle suburb of Port Orchard, Wash. allegedly spit in a burger ordered by a customer wearing Steelers gear. From the Kitsap Sun:

Deputies said the 37-year-old man in Steelers garb took his daughters to a Mile Hill Drive fast food restaurant Saturday evening, and "began trading friendly barbs about his team and their victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL," reports said.

One employee told the man that he'd "better not say that to the guy that's making your food," but the man thought it was a joke, reports said.

That is, until he opened his "clamshell-style" hamburger container and discovered what he called a "loogie" on his hamburger.

The manager, hilariously, told Kitsap County sheriff's deputies his 24-year-old employee might just have hawked something into the food. What the deputies were hoping to find in the way of evidence of the crime when they searched his home, we couldn't tell you, but they found some marijuana when they got there, and brought the guy in.

The man also confessed to spitting in the 37-year-old's hamburger container to "gross him out ... because he was a Steelers fan," deputies said.

With a new sports season just starting and a lot of old rivalries coming back into the spotlight, we're here to remind diners to keep it civil and maybe wear neutral colors if you're in enemy territory, at least while picking up short-order food. It's not right that a few disgruntled sports fans/kitchen employees play like that, but you'd be naive if you thought they didn't.

Cook Accused of Spitting on Fan's Burger [AP]
Seahawks Fan — and Fast Food Cook — Arrested for Spitting on Steeler Fan's Burger [Kitsap Sun]
Opening Day 2008 [MLB]
Photo: The Hamburger Method Of Criticism [N8tip]

The Philadelphia Inquirer set Craig LaBan and Rick Nichols lose in Koreatown (you know, North Fifth Street beyond Boricua territory) for a two-fer of food goodness this week. Regardless of our differences with LaBan, these pieces are primo. You hear us? Primo.

Nichols penned a guide to dining in Koreatown. Tell us that this doesn't sound good:

They are on the sidewalk of a strip mall at 67th Avenue and Fifth that houses a health-food kimchi outlet; two Korean barbecues; the "Chinese cuisine bistro" called Dragon; and an inviting Korean-owned but French-accented bakery-coffee shop. Yu Jong owns Cafe Soho around the corner on Cheltenham. And it is here that you get a first taste not only of the most extraordinary chicken wings in town - twice-fried, the second time driving out the fat and leaving the skin as crispy and glazed as a Peking duck's - but also of the churn that is changing Koreatown's relentlessly traditional offerings. (Let us be clear before moving on. These wings - ubiquitous in Korea under the names Buffalo Wings and Donkey Wings, and gaining ground in New York - have beaten the Colonel at his own game. They are fresh, not frozen, jumbo wings; breaded with special homemade crumbs; the meat rendered fluffily moist from deep-frying in two 10-minute shifts; then brushed at the end with light sweet-soy or tangy hot sauce. A bowl of pickled radish cubes takes the place of celery. But the pitcher of beer, as likely as not, is domestic American.)

Hell, it makes us hungry. Meanwhile, LaBan just stopped by a newly opened Korean barbecue place in Olney that sounds amazing. Just read it and thank us later.

This versatile kitchen's flavors sing [Inquirer]
Korean Evolution [Inquirer]

• Lopsided economy drives record nationwide food stamp use [NYTimes]
• Food prices up 9% since last year; pork bellies mostly flat [Forbes]
• Asia's stomach rumbles as rice prices have doubled in the past year [AsiaSentinel]
• Record high profits for egg co. led by record high egg prices [CNBC]
• Absolut, once produced by the Swedish gov't, bought by Pernod for $9b [Guardian]
• Californian megadairy proposal for NW Illinois gets mixed reception [Tribune]
• DC woos Fancy Food Show away from NYC starting in 2011 [WaPo]

We generally try to avoid large chains. Very broadly speaking, the food isn't usually that awesome and the experience results in us giving our money to some sort of mega-corporation that has a ton of policies we find objectionable. The exceptions to the rule? New England based pizzeria Bertucci's, which makes truly solid margherita pizzas, and nationwide burrito chain Chipotle. Chipotle's burritos have often satiated our craving when we find ourself in a Mexican-food wasteland (read: much of New York City) and if you have any self-control (we don't), they can easily comprise two meals. We also love the company's focus on sustainable foods (the company uses rBGH-free sour cream, an ever-increasing amount of organic produce, and meat from green companies like Niman Ranch).

