• 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]

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]

Fun fact: Eric Ripert of New York's legendary Le Bernadin and Philly's 10 Arts has a fleur-de-lys tattoo on his shoulder:

Unbearably suave and handsome in a chiseled, French sort of way, Ripert just opened his first Philadelphia spot, 10 Arts, at the Ritz Carlton.

He's best known as the acclaimed, 3-star Michelin chef at New York's Le Bernardin, with more casual eateries in the Caymans and Washington D.C. And at 43, he just got his first tattoo.

"I never really thought of it," said Ripert. "I have never been necessarily interested in having one. But I was in New Orleans and saw some beautiful tattoos on one of Emeril Lagasse's cooks. We went for lunch, he knew a very good tattoo parlor, Electric Ladyland, and I thought, why not?"

Ripert decided to get a fleur-de-lys, the symbol of both New Orleans and France, inked on his shoulder. "It's not about the Saints football team. The fleur de lys represents royalty in France, and enlightenment. It's also a flower that grows in the spring under the snow, and suddenly sees the light. I liked that idea."

Now that it's a done deal, Ripert wishes he'd gone bigger. "I'm thinking of having another one," said the chef. "Maybe a lotus flower - also a symbol of enlightenment. It's a flower that grows in muddy water, then one day just reaches to the light."

We learned this in a fun little Daily News piece on the tattoos of Philly chefs. Al Anderson of Johnny Brenda's is profiled, as is Mark McKinney of Cantina Los Caballitos/Royal Tavern, Matt Davis of Global Dish Caterers, John Strain of Valanni and David Konkyk of Zocalo.

A few months back, we wrote about a DC-area chef's pork-themed tattoo. Do you have a food/dining-related tattoo of your own? Let us know.

Food isn't local chefs' only art [DN]

[Photo: via PDN]

• 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 Lyonnais 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]

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

• Inside Le Virtu.

• When a Lebanese family buys a Jewish deli in Bala, it's fun for all.

• Malvern's Restaurant Alba makes some damn good agnolotti.

• Center City has a new Mexican restaurant.

• 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]

Ever since the story broke, we've been fascinated about the firefighters in Delaware County, Pennsylvania who were caught running an illegal bar out of their firehouse.

A bit of background... The firefighters of Colwyn serve a small borough of .3 square miles with a population of just 2,453. Colwyn has been a dry town for decades; located near the larger municipalities of Landsdowne, Sharon Hill and Darby, it's largely reliant on those neighbors for public services.

However, Colwyn does have a very small volunteer fire department consisting of approximately 100 neighbors. Colwyn's population is 2,453. That means that more than 4% of the town volunteered for the FD — an admirable rate of civic participation.

Except that, if the local press is to be believed, the vast majority of Colwyn Borough Fire Company's members just came by to get sloshed and gamble. On a raid on Thursday, May 8, the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control seized 10 bottles of liquor purchased outside state lines, two illegal video poker machines and approximately $2100 in cash. The firehouse (pictured) included a garage-sized barroom with a pool table and shuffleboard.

Meanwhile, the actual fire department living facilities themselves were smaller than the bar and were limited to a small room with two futon couches and a television — most non-garage space was allegedly devoted to the bar.

Although knowledge of the "secret" bar first went public in 2004 thanks to a report on WCAU-TV, legal action was not taken until the raid in May. The raid allegedly took place after state authorities were tipped off by the firefighters themselves, upset that the FD's non-firefighting members controlled the kitty. Shortly before the raid, they all resigned en masse:

The now former firefighters said the hundred or so social club members also control the $40,000 in fire taxes raised by the borough.

"They go out and buy a 50-inch plasma TV, but we can't get air packs," Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Patterson said.

Among the drinkers when the State Police raided the secret firehouse bar... Well, both the mayor of Colwyn, John Fitzgerald and several borough councilmen were among 'em. According to state police, the public officials insisted they weren't buying drinks — just "making donations."

