MenuPages

• 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]

South Miami has its own little French Quarter under the blue roof just south of Sunset Place on 57th avenue. You can culinarily channel Paris for a day and have breakfast, lunch, and dinner in French style.

Start your morning off with brioche and coffee at Le Royal French Bakery, or if you are feeling indulgent, have a fruit tart (these are best in the morning when the shortbread crust is still crispy). Take a baguette and croissant for an afternoon snack.

After shopping at Country French and the boutiques across the street, come back to La Crepe Bistro for lunch. Their sweet and savory crepes are individually made to order and their hot chocolate is made the old-fashioned way by melting chocolate morsels down into slowly simmered milk. We recommend the vegetarian crepe, loads of creamy goat cheese with savory portobella mushrooms and tomatos.

Savor your baguette and croissant as an afternoon snack and take a long walk to build up an appetite for Cafe Pastis. We recommend the steamed mussels in white wine sauce. Bon apetit!

Le Royal French Bakery [MenuPages]
La Crepe Bistro [MenuPages]
Cafe Pastis [MenuPages]
Cafe Pastis [Official Site]

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]

• Chowhounds try to define "Florida cuisine" and come up with all sorts of interesting things. [Chowhound]

• The antipasti at Fratelli Lyon are a hit. [Chowhound]

• Sara heartily recommends the sauteed grouper at Pacific Time 2.0. [All Purpose Dark]

• We think every good home cook should be able to roast a chicken. If you haven't yet mastered that, here's a quick guide, with photos and links to the Thomas Keller recipe.[Daily Cocaine]

• 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]

The Coral Gables Restaurant Week is almost upon us, so now is a good time to peruse menus and start making dinner reservations. There are quite a few restaurants participating, so in order to save you a little time, we went through each and every one of the menus and picked out the ones we found most interesting and provided the best bang for your buck. (Note: The menu links following each entry are .pdf files.)

• Caramelo: This, in our opinion, is one of the better deals. The $20 lunch menu only offers one option for each of the three courses, but it's $20 and it comes with a glass of wine. That's especially good considering the entree includes Florida grouper. Dinner, which is $35, also comes with wine included. [menu]

• California Pizza Kitchen: Lots of choices here. For $25, you get a half-portion of your choice of three salads, plus any of the pizzas on the menu and any of the desserts. [menu]

• Caffe Abbracci: The restaurant week menus don't give you too many choices, but at $24 (lunch) and $35 (dinner), they're good deals, considering the prices on the regular menu. Still, we weren't terribly excited about the offerings. [menu]

• Fleming's Prime Steakhouse: Three courses, $33.95. The first and third courses don't sound all that exciting, but those mains look good: tempura shrimp in chile aioli and pineapple mango salsa; bleu cheese-glazed filet mignon with cabernet butter sauce; and beef short ribs with herbs, spices and pan juices. [menu]

• Fritz & Franz Bierhaus is offering the same options for lunch and dinner, both for $25. Our choices would be goulash for appetizer, sausage sampler for the main, and definitely the sacher torte for dessert. [menu]

• Le Provencal definitely wins in the "most choices for entree" category. Eight entrees for lunch, ranging from the traditional Caesar salad ($9.50) to the couscous with lamb shank, lamb sausage and vegetables ($15.95). No competition there — we'll have the lamb. Appetizer options are soup of the day, salad with homemade dressing, or salmon terrine, and the dessert is whatever the kitchen has decided to make that day. [menu]

• Given the regular prices at Ortanique on the Mile, the $35 restaurant week dinner menu is a steal. Appetizer options are soup, mango salad (yes please!), or curried crab cake. For entrees, choose from jerked chicken penne pasta, butterflied spiced pork chop, or curried shrimp and diver scallops. As for dessert, there's rum cake, mango sorbet or guava cheese cake. [menu]

• When it came to the Por Fin menu, all we wanted to know was whether or not the "eggs at Por Fin" were on it. They are: only on Mondays on the lunch menu, but always on the dinner menu. That short ribs entree sounds good too. The dinner menu is $38. [menu]

• You can get mango risotto (arroz con mango!) at Two Sisters as a lunch appetizer. Entree options are skirt steak, with chimichurri of course, seared mahi mahi and roast chicken, all for $24. [menu]

Coral Gables Restaurant Week [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

The Fish House just opened a new restaurant off of Dixie Highway between Kendall Dr. and 104th Street (the same shopping center as Trattoria Luna and Hooligan'sr). The waitress lured us in by promising us a 10 percent discount on our meal for being the first customers of the day. The restaurant has been open for a little over a week and offers the same fresh seafood of its two other locations, one on 8th street and 121st avenue and the other on Miller and 100th avenue. Instead of the customary rolls and butter, The Fish House serves their signature smoked fish dip with saltine crackers. We both loved the dip and crackers, but missed having some fluffy bread around to soak up the remains of our lobster bisque (creamy and delicious) and the garlic butter sauce from our mussels.

The Fish House [MenuPages]
The Fish House [Official Site]

• 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]

We're leaving you again. This time, we're jetting off to Atlanta for a few days in the city and in the northeast Georgia mountains. We're at the age when many of our friends are getting married, and the weddings are scattered all over the place. Not that we mind; it gives us an excellent excuse to get out of town for a few days. (We don't usually need much of an excuse anyway.)

Among the restaurants that we will be visiting:
• Smith House, Dahlonega
• Tomlin's BBQ, Rabun Gap
• Home Restaurant & Bar, Atlanta
• Harold's Barbecue, Atlanta
• The Varsity, Atlanta
• Mary Mac's Tea Room, Atlanta

Much fried chicken and pulled pork will be consumed. We may need to start some sort of diet on Monday. See you then!