Recently, we learned of a reason to like Chipotle even more when the Washington Post reported that the chain has started using pork from Shenandoah Valley based Polyface Farms in its Charlottesville, VA location. Polyface is, of course, run by Joel Salatin, the man immortalized in Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma. Although Chipotle has faced numerous challenges, including the need to install a new kitchen in Charlottesville, over the seventeen months its taken to bring Polyface products to the restaurant, it hasn't given up. Here's hoping that Chipotle takes this focus on local farms nationwide!

Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria [Official Site]
Chipotle [Official Site]
In Trial Run, Chipotle Heads to the Farm [Washington Post]
Polyface Farms [Official Site]
The Omnivore's Dilemma [Michael Pollan]

[Photo: Carnitas burrito, Flickr: skeptict]

So now that we're officially in a recession, the Stephen Starr restaurant empire has been effected. Gael Greene reports that Starr's plans to bring in outside investors and buyers to his properties is on hold:

The investment cash freeze may have chilled Stephen Starr’s efforts to sell off part of his restaurant fiefdom in Philadelphia, Manhattan and Atlantic City -- multiple Morimotos, Buddakans, Striped Bass, Tangerine, Pod, Alma de Cuba and more. “We wanted a compatible partner to help grow the business aggressively. We talked to some people I didn’t feel were the right match for us.” Now, he agrees, is not the time to be looking for a deal. “I’m cool with that. That’s only slowed our pace for now. We have financing for a 120-room boutique hotel in Manhattan” – he’s not saying where – and a second in Philly.

Short Order [Gael Greene]

As you probably read in the FYI roundup, the U.S. is sending some health inspectors to Honduras to try to get a handle on a crop of tainted cantaloupes that have given a handful of Americans and Canadians salmonella. The melons, sent over by grower and packer Agropecuaria Montelibano, have of course been recalled, but not before they were distributed pretty widely, with 50 illnesses reported in 16 states.

But Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said the fruit was just fine, according to CNN.

"It's not in our fruit," he said about last week's report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that some Honduran cantaloupes may be contaminated with salmonella. "It's not true what they are saying. Logically, we believe it is an error."

"Permit me to make a demonstration," he said, then cut open the fruit, sliced off a chunk, put it in his mouth and chewed vigorously.

"I eat this fruit without any fear," he said with his mouth full. "It's a delicious fruit. Nothing happens to me!"

The FDA recommends that consumers take the following steps to reduce the risk of contracting Salmonella or other foodborne illnesses from cantaloupes:

* Purchase cantaloupes that are not bruised or damaged. If buying fresh-cut cantaloupe, be sure it is refrigerated or surrounded by ice.

* After purchase, refrigerate cantaloupes promptly.

* Wash hands with hot, soapy water before and after handling fresh cantaloupes.

* Scrub whole cantaloupes by using a clean produce brush and cool tap water immediately before eating. Don't use soap or detergents.

* Use clean cutting surfaces and utensils when cutting cantaloupes. Wash cutting boards, countertops, dishes, and utensils with hot water and soap between the preparation of raw meat, poultry, or seafood and the preparation of cantaloupe.

* If there happens to be a bruised or damaged area on a cantaloupe, cut away those parts before eating it.

* Leftover cut cantaloupe should be discarded if left at room temperature for more than two hours.

* Use a cooler with ice or use ice gel packs when transporting or storing cantaloupes outdoors.

FDA Warns of Salmonella Risk with Cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano [FDA Press Release]
US Health Inspectors Sent to Honduras [AP]
Honduran president defends melons by eating one [CNN]
FSIS to Host Public Meeting to Discuss Challenges and Solutions for Reducing the Incidence of E. coli O157:H7 in Raw Beef [USDA Press Release]
Photo: Askobac [Flickr]

Good news — The Clog just clued us in that stealth-molecular gastro Rittenhouse joint Snackbar is reintroducing brunch on April 19th. The full menu hasn't been disclosed, but selected items include fried oyster omelettes (holla), full English breakfasts (double holla) and $3 bloody marys (triple holla).

Brunch is Back at Snackbar [The Clog]
Snackbar [MenuPages]

• Italian mozzarella contaminated with dioxin [BBC]
• Honduran cantaloupes with salmonella [AP]
• New Zealand tahini with salmonella [NZHerald]
• New Zealand honey with toxic tutu nectar (!) [Times]
• North Dakota venison with lead particles [StarTribune]

Hilarious: We have been giggling over these cereal boxes on Serious Eats all day. They got it from xkcd. Thought it was only appropriate to share:

Honey Bunches of Goats? Amazing. Truly.