All this came to a head on Tuesday, when the Colwyn borough council voted to sever the municipality's relationship with Colwyn Fire Company Number 1.

As of the time we write this, Colwyn lacks any fire department whatsoever. Colwyn residents will have to rely on the firefighters of neighboring Darby and Collingdaale instead.

See what happens when you turn your firehouse into a bar, kids?

(And for the curious, yes, the Colwyn Fire Company website is still up. It requests that all potential members "be in good standing" with "good moral character." Free shots of Jim for everyone!)

Firefighters Resign Over Alleged Illegal Bar In Dry Town [NBC10]
Colwyn Votes To End Relationship With Troubled Fire Company [NBC10]
Colwyn firefighters resign, citing social club raided by police [Inky]
NBC10 Eliminates Town's Fire Company [PW]

Back in April, we wrote about a special all pork dinner over at Marc Vetri's Osteria over on North Broad/almost-North Philly/Greater CCP District/whatever.

Well, Philadining went. The picture above is of the meal's centerpiece, spit-roasted baby pig with patate al forna and toasted fennel seed. Other dishes included a snail and salame spiedini, wild ramp ravioli in pigs foot ragu, testina cannelloni and a very beer-y dessert of black chocolate stout bavarian with raspberry salad. All dishes were coupled with beers chosen by Brooklyn Brewery's Garrett Oliver.

Damn, what a great looking meal.

Pork and Beer at Osteria [Philadining]
Osteria [MenuPages]
Osteria [Official Site]

[Photo: Osteria food via Philadining]

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

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]

This sausage sandwich, in our opinion, looks amazing. It's from Pepperoncini in the Conshohocken office park corridor of doom. We found the sandwich over at Foodzings, who waxed rhapsodic about it:

The place is totally cute. And there's a nice little bar inside too. They have a simple lunch menu, with sandwiches, pasta, and pizza. R got the italian sausage sandwich with broccoli raab. Do you see how big this is? And the bread... the glorious bread! It's crusty and cripy and chewy with the perfect amount of sesame seeds. I'm in love with this bread. It's from the Conshohocken Bakery. I'm totally going there to pick up some of this awesome bread.

And whaddaya know, we have the menu for the Conshohocken Italian Bakery too.

Pepperoncini [MenuPages]

Pepperoncini [Foodzings]

• 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]

This past weekend, we hopped up to Bart Blatsein-land (aka Liberties Walk) for dinner at Bar Ferdinand. The weather was nice and people were out, so it seemed like a good time to check out the goods. Along with a guest, we ordered jamon croquetas (awesome), a crab/asparagus flan (good, though distinctly lacking in crab taste), patatas bravas (good, though noticably unspicy) and the pechuga de pollo ahumado.

That last item is our new favorite Philadelphia sandwich. It's seared chicken on a baguette-like roll topped with:

• San Simon cheese
• Chorizo
• Bacon
• Steamed swiss chard
• Paprika aioli

The little chunks of cut-up chorizo interacted perfectly with the crisp bacon, the tart greens and the chicken cutlet to create one hell of a sandwich. People, we're talking about a pork explosion here.

And, hey. It looks like the Philadelphia Weekly likes them too.

Bar Ferdinand [MenuPages]
Bar Ferdinand [Official Site]

[Photo: via bocadillos/Fotolog]

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.

Legendary South Philadelphia shack John's Roast Pork is famous for some of the best cheesesteaks and roast pork in the city.

The Inquirer just broke it to the general public that JRP's chief operator, 42-year-old John Bucci Jr., is battling agressive prelukemia and is receiving a bone marrow transplant:

Just a month ago, Bucci was pumping his fists and giving a teary-eyed acceptance speech after winning a cheesesteak competition run by Glen Macnow, a host at WIP-AM (610) who, after eating at 44 other places, declared John's "the greatest cheesesteak I've ever had."