Photo: The Blissful Glutton/flickr

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]

The girls and I stopped in at Abokado for a late night bite of sushi while enjoying a night out at Mary Brickell village. When we first walked down the stairs and over into the quieter interior pavilion, we were confused by the merging outdoor seating of Blu and Abokado. Italian sushi, anyone? Both restaurants had no tables left outside, but the insides were relatively empty. We decided on sushi instead of pizza and were soon seated inside Abokado's posh dining room. The menu is innovative and extensive, but a bit pricey for the amount of food you receive. We opted for the chilled soba noodle salad. The buckwheat noodles soaked up the tasty poblano-miso viniagrette and julienne vegetables and sprouts added a nice crunch. At $8.00, this item doesn't break the bank and leaves you with room for an entree or a roll. The girls all ordered rolls from Abokado's list of signature rolls named playfully in the Asian Pan-Latin style of the restaurant — Amaya, Revolucion, Malinche and Bossa Nova. The Temptation roll was particularly tasty bringing together to of our sushi house favorites, shrimp tempura topped with spicy tuna.

Abokado [MenuPages]
Abokado [Official Site]

• 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]

Remember when Paula at Mango & Lime provided us with a sneak peek of Fratelli Lyon back in February? Well, it's finally opening today for lunch and dinner. Check out Paula's post for descriptions of the food; here, we're just going to give you a sampling of a few items from the menu which we think are interesting. The entire menu will be available on MenuPages South Florida tomorrow.

• We're salivating just reading the "antipasti - salumi" section: mortadella, coppa, sopressata, bresaola, prosciutto di parma, finocchiona and speck. The "antipasti - formaggi" features cheeses that hail from Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, Parma and Val D'Aosta. We're intrigued by "la tur," a slightly-aged triple milk cheese (cow, goat and sheep) from Piedmont.

• Where there is good cheese, we expect there is good pizza. The menu offers four pizzas: margherita, quatro formaggi, ligure and amatriciana.

• And we haven't even hit the primi yet; this menu takes a while to peruse. Looking for something filling? We'd opt for the tagliatelle with braised beef and veal ragu. On the lighter side, there's spaghetti with breadcrumbs, zucchini and olive oil.

• Secondi options include roasted young chicken, calf liver, grilled hangar steak, grilled duck breast, sea bass and a seafood casserole.

The wine list is extensive too, featuring only Italian wines (of course); many are offered not only by the bottle, but in 100 mL or 250 mL portions.

Fratelli Lyon, 4141 NE 2nd Ave in Miami; 305-572-2901

Sneak peek: Fratelli Lyon [Mango & Lime]

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.

Chef Jonathan Eismann recently re-opened Pacific Time, a longtime South Beach landmark, in the heart of the Design District. We had a chance to catch up with him between the lunch and dinner rush to ask a few questions about his new restaurant, its new home, and his favorite places to eat in Miami.

MP: How does it feel to be opening again in Miami?

JE: It feels like it did when I opened on Lincoln Road. It’s very similar. In 1993, Lincoln Road was kind of desolate; the design district is kind of desolate. You know, the best thing to happen to the Design District is Michael's. It really opened the doors. The Design District is becoming a great place for dining. There are a lot of good restaurants there.

MP: What do you consider a must try item on your menu? If we were to eat there, what couldn’t we pass up?

JE: I would say the butter-grilled asparagus or the roast leg of lamb with green herbs and goat’s milk yogurt.

MP: I know that you use a lot of local produce in your menus like Florida tomatoes or Key West pink shrimp. Have you been able to find any local beef or chicken?

JE: Not yet, I know there is some Florida beef, but I haven’t checked the quality of it and quality is very important to me.

MP: What is one ingredient you can’t live without in your kitchen, at home or in the restaurant?

JE: Well that is really two questions. Which one is it, at home or in the restaurant?

MP: How about both?

JE: Restaurants: really good olive oil or really fresh produce. At home, Red meat and vodka.

MP: Together?

JE: Of course.

MP: When you go out to eat, where do you like to go?

JE: Michael's, of course. Versailles. I like to go to Garcia's on the Miami River.

MP: I know you are a dad as well as a chef.

JE: I have two little girls.

MP: How do you balance being a chef and being a dad?

JE: No sleep.

MP: Has this had an influence on the new Pacific Time?

JE: It did on the old Pacific Time. We have a really great kids menu and interactive items on the menu for kids to do while their parents are eating. Like the big cookie. Kids get cookie dough and decorations. They design their own cookie and we bake it for them. We also have the little pizza or calzone. We put out a variety of toppings and the kids make their own pizza. Or calzone.

MP: Thank you so much for speaking with us and good luck on the new Pacific Time.

JE: Thank you.

Pacific Time [MenuPages]

• 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]

• Pacific Time still needs to work out some kinks. [Chowhound]

• You can still catch the final Monday night dinner at Sardinia Ristorante that highlights a different region of Italy. This Monday: Sicilia. [Chowhound]

• Seems that there's a rumor floating around that Michael Schwartz might be opening up another restaurant. [Chowhound]

• Looking for a good sushi splurge? Check out Bond St Lounge. [All-Purpose Dark]

• A photographic food essay of the opening of Little Haiti Park, including an instructional video on how to fry a corn pancake. [Daily Cocaine]

Friday night is date night for many couples and this week my fiancée and I set off for The River Oyster Bar in search of some much needed private time. The restaurant space is open and airy and the bar features prominently when you walk in through the South Miami Avenue entrance. It was happy hour, so the space was loud, but the waiter seated us at a cozy corner table without too many distractions besides the menu. We did notice, and love, an oversized signed poster announcing Johnny Cash’s performance at the Jackie Gleason, hanging just beyond the curtain behind our table.