Meat Cereals [Required Eating]
xkcd [Official Site]

Located outside of Scranton, the small town of Old Forge is one of America's great pizza meccas. CNN recently took a trip to the self-proclaimed "Pizza Capital of the World" to examine the local pizza:

Now, if you are thinking regular pizza, forget it. This is Old Forge pizza and all the cafés here make it. It's not round, it's rectangular and it's "red" or "white." Red is made with tomato sauce and cheese; white is cheese only, double crust, with olive oil and rosemary sprinkled on top, although they recently introduced a new version with broccoli. Old Forge also is famous for "black" pizza, my favorite. No tomato sauce. Just cheese, black pepper, olives and anchovies.

We've had the pizza at Old Forge's Salerno's and can confirm it's damn good.

Dough rising in the pizza capital of the world [CNN]

[Image via Roadfood]

Sad news to report. Herb Peterson, creator of McDonald's uber-popular Egg McMuffin, died on Tuesday of natural causes. He was 89 years old. A longtime advertising reprentative for McDonalds, he actively pushed the restaurant chain into expanding into the breakfast market. He eventually became a McDonald's franchisee. BY the time he passed away, Peterson was co-owner and operator of six McDonald's franchises in Santa Barbara and Goleta. From the International Herald Tribune:

Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972. He "was very partial to eggs Benedict," Fraker said, and worked on creating something similar. The egg sandwich consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, topped with a slice of cheese and grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin. The Egg McMuffin made its debut at a restaurant in Santa Barbara that Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.

Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies in California at 89 [International Herald Tribune]

[Image via McDonald's]

• Inside new Center City Japanese restaurant Misso.

• Straddling the fine line between genius and stupidity, an automat is opening on South Street.

• Koreans in Olney do wonderful things with tofu.

• Who's got big balls? These restaurants do.

• Legal Seafoods is hosting an oyster tasting.

• The New York Times writes about hipster farmers... and the Inquirer writes about female farmers.

• When the Phillies hold events for the media, the catering is kind of awesome.

• Wegman's peanut butter: Inky approved.

• Beer Week — the recap!

• Philly's guide to the Beard Awards.

• Craig LaBan's found a new steak shop in the Northeast.

• New USDA plan: to tell us less about meat recalls! [AP]
• Apparently, college students have poor food safety habits [Reuters]
• Much of the Asian Brown Cloud caused by cooking-related pollution [NYTimes]
• Chilean salmon factories rife with viruses, poor oversight [IHT]
• Training fish, in Pavlovian fashion, to swim towards a dinner bell? [Tribune]
• Inventor of Egg McMuffin makes it to the reassuring age of 89 [AP]

Foobooz has plenty of info on the much-awaited reopening of Minar Palace. Check it out.

Minar Palace Mini Update [Foobooz]

A fantastic read today in Slate got us thinking about this Chez Pim post from a few days ago. Both are about Spanish avant-garde cuisine, but while Slate wonders out loud whether technology-based trends such as foaming will make lasting marks on the food landscape even after their stellar popularity, Pim declares, in no uncertain or complimentary terms, the lasting impression a certain such restaurant left on her.

From Slate's Lisa Abend:

At its best, the Spanish version of "molecular gastronomy" stokes the emotions, shocks the senses, and, in the words (if not exactly the intentions) of that hedonistic gourmand Claude Lévi-Strauss, is "good to think." It's also often delicious.

But, from the beginning, some critics have scorned a mode of cooking that relies, in their opinion, too heavily on technology (as if an oven weren't a machine) and often chooses form over substance.

But Pim's complaint seems to cut to the heart of the matter: At "quite possibly the worst meal of my life" at Miguel Sanchez Romera's L'Esguard, north of Barcelona, she describes a meal that seems almost totally divorced from anything that seems like real food. With most dishes packaged in a gelatinous "Micrifilm," and served with what sounds like more attention to appearance than to taste, Pim pointedly complains about the chef's "grand idea:"

But you know what? Sometimes all we care about is if your grand idea tasted any good. Because if it isn't, then it's just a big pile of crap.

As for Slate's question of whether the 20-odd-year trend in hyper-experimental Spanish cooking will leave a long-lasting mark, well, we'll probably have to stay tuned. Likely, some techniques will become part of the long-term landscape, while others go away to die. What will become of Micrifilm? We'll let Pim cover that one.