And that was only the latest honor. Under Bucci's watch, this 78-year-old pork shack, a humble truck stop for most of its years, has been catapulted into the city's pantheon for destination cheesesteaks. The Inquirer chose John's as its ultimate cheesesteak in 2002, and articles in Gourmet and Esquire and a James Beard Foundation Award as an "American Classic" followed.

Yet as Bucci competed in the final WIP cook-off, his spleen was swelling with cancer. His bone-marrow cells had just acquired a second DNA mutation, Klumpp said, that showed Bucci's condition, chronic myeloproliferative disease, was rapidly heading toward acute leukemia, which could become lethal in weeks.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bucci and his family.

John's Roast Pork [MenuPages]
John's Roast Pork [Official Site]
The tender and the tough

[Image via Philadelphia Inquirer]

When we first read in the Inky about a remarkably popular Jamaican food truck near Philadelphia Community College, it only took us a number of seconds to get hooked:

The oxtails are that good. They rest overnight in a moist rub of onion, garlic, fresh thyme and allspice ("pimento" in Jamaica), and are stewed for two hours in the morning, giving up a sweet, rich, fragrant brown sauce.

In the $6 "small" container, they are heaped over gravy-drenched rice and beans, with a side of collard greens or, well, I always gravitate to the buttery, translucent steamed cabbage. (It, too, is seasoned with onion, scallion, herbs, bell pepper, and an extra sweetener, shredded carrot.)

C'mon people, that sounds amazing.

Real flavors of Jamaica, curbside in Philly [Inky]

• 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]

• 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]

OK. We previously commented on the sad news that NoLibs fixture Azure has closed their doors.

The Phoodie.info crew contacted owner Azure Bob for his take:

“I’m sitting at my desk with tears rolling down my face, writing this. Yes it’s true we sold AZURE. Sue and I loved Northern Liberties from the day we moved here. We had the best customers anyone could find, a lot of them becoming personal friends. My staff was the best, the last year with Julio as my chef was an experience I’ll never forget. He made the crazy restaurant business a joy. Plus putting out the best food AZURE ever served here. Brandon and Todd helped me put AZURE together from the start, then little by little we developed a family of employees who we grew to love, and will miss them dearly. Anyone who knows me knows that the last year I have been living with great pain in my back. And now it’s time to retire and smell the roses. We purchased a boat and plan to travel but Northern Liberties will still be our home. I am also working hard with the new owners to keep my staff on they were the best. Love Bob”

A Fond Farwell to Azure [phoodie]
Azure [MenuPages]
Azure [Official Site]

Kenzo made it into the New York Times — all thanks to one of the its urban farms. Kensington's Greensgrow was just profiled in the New York Times:

The farm, in the low-income Kensington section, about three miles from the skyscrapers of downtown Philadelphia, also makes its own honey — marketed as “Honey From the Hood” — from a colony of bees that produce about 80 pounds a year. And it makes biodiesel for its vehicles from the waste oil produced by the restaurants that buy its vegetables.

Farm founders Mary Seton Corboy and Tom Serduk started Greensgrow in 1998 as part of a plan to grow lettuce for Center City restaurants. After setting up a deal with the city of pay rent for $150 a month, they successfully managed to turn a hardscrabble former industrial site into a thriving farm.

Even if all this talk of urban farming isn't your thing, please check out their FAQ page. Can we say that the thing is snarky as hell? Because it is... and we love it.

Greensgrow [Official Site]
Where Industry Once Hummed, Urban Gardens Grow [NY Times]

• 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]

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]

The folks at the Daily News, aka the 'People Paper', asked a selection of Philly restaurateurs for their hamburger secrets:

Nick Tsolous, Goodburger: 83 percent meat, 17 percent fat mix. "It should be to the taste[...] Not too much fat, but it needs just enough to cook right."

Chad Williams, Amada: "The ratio is important. We go to Esposito's [in the Italian market]. Lean meat is not delicious. You want some fat there to keep it moist and juicy."

Ellen Yin, Fork: "There's nothing like a homemade brioche roll for a burger. You need that - and some crispy fries."