But enough about the décor, and on to the food. We ordered a variety of small plates and dessert rather than choosing an entrée. For starters, we opted for something heavy, the charcuterie plate with jamón serrano, olive salad, and cubes of manchego cheese, and something lighter, the tomato and Napa Valley goat cheese salad with arugula, walnut-basil pesto and balsalmic syrup. Both of these plates were winners, but the tomato and goat cheese salad was a knock-out. It won points for both presentation and an elegant balance of flavors. Round two of dinner was something of a disappointment. We ordered the grilled flatbread with pepperoni, fontina cheese and tomato, which seemed promising, but turned out to be greasy and bland. The second small plate, steamed mussels with coconut milk, chile, cilantro and lime, had the opposite problem: too much flavor for the delicate mussels. The heat from the chiles and the acidity of the lime just didn’t seem to complement the natural sweetness of the mussels. The River nevertheless redeemed itself with an excellent warm berry tart with strawberry ice cream and great service. I regret that we didn’t try any of the oyster dishes, but we will just have to come back.

The River Oyster Bar [MenuPages]
The River Oyster Bar [Official Site]

• 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]

• Interesting review for Andu Restaurant & Lounge today from Lee Klein. He seemed to enjoy a number of dishes there, but chides the restaurant for not going far enough cuisine-wise to match the cutting-edge decor. There also seemed to be a number of inconsistencies between what's written on the menu and what actually appears on the table. [Miami New Times]

• Enrique Fernandez really, really loved Por Fin Restaurant and especially recommends the fried eggs with potatoes. [Miami Herald]

• There's French fare at reasonable prices at Buena Vista Bistro. [Miami Herald]

• Everything sounds wonderful at Greek Express in Fort Lauderdale. So wonderful that we may have to go satisfy a falafel craving right now. [Miami Herald]

• No chance you'll leave hungry from Del Vecchio's Italian Fishery in Deerfield Beach, according to Gail Simmons. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

We had heard rave reviews about Lime Fresh Mexican Grill on Alton Road in South Beach for years, but could never spot the place on trips to South Beach. The tiny storefront and unobtrusive sign never seemed to catch our eye. This week, we swore we would find it, and thanks to a little lunch time traffic, we did! When we got there, the line stretched out the door, which isn't a huge indicator, since the actual restaurant space is quite small, but it gave us a chance to scope out the clientele. People of all walks of life happily munched away at burritos, tacos and salads, while listening to Y100. Feeling guilty for a week of indulgent eating, we opted for the South Beach burrito — a low-carb wrap, lower-fat jack and cheddar cheeses, pico de gallo and fresh lettuce. Our friend Catherine ordered the same and we were handed gigantic plastic lime slices (order numbers) to place on our table. While we waited, we soaked up the ambiance of Lime's airy and cozy outdoor patio. White and pink oleander lines the Chicago brick patio and an absolutely enormous lime green umbrella blocks the South Florida sun. Catherine summed up the laid-back atmosphere best, saying “I feel like I'm in Mexico." The burritos promptly arrived on cast-iron skillets with a side of "hot" chips, which were actually a bit soggy and lukewarm, but they served the purpose of transporting the excellent guacamole to our mouths. The South Beach burrito tasted a bit bland, but that may have been a result of our ordering choice rather than the cook's skills. In the future, we'll opt for a higher-fat entree and skip the chips.

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill [MenuPages]
Lime Fresh Mexican Grill [Official Site]

• 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]

We just recently got the menu at Pacific Time, which opened its doors in its new location in the Design District yesterday. Here's a sampling of the menu:

• grilled sardines panzanella style with Tuscan gallo negro and Florida tomatoes
• pan-broiled sweetbreads with pancetta, wood-aged sherry vinegar and arugula
• ginger scallion pancake with Key West pink shrimp, shiitake and champagne
• grilled local swordfish with red onion puree and young organic arugula
• panko organic chicken paillard with arugula and Florida tomatoes

Pacific Time [MenuPages]

Photo, of herb and truffle roasted chicken at the old Pacific Time: wrestlingentropy/flickr

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]

Paella: The flavorful Spanish mixture of yellow rice and any number of proteins- lobster, fish, scallops, shrimp, sausage, chicken, pork, yet rarely ever beef. This eclectic dish also has the ability to stretch and feed any number of people from an intimate gathering of five or six to a Godfather-style wedding of hundreds. These companies make it easy to cater your next affair by providing on-site cooking of any kind of paella right in front of your guests.

Mr Paella: serves Miami-Dade, Broward and the Naples area. They offer traditional paella, country rice, chicken and rice, as well as Chinese-style fried rice. Sweet plantains, salad and bread, and appetizers are available at an extra charge. Mr. Paella has been in business for seven years.

Paella Party: serves South Florida. A more upscale operation, Paella Party offers not only paella, but a full menu of Spanish style dishes, appetizers, and desserts. Paella party also offers bar service. They have been in business for over 20 years. Paella Party is also a full event company offering tables, chairs, china, silver, stemware and even tents for rent.

Mr. Chef Paella: serves Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Specializes in seafood paella.

Paella Tropical: serves Miami-Dade county, but will go out of the area for a fee. Paella Tropical is also a full-service event company and offers the best deal that I have seen online, although I can't vouch for the food. For $8.50 per guest, the Tropical package provides tables, chairs, two glasses, two plates, three utensils, table linens, cloth napkins, salt, pepper, ashtrays and one hour of extra service.

The huge gas-fired paella pans provide entertainment for the guests while filling the air with the aroma of sauteeing onions and garlic. On that note, paella catering is best for an outdoor party as a confined space will send your guests home smelling like chorizos. Individual prices vary from company to company, but usually include salad and dinner rolls along with the paella.

Mr Paella [MenuPages]
Mr Paella [Official Site]
Paella Party [Official Site]
Paella Tropical [Official Site]

Photo: flickr

• 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 90 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]

The best way to get your restaurant some free publicity before it even opens its doors seems to be to give it a racy or controversial name. Remember all the hullabaloo about El Carajo when it first opened? Here's another one: Better Than Sex, a bakery opening today in Key West. The opening has been covered in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Naples. Granted, they all ran the same AP story, but still — do Orlando residents care that much about a bakery that is opening an eight-hour drive away?