Fish Foam and Spherified Mango Juice: Will Spanish Avant-Garde Cuisine Stand The Test Of Time? [Slate]
L'Esguard: Quite possibly the worst meal of my life [Chez Pim]
Photo: Salmon wrapped in Micrifilm at L'Esguard [Chez Pim]

We imagine our parents laughing while reading New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov's article over whether or not to let his 16- and 17-year-old sons drink wine with dinner. He consults experts, some of whom tell him to give them sips, others who advise enforcing a strict no-alcohol policy until 21. (One even wishes the drinking age were 25!)

This was one issue that our parents never thought twice about, which is why, perhaps, Asimov's hand-wringing seems a little silly. Alcohol was never forbidden; if we wanted a sip of something, we could have it. For as long as we can remember, we had our own wine glass at dinnertime — it was just a lot less full than the other glasses. We were never offered beer or cocktails until we were 18 and had returned from college.

The other MenuPages editors had similar stories. MP: Boston's Leila was allowed a glass of wine with dinner throughout her teenaged years. Adam of MP: San Francisco was still in elementary school when he started taking sips from his parents' cups, although he didn't begin drinking wine or beer with dinner until he was 18. Neal of MP: Philadelphia was 14 when he was allowed a glass of wine on holidays and special occasions, and Adam of MP: Chicago wasn't all that interested in wine when he was first offered it at 14 or 15, but by 17 he was drinking wine with dinner and by 20 was sharing scotch with his parents.

So it's not exactly a representative sample, but it's telling that none of us has had any real drinking problems. Sure, we all drank more than we should have in college (didn't everyone?), but there are no stomach-pumping incidents or DUIs to report. Just a few bad hangovers. Which makes us think that Asimov should just chill out and let his kids have a glass of wine.

Can Sips at Home Prevent Binges? [New York Times]

Photo: gakrid [Flickr]

• The West Philly branch of the Vietnam Cafe: utterly authentic.

• The calamari at the Sidecar Bar & Grille is really good.

• Veggie food. It can kick butt.

• USAID cutting non-emergency food aid as prices soar [AllAfrica]
• Burmese refugees in Thailand going on an unexpected diet! [IHT]
• Illegal garbage dumps poison Italy's buffalo mozzarella industry [NYTimes]
• Ill. ties hunting and fishing licenses to child support payments [Tribune]
• Underground sugar economy taking hold in Calif. schools [Telegraph]
• Honduran president defiantly eats salmonella melon [CNN]

While celebrity chefs and other food personalities don't seem to be hurting for gigs and endorsement deals, actual restaurants are feeling the economic pinch right about now. Does that mean that food porn is more popular than actual food?

Over the weekend the trade magazine Restaurants and Institutions linked on its site an article from the Baltimore Sun that made the case that a faltering economy is leading to scrimping among restaurant customers:

Amid gloomy economic trends - falling real estate values, layoffs and stock market volatility - many consumers are changing their spending habits. And eating out is among the first expenses they look to trim in times of economic uncertainty, economists say. Consumers can adjust "in terms of frequency, spending levels and venues," said Bob Goldin, executive vice president of Technomic Inc., a food industry consulting and research firm.

But even as the trade rags paint a bleak economic picture for restaurants, restaurant-related media shows no sign of slowing down. Last month, the Baltimore Sun reported on the continuing popularity of the Food Network:

Now, almost 15 years later, the Food Network is going strong. In 2007, it had 90 million subscribers, which, according to Derek Baine, cable analyst with SNL Kagan, puts it on a par with such cable stalwarts as ESPN, Nickelodeon and MTV.

But for all the public's appetite for food media, where is its appetite for food? Perhaps the glossy pictures, lingo-filled dialogue and industry gossip work as a stand-in for the real experience for those unable to spring for frequent restaurant meals in these lean times.

Frankly, we hope not. Eating out is a good way to make a regular old evening special and can be done on the relative cheap. Part of the fun in eating out comes with discovering that perfect menu for your budget. We happen to know a great website that can help with that. Just saying.