Be a burgermeister [DN]

[Photo: Lance Silverman of Sabrina's via Alejandro Alvarez/Daily News]

• Trey Popp has gone gaga for Swallow. Viva le fried frog legs!

• More on Eric Ripert's 10 Arts.

• Inside the resurrected Jin House.

• It takes nerve to open a restaurant/internet cafe in Logan.

• Is another dollar hot dog night at Citizens Bank Park coming up? Yes it is.

• How to find killer eggplant dishes in the 215. Thank god the CP gave props to Villa di Roma's eggplant parm — one of Philly's underrated culinary classics.

• What's scarier? Tastykake Pancake Krimpets or vegan snails?

• Did you know summer is "the mayonnaise season"? Us either.

• Rick Nichols takes on Goodburger

• Meet the cheese queen of Pottstown.

• Is Blackfish opening up a Jersey shore location? Is Murray's Deli in Bala Cynwyd going Lebanese? Will Philly's game of chef musical chairs ever end? Michael Klein has all the restaurant gossip.

• 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]

A fun fact we just learned: Center City bar TA Flannery's is owned by the family of Kate Flannery, aka Meredith Palmer on The Office.

As a blogger for Tvguide.com, Flannery described the family connection for readers of the site:

St. Pat's day has always been a big holiday for me and my family because my family owns a bar. If you are in Philadelphia, our bar is T.A. Flannery's on 21st Street. Have a drink and don't worry! You can have a drink and catch up!

So go check it out, folks.

Flannery's [Phillytown]
St. Patrick's Daze [tvguide.com]

[Photo: TA Flannery's via Phillytown.com]

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]

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]

First things first. Due to the ethical considerations involved in the consumption of foie gras, restaurants in Philadelphia have been picketed over the past few years for serving the dish. While we respect the opinions of those who choose not to eat foie gras, we've also made it quite clear that we think foie gras is one of the most delicious things on God's green earth.

Now that we've got that out of the way (and no sending us Morrissey-quoting e-mails about the benefits of veganism either. We like our carnivorous ways just fine), here's a comprehensive guide to ome of Philadelphia's most creative and tasty foie gras options.

• The Fountain at the Four Seasons hotel offers sauteed foie gras accompanied with grilled figs and quince, topped with a three vinegar reduction. Sweet (literally).

• Lacroix's dinner menu includes foie gras "bacon" accompanied by that most gourmet of condiments, ranch dressing.

• Brasserie Perrier serves a Daniel Boulud-inspired burger of sirloin stuffed with shredded short ribs and topped with seared foie gras and black truffle cheese.

• Highly regarded Conshohocken BYOB Blackfish also does Lacroix's highbrow/lowbrow deal. In Blackfish's case, foie gras is paired with pickled maraschino cherries (natch)... and frosted flakes.

• Pond is one of the Main Line's most elegant restaurants. The take on foie gras here is strictly traditionalist: the liver comes adorned in a simple apricot glaze flavored with orange peel.

This list is up-to-date and current at time of publishing. If any of these restaurants are no longer serving foie gras, let us know.

Fountain [MenuPages]
Lacroix [MenuPages]
Lacroix [Official Site]
Brasserie Perrier [MenuPages]
Brasserie Perrier [Official Site]
Blackfish [MenuPages]
Blackfish [Official Site]
Pond [MenuPages]
Pond [Official Site]

[Photo: foie gras via Wikimedia Commons]

• It's a hamburger battle royale when Goodburger faces off against Five Guys.

• More on Aliza Green's class on herbs over at Foster's.

• Yes, artisan cheeses are made in Montgomery County.

• 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]

We just added several new restaurants to MenuPages. Here are today's new selections:

• Center City caffeine magnet Remedy Tea Bar.

• Worthy Ludwig's replacement Time.

• New Center City coffeeshop (that used to be an old one!) Blue in Green.

• Royal India in King of Prussia, aka the best Indian restaurant to ever open inside a gas station.

• Up and coming South Philly Italian contender Nicholas.

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]

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]

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</