According to the story, a sampling of menu items includes: Missionary Crisp, Pump-in Pie and Pop My Cherry Cheesecake. We'll work on getting the rest of the menu, as soon as we can find a phone number for this place...

Better Than Sex dessert shop to open in Key West [Sun-Sentinel]

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 MP: 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]

The last remaining Mark's is gone:

Mark's at the Park in Boca Raton's Mizner Park unexpectedly closed its doors Thursday, the last of four restaurants led by award-winning chef Mark Militello to shutter in the past two months.

The much-heralded South Florida chain has disappeared quietly. Both Militello and the restaurant's owner, Michael Freundlich, are mum on the reason for the closings.

Freundlich, managing partner of the Mark's restaurant group, on Monday referred calls to Militello, who in turn, directed questions to Freundlich's corporate offices in Boca Raton.

"Mark was the operator. He was responsible," Freundlich said.

Militello's response: "They made all the decisions."

Mark's Restaurant no longer at park [Palm Beach Post]
Afternoon Roundup: Mark's South Beach Closing Tonight [MP: South Florida]
Closed: Mark's Las Olas [MP: South Florida]
Mark's Mizner Park [MenuPages]

• 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]

We love this heady time of year. The long coats are back in their mothballs, tasteful patches of skin begin showing up in people's outfits, though it's not yet gratuitous. But one of the deepest-resonating harbingers of spring is the crop of new vegetables. By this time, it's no longer a surprise to see ramps and asparagus in the produce store or farmers' market. But we're entering the height of the season and the time has come to start consuming these little miracles with gusto before they're gone for another year.

To that end, Accidental Hedonist presents this little photo essay with ideas for a spring feast that includes morels, ramps, asparagus and rhubarb. There's also some eye-candy in the spring vegetables slide-show on Bon Appetit. But what are our local restaurants doing with the bounty?

• One of our favorite spring treats is the artichoke, which New York Times Magazine contributor and San Francisco chef Daniel Patterson (Coi) treats with a green garlic dipping sauce.

• In Chicago, the seasonal greats are sprouting all over Charlie Trotter's menu, which includes Rhubarb Stewed with frozen white chocolate yogurt and coriander shortbread, and French White Asparagus with fava beans, sorrel and morel mushrooms.

• Boston favorite No. 9 Park is making the most of the season by including artichokes, asparagus, seasonal mushrooms or other veggies in seemingly everything on the menu. In particular, the Maine Crab Salad with asparagus terrine black trumpet mushrooms caught our eye, as did the Loin of Colorado Lamb, with polenta, artichoke, and Greek yogurt.

• In Florida, the accelerated semi-tropical growing season is grinding to a halt, and the vegetables the rest of the country associates with spring and summer are are either beginning to go or are fully out of season. But the menu at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink still features both, with quite a lot of local heirloom tomatoes as well as asparagus, artichokes, and an enticing grilled whole local pompano with grilled spring onions, grilled lemon, garlic oil, and provencal vinaigrette.

• Finally, Philadelphians in search of seasonal greens should head to Marigold Kitchen, which has briefly seasonal fiddlehead ferns on the menu right now, as well as a rhubarb shake for dessert. Another good option is Ugly American, where asparagus and mixed spring greens abound.

Morels, Ramps, Asparagus And Rhubarb — a spring feast [Accidental Hedonist]
Spring Vegetables Slideshow [Bon Appetit]
Garlic Defanged [New York Times Magazine]

[Photo: White asparagus with sweet mustard sauce and chive blossoms, via Sonicwalker/flickr]

Giardino Gourmet Salads, which currently has locations in Coral Gables and Doral, will be opening up a new branch on South Beach this month. They specialize in interesting salads that mix a variety of unusual ingredients — think watercress, brie, pistachios and plantain chips — with savory homemade dressings and croutons. Our favorites are the Habanero (spicy watercress, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers and plantain chips tossed in a citrus culantro vinaigrette) and the Fizz (arugula, strawberries, gorgonzola and roasted garlic). Their prices have gone up since the first store's opening in the Gables; it's now $6 instead of $5 for a piccolo, $8 instead of $7 for a basta, etc., although the add-ons, including meat, are still the same price. For the quality and the freshness of the ingredients, Giardino is a welcome addition to the South Beach fast food scene.

Giardino Gourmet Salads - Coral Gables [MenuPages]
Giardino Gourmet Salads - Doral [MenuPages]
Giardino Gourmet Salads [Official Site]

• U.S. chucks 1/4 of the food it produces [NYT]
• Hateful McD CEO decries consumers' rights [Trib]
• 14T of 2x-stuffed Oreos spilled on I-80! [WQAD]
• Rest of the world hates our farm bill [TheStar]
• Filipino rice crop loss preventable [UPI]
• Korean food aid politics heating up [AP]

• Can truly authentic Southwestern food be found in the Northeast? [MP: Boston]

• One Chicago hotel restaurant has gone buck wild for pastrami-smoked salmon. [MP: Chicago]

• File under "strange interpretations of regional specialties": vegetarian scrapple. [MP: Philadelphia]

• Rest in peace, airline bags of peanuts. [MP: San Francisco]

• Let's all go to Buenos Aires! [MP: South Florida]

I had always liked the sight of Portuguese on the gigantic sign that loomed over the Palmetto. Fogovivo Churrascaria Brazilian Steakhouse. Just across from Tropical Park, the sign was some how comforting, friendly, and just a little bit dangerous. Fogo! Fire! This was a sign to stand up to the garish lights of Santa’s Enchanted Forest. Imagine my surprise as I pondered the sign over lunchtime traffic yesterday. Fuegovivo. I rubbed my eyes and checked again. Something was just not right. Then I noticed that the letters “ue” looked just a bit brighter than their consonant compatriots and, like looking at a magic eye poster, it hit me! Fogo had turned into Fuego. A call to the restaurant yielded no substantive reason for the change and it seems like Portuguese has given way to Spanish in the Saguesera. The menu and ownership remains the same; only the name (and the website) have changed.