CONSUMERS CUT WHERE THEY CAN; AREA RESTAURANTS, SMALL BUSINESSES SUFFER [Baltimore Sun, via Restaurants and Institutions]
Stagflation [Waiterrant]
From 'dump, stir' to reality, Food Network still cookingFrom 'dump, stir' to reality, Food Network still cooking [Baltimore Sun]
The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party's Over [NY Times]
Abstract: Chef on the Edge [New Yorker]
Photo: Courtesy of Sisudave [Flickr]

How much food are Phillies fans expected to consume on opening day? The Illadelph found out:

On OPENING DAY, fans [at CBP] are expected to consume:

15,000 Hot Dogs
6,000 Soft Pretzels
5,000 Philadelphia Cheesesteaks
4,000 Pounds of French Fries
4,000 Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
3,000 Slices of Pizza
3,000 Bags of Peanuts
2,000 Orders of Chicken Tenders
2,000 Bags of Cotton Candy
2,000 Bags of Popcorn
1,500 Ice Cream Helmet Cups
1,200 Orders of Chickie’s & Pete’s Crab Fries
1,100 Bull’s BBQ Sandwiches
1,000 Orders of Nachos
1,000 Hamburgers
800 Bags of Cracker Jack
700 The Schmitter sandwiches from McNally’s Tavern
500 Hoagies and Sandwiches from Planet Hoagie
400 Gallons of Ice Cream

Let us be the first to say... damn.

Breaking (Green Alert) [The Illadelph]

The Comoros, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean halfway between Mozambique and Madagascar, recently squashed a coup attempt on one of its three islands in a rather hilarious manner. Reuters reports that no one was injured in the invasion, and the rebel leader "was believed to have dressed up as a woman and to be trying to escape by boat to the nearby French-run island of Mayotte." They always try to escape to Mayotte! We make light of this because Comoros has had bloodless coups and coup attempts on average of once a year since it declared independence from France in the 1970s. National motto in this beautiful but isolated country of 700,000: "there's nothing to do, so let's have a coup!" (Their actual motto is "Unity - Solidarity - Development," but very few of those things have happened.)

This is a perfect opportunity to bring up the country's delightful and virtually unknown cuisine. Its basis is the standard Swahili assortment of coconut-based curries served with grilled meats and fish, fortified with Indian snack food and graced with a dollop of the French sandwich aesthetic. When we visited a few years ago, our very favorite food item was a particular sliced hard-boiled egg and cucumber sandwich, served in shops around the capital on fresh-baked baguettes (France's most laudable colonial legacy) with mayonnaise and spectacularly ripe tomato. We might have been biased toward the sandwich since we had been stuck in Africa for several months without decent bread, but we will say with some surety that it is was an artful combination of simple, fresh ingredients, and thoroughly satisfying to eat with two hands.

Our second favorite dish was tuna sambusas, which are basically like samosas but less flaky:

On mainland Africa, they're usually filled with beef or lentils, but here, it's a lot easier to source tuna than cow or pulses. At four to the dollar or so, one could really go to town on these.

Our third favorite dish was a beverage: tap water. After a few days, we were running low on funds to pay for the incredibly expensive French bottles that were the only available water supply in the marketplaces. Why no local bottled water like in every other country, we wondered? How do the people afford it? Surely they weren't drinking tap water, the septic scourge of the global South! But after several locals told us it was okay, we tried a glass and a light bulb went off: the country is a volcanic island chain, and we were sipping pure volcanic spring water! Don't tell anyone, or the next thing you it'll be crawling with Fiji executives.

Oh yes, they also have crazy-looking lobsters for you to eat:

If you go, avoid: the incredibly sour injera-like sponge cakes they try to serve you with fish curries. Ask for rice instead. Also, manioc; it's just not a very good tuber. Finally, plan your trip around avoiding election day &mdash they close all the roads in the country, and you'll have to hitch a ride with the Army. But it turns out the soldiers are quite friendly!

Comoros Claims Control Of Rebel Island [Reuters]
Comoros [Wikipedia]

[Photos: Lunchtime spread &mdash aidjihad/flickr; tuna sambusas &mdash kaysha/flickr (even though kaysha calls them samosas, they're really sambusas); lobster &mdash hughdoulton/flickr]

This week's entry in the Craig LaBan review sweepstakes is Le Virtu in deep South Philly. He calls it "one of the most pleasant new restaurants I've visited this year" and gives it some more kudos:

If you've had a chance to savor the homespun Abruzzese pastas topped with lamb and duck ragus, or to nibble on deep-fried olives stuffed with braised meat, then you'll know we're the lucky ones, too.