Fuegovivo [Official Site]

There's an amazing news item making the rounds on the interwebs about this Atlanta-area woman who can feed a family of five on as low as $10 a week by being the world champion of clipping coupons:

The family's grocery bill was $200 to $250 dollars a week. She began clipping coupons, trying to match them up with sales in the weekly fliers from grocery and drug stores. As Crissy's husband Joe puts it, "At first it kind of blew my mind because she'd bring things home and I'd be like is this legit or what? Are we going to get in trouble?"

It was legit alright.

And it took a bit of research and work. It still does.

Crissy says it takes her about an hour a week to get ready for her shopping trip, a trip that takes three to four hours and involves three to seven stores in the area...

Over the course of the article, Crissy buys $140 worth of household stuff at the CVS for less than $5 and about $50 worth of groceries at the Publix for about $15, using coupons combined with sales and promotions.

This kind of extreme money-saving discipline is very impressive, especially with the price of staples like rice skyrocketing lately. But is it worth it? This kind of lifestyle necessarily means being subjected to the whims of retailers and their stock. As much as we hate shelling out $6 for in-season asparagus, we would hate more to feel like we couldn't buy that asparagus this week because it wasn't on sale. But then, we don't have three kids.

Another troublesome thing about this shopping method is the amount of time and travel it requires. Crissy drives all over town. Did you catch that part where she spends about five hours a week at this and hits three to five stores per trip? We simply wouldn't have the patience or the gas money. Though, the idea seems to be you do this extreme money saving shopping so that you can have gas money.

Would it be way too San Francisco hippy of us to suggest that Crissy ditch the car and ride her bicycle to the farmers' market to buy cheap, in-season stuff, then do her extreme money saving at the CVS on the way home? Probably. Not everybody can live like that, we know.

But doing errands sans car is more feasible than it sounds, we learned when our car died in 2006. We never replaced that ancient Saab, and the combination of a large messenger bag and 16-speed Fuji has served us fine ever since. Why pick up another reliance (on coupons) to pay for the gasoline reliance you may not need anyway? Divorcing the car has left us free to spend more money on higher quality goods in other areas. Like $6 asparagus in May. No, that's still ridiculous.

Coupon queen spends $10/week on family groceries [Boing Boing]
If I Didn't See It With My Own Eyes... [11Alive]

[Photo: Jimforest/flickr]

• What are you favorite everyday dining spots in the area? [Chowhound]

• Chains are taking over South Miami. [Chowhound]

• There are some really great recommendations for fishmongers and seafood markets here. [Chowhound]

• Shh don't tell anyone, but global food prices fell in April [BBC]
• Bush farm bill veto to fail; BigMac, Bama & Billary miss the vote [WaPo]
• Blind item: which country on the brink of civil war faces starvation? [NYTimes]
• Wal-Mart to bravely start serving food in its small-format UK stores [Reuters]
• Food purveyors too economically fragile to display at restaurant show [Trib]
• Dry dog food has been identified as a potential salmonella vector [FOX]

Of the many tragicomic sidelines to the 2008 election, two bargain-basement bourbon makers are fighting a publicity stunt "war" over presidential candidates.

Connecticut's Jeremiah Weed Bourbon, a cult favorite of United States Air Force fighter pilots, recently accused fellow bargain whiskey Evan Williams of playing favorites in the 2008 election by sending complementary bottles of bourbon to noted shot lover Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Via the "Mr. Jeremiah Weed Speaks" blog, the distillery accused Evan Williams of trying to sway Kentucky voters:

"It has now come to my attention that my good friends at Evan Williams Bourbon have sent bottles of their product to Senators Clinton and Obama in the hope that they will be seen drinking Evan Williams when they come to Kentucky in the coming weeks for the Presidential primary election. [...] Evan Williams bourbon is clearly distraught over the fact that in Indiana, Senator Clinton chose to sip a whiskey that was not Evan Williams bourbon. This obviously caused Evan Williams to resort to political ploys to try to win the favor of Senators Obama and Clinton when they visit Kentucky, and in turn, unfairly influence the fine citizens there."

Naturally, Jeremiah Weed decided to launch a Bourbon Primary that happened to ignore Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark and... err... every other brand of bourbon besides Jeremiah Weed and Evan Williams.

So how did Evan Williams fire back? They decided to dismiss Jeremiah Weed's salvo as "erroneous and disingenuous":

"Craig Beam, 7th generation Master Distiller at Heaven Hill, America's largest independent family-owned spirits producer, recently sent bottles of Evan Williams, America's second-largest selling Kentucky Bourbon, to Democratic Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and presumptive GOP nominee John McCain. [...] Mr. Weed, or the blogger that assumes his identity, accuses us of trying to 'unfairly influence' Kentucky voters by 'trying to win the favor of Senators Obama and Clinton' [...] They fail to mention that we also sent a bottle of Evan Williams to Senator McCain, specifically to make the gesture evenhanded and bi-partisan. So clearly the only favor I'm trying to win is preventing the appearance of a bottle of Canadian Whisky on the Kentucky campaign trail. This also all sounds a bit suspect, considering that the folks with Jeremiah Weed also sent bottles to the candidates, according to their spokesman in an April 17th article in Advertising Age."

In case you're wondering, Craig Beam is descended from Jim Beam's first cousin. And the Advertising Age article can be found here, complete with a taste tester calling 100-proof Jeremiah Wood "sugary-sweet" and "girl bourbon."

So, yes, it's all very stupid and reeks of publicity stuntdom. But these two drink makers are going to the bank on it.

Jeremiah Weed [Official Site]
Evan Williams [Official Site]

Things are not looking good for the West Palm Beach-based Roadhouse Grill. Yesterday the company got court approval to liquidate its assets, which mainly include the leases of its 20 remaining restaurants.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Hyman granted a motion by Roadhouse to use liquidation provisions of Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy law, according to court papers filed Wednesday.

"There remains no ability for the debtor to continue operations as the debtor's only asset was the remaining 20 leased stores," Roadhouse said.

The company said it failed to cure defaults on the leases by May 9 in accordance with a May 5 court order allowing it to assume the leases. Roadhouse said a $1.3 million loan from MCF Development LLC didn't come in time to make the payments.

Roadhouse and RHG Acquisition Corp., owner of 85.5 percent of Roadhouse Grill shares, filed for court protection for the second time on Oct. 7. It listed assets and debt of less than $100 million in a Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in West Palm Beach.

Roadhouse Grill gets court OK to liquidate [Bloomberg News via Palm Beach Post]
Roadhouse Grill [Official Site]

Photo: edublogger/flickr

Does that stand for public service announcement or a punishing stomach attack? We don't know. Probably a little of both. Point is, there are two fast food giveaways today.

First, McDonalds is trying to drum up interest in its new Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, basically a copy of Chick Fil A's chicken sandwich: a fried fillet, buttered bun and pickle slices. They're giving these things out until 7 p.m. with the purchase of a medium or large drink. They were also giving out the breakfast version this morning — basically the same sandwich but on a biscuit — but it's too late for that.

Also today, Dunkin Donuts is giving out free iced coffees. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. you can get a free 16-oz. iced coffee at participating locations.

So now you know. Do with this information what you will.

McDonald's Giving Away Chicken Sandwiches; Dunkin' Donuts Handing Out Iced Coffee [Serious Eats]
Dunkin' Donuts Keeps America Running With Second Annual Free Iced Coffee Day On May 15 [Press Release]
Free Southern Chicken Today At McDonald's [Freep]
McDonald's Nutrition Facts [Official Site]
[Photo: McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Sandwich via pcopp001/flickr]

• Victoria Pesce Elliott visits Domo Japones and for the most part enjoys it. Anyone else think it took her a while to get to it? It's been open several months, and it's in a trendy district; we would've thought she'd have visited it already. At any rate, three stars. [Miami Herald]

• The Mint Leaf is very good, but it's also pricey. Lee Klein especially recommends the murg tandoori. [Miami New Times]

• The Herald's Broward roundup today highlights some barbecue options for Memorial Day weekend: Renegade Barbeque, Jack's Bar-B-Q Smokehouse and Texas Hold 'Em in Fort Lauderdale. We're amused by the enraged comments left with the article by Miami residents who cannot believe that the BBQ joints mentioned are all in Broward. It's the Broward roundup, people. Says it right above the headline. [Miami Herald]

• Gail Shepherd provided a convenient summary of Cut 432 at the end of her review: "Food's great. Place is noisy. Sorta expensive. Really crowded. Cool customers. Nice service. Lots of wine. Skip the sauce." Sounds about right. We're thinking a Kobe burger sounds really good right about now... [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• House passes lumbering Farm Bill with 75%, for better or worse [NYTimes]
• Foie gras prohibition ends in Chicago; it was sort of fun [Tribune]
• BS: Bush admin's claim of biofuel's small role in global food crisis [AP]
• High prices force non-poor people to eat cheap fatty foods [ABCNews]
• Cookie-pushing girl scout unloads record 17k boxes on lardy MI [USAToday]

To celebrate, we're going to suggest a few spots in each of your respective cities in which to indulge in foie gras tonight.

• Foie gras is all over New York City menus, but if you want just a taste of it, try a tapa-sized version with five types of onions at Casa Mono.

• In Miami, head over to Michy's, where there are two foie gras appetizers offered: one with cherry jam and brioche crisps and another with a corn pancake and maple syrup.

• Boston's much-celebrated O Ya offers an appetizer of foie gras with balsamic chocolate kabayaki, raisin cocoa pulp and aged sake, which sounds pretty amazing.

• Michael Mina in San Francisco serves seared foie gras with huckleberry gastrique and endive, plus some sauces of pickled strawberries and poached rhubarb.

• Philadelphia's Le Bec-Fin has a pressed foie gras terrine on the menu, with artichokes and a small salad.

Chicago overturns foie gras ban [Chicago Tribune]

Photo, from the 2006 farewell to foie gras dinner at mk: brady frequent traveler and eater/Flickr

Jaguar [MenuPages]
Jaguar [Official Site]

Photo: Masala Cha/Flickr

Here's how this went: We were going to tell you about this weird plan in Britain to secretly videotape everybody who buys cigarettes and alcohol. Creepy! But then we got distracted looking at these adorable pictures of penguin-shaped dumplings and almost immediately started wondering what penguin meat actually tastes like. Ever seen it on a menu? Yeah, us either.

There are a lot of joke sites out there regarding penguin meat. Apparently people think it is funny to eat the little creatures, and granted, it sort of is. After sorting through "press releases" from the Goliath Corp and the embarrassingly named Bud Ice Freedom Fighters, we discovered that penguins are actually protected and United States citizens are specifically prohibited from eating them.

But that doesn't mean people haven't. This account of an early Antarctic expedition cites Dr. Fredrick A. Cook, ship's surgeon of the Belgica, a Belgian ship captained by Adrien de Gerlache, which sailed from Antwerp in 1897: "If it's possible to imagine a piece of beef, odiferous cod fish and a canvas-backed duck roasted together in a pot, with blood and cod-liver oil for sauce, the illustration would be complete."

Another account, of the 1902-1904 Scottish Naval Antarctic Expedition aboard the Scotia, gave a more optimistic mention of penguin meat: "Once the unusual taste of penguin meat had become familiar, it proved to be a great favourite: fried and stewed, or as a basis for soup and curry."

Overall, though, penguin doesn't seem to have caught on in the least with those not on Antarctic expeditions. That's fine by us. They sound gross and impractical. We'll take a balut any day.