As for the restaurant itself, it serves food from Italy's Abruzzi region and got a respectable two bells. LaBan gave a special shoutout to the restaurant's fried foods (including complimentary fried dough balls stuffed with mozzarella and sage!) but he said the potato gnocchi and cauliflower pasta were sort of... meh.

Le Virtu [MenuPages]
Le Virtu [Official Site]

• How many times must we say breakfast cures obesity? [NYTimes]
• Portly Wales bans junk food from its hospitals [BBCNews]
• There's some kind of crazy poison honey going around NZ! [NZHerald]
• Note to Jared Diamond: corn's been in S. America 4eva [ScienceDaily]
• Canada's McD's to celebrate Earth Hour by dimming lights [NewsWire]

[Above: First Lady Laura Bush with 2008 state Easter eggs]

The White House has a lot of great food traditions, from the presidential pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey to the traditional cheeseburger pizza enjoyed by George W. Bush. There's also, of course, a great to-do over holiday meals, not the least of which is Easter brunch. Thanks to Time magazine, we're pasting this year's menu below. Don't you wish you'd been invited?

Also, check the link below the menu to the 2008 state Easter eggs.

THE WHITE HOUSE

OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY

MENU FOR

EASTER BRUNCH

Honey Baked Ham with Maple Mustard Sauce

Eggs Benedict

Bacon

Biscuits

Spinach Salad

Waffles

Sautéed Asparagus

Cheese Grits

Fresh Fruit Platter

Double Coconut Layer Cake

Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries

2008 State Easter Eggs [White House]
White House Menu for Easter Brunch [Time]
Photo courtesy of the White House

Since reading this week's New Yorker profile of Momofuku chef David Chang, we've been fascinated with the idea of eating ostrich eggs. Early in the piece, Chang describes trying to cook one, with unappetizing results:

I wanted to pretend I was Fred Flintstone. So I got a big rondeau, put like two inches of oil, and I was gonna deep-fry the motherfucker, but there was so much water content in the white that it just sort of dispersed. It looked like cottage cheese.

We poked around online to see if there are any success stories of ostrich egg eating. After all, people have been trying to make ostriches a commercially viable livestock product for years, so there must be somebody out there promoting the eggs. We found some basic guidelines from the Indian Point Ostrich Ranch in Tehachapi (Kern County), Calif. Also a Chowhound thread on the topic. But our quick search couldn't turn up any in-depth recipes using the massive protein balls.

Meanwhile, the profile on Chang is great. Aside from the ostrich egg thing, he's inspiring both as a chef and a manager of people. The transcript of his speech to his staff is simultaneously riveting and shaming as you realize you don't even come close to understanding the word "dedication" as he does.

Abstract: Chef on the Edge [New Yorker]
Ostrich Eggs Are Edible [Indian Point Ostrich Ranch]
Ostrich Eggs?!? [Chowhound]
Momofuku Noodle Bar [MenuPages]
Momofuku Noodle Bar [Official Site]
Photo credit: Bartly2005 [Flickr]

The ranks of James Beard Award nominees have been trimmed and we just got the press release. Something in it caught our eye:

Best New Restaurant: Anthos (Chef/Owner: Michael Psilakis, Owner: Donatella Arpaia, New York, NY); Central Michel Richard (Chef/Owner: Michel Richard, Washington, DC); Fearing's at the Ritz-Carlton (Chef/Owner: Dean Fearing, Dallas, TX); Osteria Mozza (Chef: Matt Molina; Owners: Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali, Joseph Bastianich, Los Angeles, CA); Osteria (Chef/Owners: Marc Vetri, Jeff Michaud, Owner: Jeff Benjamin, Philadelphia, PA).

(Emphasis ours)

2008 James Beard Foundation Awards Nominees Announced [PR Newswire]
Osteria [MenuPages]
Osteria [Official Site]

So the New York Post just ran a piece on how Philly voters view Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In doing so, they opted for the natural conclusion... Poll people about Philadelphia's restaurants. Employees of Mrs. K's Koffee Shop and the Reading Terminal Market got the grill:

"I am one of those rare African-Americans who is supporting Hillary Clinton," says the 31-year-old Crawford, clearing and stacking dishes at Mrs. K's Koffee shop in Philly's historic center. "She's a little more experienced, a little better prepared, just a little bit sharper and more comprehensive in all the debates.

"I like [Barack] Obama, too, but I think she's the better commander-in-chief."