London Supermarket Secretly Videotapes Alcohol/Cigarette Buyers [Boing Boing]
Photo Of The Day: Penguin Dumplings [Required Eating]
Penguin latest food - available in abundance soon [Goliathcorp]
Antarctic Explorers: Adrien de Gerlache [South-Pole.com]
Voyage of the Scotia 1902-04 [Glasgow Digital Library]
Photo: Men with dogs and a cage of penguins at the bow of an ice-bound ship, 1902-1904 [Glasgow Digital Library]

We spotted this charming sign while walking around downtown Dadeland the other day and had to stop in to check it out. Sgt Pepper's Cafe is an excellent addition to the up-and-coming dining scene in the area, which is dominated by chain restaurants, like Cheesecake Factory and Chili's. The spacious dining room features high exposed ceilings, several plasma TVs, and an urban chic decor. Customers can order sandwiches, made with Boar's Head deli meats, burgers, fries, and wings among other savory things. The cafe also offers a full service coffee bar making your basic cup of joe as well as specialty drinks. But Sgt. Pepper Cafe offers more than just convenient dining; it also serves as a pop-culture mecca for adults who like to play. On the day we stopped in, Sgt. Pepper hosted a Guitar Hero tournament. These kinds of events regularly bring adults together over wine, beer and video games for Madden Mondays and karaoke nights. You can check out a video of one of these nights here. The nights for different events vary so you may want to call ahead to find out. Sports celebrities have also been known to frequent this eatery; you can see their pictures by the register.

Sgt Pepper's Cafe [MenuPages]
Sgt Pepper's Cafe [Official Site]

• Farm bill vote expected today, veto expected tomorrow, neither good [Reuters]
• Food aid bill: by the way, poor countries, you have to use GMO seeds! [Tribune]
• UK's Minister of Climate Change undermines Ramsay's food mile claims [Mirror]
• Undocumented immigrant worker bust at big Kosher meat plant in Iowa [NYTimes]
• Your sugar preferences, consumption may be a genetic predisposition [ScienceDaily]
• North Korea has a predictably interesting take on global food crisis [RedOrbit]
• ADB to African countries: please cool it with the food export bans! [Reuters]
• Should pet foods have calorie listings? What's Spot's RDA, exactly? [DMN]

It's hard to know what to make of this Nation's Restaurant News graphic, which shows that Asian food, and therefore Asian restaurants, significantly outpaces all other restaurants in consumer satisfaction by six different metrics; even "accuracy of order" in a sector of the industry notorious for its employment of non-native English speakers! In case anyone thinks this is a statistical anomaly, NPR points out that "[t]here are about 40,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States — more than the number of McDonald's and Taco Bells combined." Add to this the smaller but burgeoning population of Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean restaurants, and you've got yourself a story. (By the way, we can only assume they just mean East Asian and not also South Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants. Because that would be ridiculous.)

So what accounts for the apparent superiority of Asian restaurants? It's hard to approach this question without making the types of sweeping generalizations that NPD did in constructing this poll. But if we had to paint with broad strokes, we'd say:

1) Immigrant work ethic: many Asian restaurants in the United States are owned and operated by recent immigrants. The common narrative about new immigrants to the United States is that they work really hard to attain their slice of the American pie (literally, in this case). Hard workers run better restaurants, provide better service, and perform better on surveys.

2) Heavy competition among similarly structured restaurants: your average Chinese take out spot does not resemble a top-end Japanese fusion restaurant, but within the categories, there's substantial repetition. We go through a lot of Chinese take out menus and they hew very closely to a model — thirty different preparations available with four different proteins. Egg rolls, spare rib, wonton soup? Name a Chinese restaurant that doesn't offer those. Southeast Asian restaurants behave in a similar fashion, although their canons have not been normalized to nearly the same extent as Chinese restaurants. Now, Asian cuisines are as complex and diverse as any on Earth, but only a limited selection of dishes have become successful in America, and those are the ones you see on menu after menu. The point of all this is that, if any given Chinese restaurant's menu is the same as the other, it creates a highly competitive system that rewards quick, competent service. Restaurants that do not meet a certain ever-increasing standard disappear within short order. Overall quality is high in such an environment, and the consumer recognizes that.

3) Lack of frame of reference: statistically, most people who participated in this survey did not eat home-cooked Asian meals growing up. If all you know from Asian food is what you get in restaurants, that will tend to bias you toward what Asian restaurants make. Not having to compete against Mother is certainly a leg up.

4) Asian food is especially delicious: this is not exactly an objective opinion, but let's (optimistically) call it an expert one. Boy do we love Asian food! Perhaps more of a confirmation of the survey's results than an explanation of them.

We're not all that surprised by the results, even if the magnitude of difference is striking. The good news is, now that a discrete subgroup of restaurants has been identified as successfully meeting consumer expectations, it should be easy enough for the rest of the pack to emulate it.

Chinese Restaurant Workers in U.S. Face Hurdles [NPR]

[Graphic: Nation's Restaurant News]

While listening to NPR and slowly getting ready for work this morning, we got to thinking: Could one judge presidential candidates by the amount they tip? Answer: Hell yes.

Turns out there is plenty of information online, not only about the tipping practices of our presidential candidates, but about celebrities in general, and even average Joes. More on that in a minute.

To answer the initial query, here's how the candidates stack up, gratuity-wise:
-According to TMZ, Barak Obama recently tipped $18 on a $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon in North Carolina.
-There's some debate over whether Hillary Clinton did or did not tip a waitress who may or may not have given her and her staff a free meal in a Sioux City diner.
-Virtually no serious information exists about John McCain's tipping habits, but Johnmccainisyourjalopy insists he tips 9%. Whatevs.