Across town at the teeming Reading Terminal Market, stuffed with food stalls selling cheesesteaks and Italian sausage, 29-year-old parking attendant Bernard Green disagrees.

"Obama's my choice. He'll take Philadelphia but it's going to be a challenge in the suburbs," says Green.

Hill's Keystone [NY Post]
Mrs. K's Koffee Shop [MenuPages]

• Popeye's founder dies at 64 of scary saliva gland cancer [LATimes]
• KFC, bowing to healthy eating craze, introduces grilled chicken [USAToday]
• A primer on umami, if you've been living under a culinary rock [Tribune]
• After talking a good game, WFP now really needs emergency $500m [AFP]
• Nestle complaining that biofuels wiping out our food supply, etc. [SwissInfo]

Big news on the labor front from a big chain that's been all up in the headlines: After losing a big huge class-action suit in California, Starbucks has to pay more than $100 million to about 120,000 current and former baristas in that state whose tips it diverted to shift supervisors.

In California, owners, managers or other “agents” of business owners can't share in tips. In the first phase of the class-action suit, [San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia] Cowett ruled that shift supervisors were essentially agents under state labor law, and therefore the company's policy allowing them to share in tips violated that law.

The company argued that shift supervisors were not managers or supervisors, that they performed many of the same tasks as baristas, and should share in the tips.

As the coffee giant clamors to extract itself from its scalding pot of labor trouble, we were just a little delighted to discover that a heating element in that pot is the Industrial Workers of the World. That's right, at least some Starbucks workers are organized with the party of Eugene Debs and Utah Phillips. Wow. Could it be there's power in a union after all? This one's for you, Wobblies! From now on we're taking our coffee red.

Starbucks ruling: Pay $105 million in tips case [San Diego Union Tribune]
Starbucks Union [Main Site]
Starbucks [Main Site]
Industrial Workers of the World [Wikipedia]

Upstart local coffeehouse chain Academia Del Caffe just got a mixed review in the Daily News over their lack of branding and inconsistent menus. It made reviewer Lari Robling (gasp!) miss Starbucks:

For example, once I learn that a venti is bigger than a grande, I know no matter what the Starbucks location, I'll have the same drink.

At Academia del Caffe, I often found myself confused.

Let's start with the fact that the original cafe, Hausbrandt on 207 S. 15th St., has a different name from the other locations. Each store has different hours and different menu items available. Want the lasagna or manicotti? You have to get that at the Penn Square location. Need a vegetarian option? Well, at the 15th Street store on a weekend, the pickings are slim.

Academia del Caffe reminds you why Starbucks thrives [Daily News]
Academia Del Caffe [MenuPages]

[Image via Daily News]

It's Friday. We won't keep you. Just wanted to put in a word for one of our favorite courses. And who better to sing it for us than the Mighty Boosh? Nobody, that's who. So here you go: The Soup Song.

The article on fat foodies in today's New York Times definitely caught the eye of those of us here at Menupages and, we're betting, a good segment of our readership. We're all a bit food-obsessed and all probably not as good at moderation as we'd like to be.

Menupages has a pretty svelte staff &mdash we all work hard to avoid joining what the Times calls the "Fat Pack" &mdash but surely we can all (staff and readers alike) use the reminder to maintain a high vegetable intake and a sharp eye on the fatty meats and bulky breads.

Of course, none of us here at MP has written a whole book on hamburgers like Grubstreet's Josh Ozersky. In a post Monday, he defied the a "lite" future :

...as we told [New York Times reporter Kim Severson, the day we start eating salad she’s welcome to our place at the table. Grub Street may cost us the vitality of our once-springy carcass, but by God the work will go on!

When you've made a profession out of high-fat foods, we imagine it is difficult to switch to salads and lentils. Though many journalists, chefs and bloggers interviewed for the piece have made lifestyle changes, dropping weight and cholesterol counts on doctors' orders, a certain machismo remains, as seen in Ozersky's defiant post.

MP South Florida editor Carolina Bolado pointed out that most of the interviewees were men, and that the attitude of machismo &mdash at least as represented by the Times &mdash seemed a decidedly male one. "I blame television and its constant pairing of fat guys with gorgeous women," Bolado wrote in an instant message.

Whatever the reason for the disregard of health concerns, it would be a wise choice for foodies of all stripes to remember that the cost of incurring diet-related health problems skyrockets once the problems are in place and chronic. This is the most literal version of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound (or 100) of cure.

The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party's Over [NY Times]
New York Times to "Wonder" How Bloggers Stay Alive [Grubstreet]
Photo credit: mono1980 [Flickr]

Just as you can't keep away from the farmer's market to try out all the produce newly coming into season, it's hard to keep away from the flea market, where that totally cool, vintage cutlery service refuses to let you go home without it. Let this happen a few times and you'll have a fork explosion, and that could hurt. But what to do with the stuff you're not using anymore? Unlike last week's farmer's market goodies it doesn't naturally disappear.

The folks at Boing Boing today showcased artist Osian Batyka-Williams, who is putting all those old forks, knives and spoons to good use elsewhere in the kitchen or dining room by making chairs out of them. Hope the tines are faced the right way!

Chair Made From Old Cutlery [Boing Boing]
Osian Batyka-Williams [Official Site]

It didn't occur to us until seeing the below video that we've actually eaten this creature:

But we have and it was pretty good. On the plate it looked a bit like this (the white ones on the left):

It's called geoduck (pronounced gooey duck), but was listed on the menu as "giant clam," which we pictured looking more like this:

But of course that's something altogether different. Want to know how they turn that phallic mollusk into a pretty piece of sushi or sashimi? Serious Eats pulled this video from the Discovery Channel. We love Mike Rowe:

In Videos: Preparing Geoduck on Dirty Jobs [Required Eating]

Photos:
Geoduck in tank: Bee [Flickr]
Geoduck sushi: Mike Yung [Flickr]
Giant Clam: Barrierreefaustralia.com

• Starbucks whacked for $100m in Calif. baristi tip lawsuit [LATimes]
• If you YouTube your taco-related misdemeanors, you go to jail! [AP]
• Seemingly moral Volvo fined $20m in Iraqi oil-for-food schemes [Forbes]
• Newly discovered giant Antarctic marine species probably taste bad [NYTimes]
• Food makers' plan to weather recession: probiotics, i.e. health food [Reuters]

We'll say it one more time: We hate writing about cheesesteaks. But since this is Philadelphia and cheesesteaks stalk us like some Freddy Kreuger-like monster, despite all the other great food out there, we've gotta cope with it.

So it turns out that, in a court decision, Joey Vento of Geno's Steaks was allowed to keep his "This is America When Ordering: Speak English" sign.

Says the Philadelphia Daily News:

Critics charged that Vento had put up the signs because an increasing number of Mexicans had moved into the neighborhood around the steak shop. Vento said that he was disturbed only by "illegals," who were taking jobs from Americans. Vento acknowledged that his grandparents were Italian immigrants, but said that the family was forced to learn English when they came here. He said he'd gotten a lot of support via letters and e-mail, but others had harassed him. "They come by, call me a racist," he said. In addition to yesterday's vindication, Vento said that he'd like just one more thing: an "apology" from Mayor Nutter. Vento said that Nutter had declared during his election campaign that the signs should be taken down.

Next, we contemplate whether "wiz," "wit" or "witout" are part of the English language or not.

Geno's Steaks [MenuPages]
Geno's Steaks [Official Site]

• South Philly resto Peppercorns makes a Bibb salad with grilled pear slices. Nice.

• The lovable hippies at Mount Airy's Infusion Coffee & Tea have named their new outdoor seating area "Peace Alley."

• Good food in Fairmount Park? That's the story behind the Centennial Cafe.

• Philly's best coconut cream eggs.

• Philly cookbook maestro Aliza Green is hosting a Passover baking class. Now all someone needs to do is create a Kosher wine that actually tastes good...

• It's Easter. It's obligatory food feature time. It's Easter cooking piece time.

• The results of the tuna taste test didn't surprise us — Italian tuna is better.

• Rick Nichols bought a damn good bowl and namedropped NPR.

• Ristorante Pesto has a sweet little off-menu special: bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed in crescent dough.

• Given the new economic reality, can we start reclaiming farmland? [NYTimes]
• Sbux to grind beans in-store again. Will its coffee finally be drinkable? [USAToday]
• Would you go to Mars if you had to eat silkworm pupae cookies? [NewScientists]
• Homeland's new scare tactic: bioterror in our food supply! (Plausible...) [CQPolitics]
• North Korea cuts food supply during famine; but the people rejoice anyway! [AFP]

Word's been circling the internets today that famed art collector Charles Saa