On the non-political side, a couple sites dish the dirt about celebrities and, like we mentioned, normal people. According to Stained Apron, Willie Nelson is a good tipper, but we could have told you that. Derober, which has a celebrity tipping database, reports that Kirsten Dunst stiffed a server after receiving a free meal: "I guess she multiplied 20% into zero and screwed me."

And finally, in case you ever get tempted to pull a similar stunt, there exists www.lousytippers.com, which keeps a database of bad tippers' names and cities. Be careful you don't end up on there.

Holy Schlitz - Obama's a Big Tipper! [TMZ]
Tempest in a Tip Jar [Washington Post]
Johnmccainisyourjalopy [Official Site]
Celebrity Tippers: The Saints and the Scum [Stained Apron]
Kirsten Dunst should go to tipping rehab too [Derober]
Lousy Tipper Database [Lousytippers]
Photo: Consumatron [Flickr]

The Smoking Rabbit is closed, according to a commenter over at consumable Joy. That sure didn't take long. Given how empty the place was when we visited, we're not surprised that they couldn't survive an economic downturn. Still, we'll miss those shoestring fries.

The same commenter also noted that it's been replaced by Bellini Italian Bistro. No details yet, but we should have them shortly.

Poof Goes the Restaurant: More Every Day [consumable Joy]
Can The Smoking Rabbit Survive On Ocean Drive? [MP: South Florida]
The Smoking Rabbit [MenuPages]
The Smoking Rabbit [Official Site]

Cafe Tu Tu Tango in Coconut Grove, a fun spot for tapas and drinks, always offers something a bit unusual to complement your dining experience. This weekend we headed out for drinks and a light dinner to celebrate graduation, and were treated to a samba show as well. The feathers and tight white pants weren't the only things shaking. Tu Tu Tango is also promoting a Domain de Canton's new Ginger flavored liqueur as a margarita, a mojito, or a martini. We tried the Canton Ginger Mojito and found it to be just as refreshing as a regular mojito with a warm finish that tickles the back of the throat.

Cafe Tu Tu Tango [MenuPages]
Cafe Tu Tu Tango [Official Site]

• Burma's junta, large and evil as it is, hoarding all the good food aid [AP]
• Did you know the junta forced everyone to plant semi-useless jatropha nut? [AFP]
• Food science's new artificial mouth to make tastier products for you [NYTimes]
• Liberia bans food exports in a move sure to go over well with its neighbors [RTT]
• McDonald's has decreed that you will eat more fried chicken for breakfast [Trib]
• In antipodal Australia, beer trumps children in battle for seat belts [BBC]

The logical follow-up to black metal sweets, which are hilariously evil in spite of the fact that they are cake, would be those sweet things that look like other things. We laughed right in the middle of our crowded office when confronted with this picture, from Serious Eats, of a reversed caja china scenario:

And we just kept laughing as we perused other non-sweet-looking sweets...

Such as this kitty litter cake, from Andrea James, complete with Tootsie Roll turds:

Or this ambitious, Battlestar Galactica-inspired Cylon Raider cake:

In a similar vein, Flickr user tim d posted this Dalek cake:

And, finally, there's the incredibly gross-looking thorax cake, courtesy of They're Coming To Get You Barbara:

The intersection of food and pop music provides some of the best cocktail party conversation / refreshment fodder. Be it the Janet Jackson breast cupcake that helped launch the Amateur Gourmet to national fame, the amazingly large collection of Beatles-themed candy or the web-TV phenomenon Cookin' with Coolio, food-themed pop and pop-themed food are always delicious.

But we felt transported to another, darker realm when we read about the website The Black Oven, a Nordic black metal-themed baking blog featured today on Boing Boing. With recipe titles like Where The Chocolate Beats Incessant, Le Petit Gateau du Les Legions Noire, and Frostbitten Molasses Cookies Entombed with Ginger, even your most devoted metal head can now enjoy a sweet treat without losing his or her edge.

Our mother likes to point out how nobody can really look all that scary while holding a pink bakery box. Well, Ma, that may no longer be true. If this evil baking trend catches on, we'll soon be feasting on "bloody elves hearts" and "shattered black souls" instead of plain old jelly donuts and chocolate chip cookies, and the pink bakery box will fall in line right behind the upside down cross as a symbol of the black metal underworld. Muahahaha!

The Black Oven [Official Site]
Black Metal Cupcakes [Boing Boing]
Janet Jackson Breast Cupcakes [Amateur Gourmet]
Beatles Incredible Edibles [Rarebeatles]
Cookin' with Coolio [My Damn Channel]
Photo: Courtesy of The Black Oven

All photos by Nathan Hale and Carolina Bolado.

We spotted this "coming soon" sign this weekend at Coconut Grove. From the looks of the inside (no tables yet, but a bench and a counter), this restaurant is still a ways from opening. But we look forward to having a sushi spot in the Grove. Although after reading what the Coconut Grove Grapevine had to say, we are questioning just how soon we will be eating sashimi in the shade.

What's up with Akashi? [Coconut Grove Grapevine]
Akashi Japanese Restaurant - South Miami [MenuPages]

With the spring semester finally over, it is time to get out and try a few things out of our Coral Gables/South Miami comfort zone. This week, Jen the Carnivore, a fellow grad student, joined us for a leisurely bite at the Lost & Found Saloon on NW 36th street in Wynwood. We were looking for a little culinary adventure and decided to heed the sage advice of Paula from Mango & Lime who first tried Lost and Found Saloon in December. She raved about the saloon’s fresh Southwestern cuisine and Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat Beer, which is delicious by the way — a nice blueberry nose with a clean wheat finish, really a tasty beer to complement the smokiness of the chipotle — but I digress. Not only is it a fantastic place to eat, but the décor is a feast for the eyes. As you first walk into the saloon, you feel caressed by an array of textures and colors each carefully selected to complement the quirky and casual atmosphere. A long bar stretches the length of one room of the restaurant and features blonde wood and leather upholstered accents that contrast with the terracotta walls. Behind the bar, a full size cowhide, carved cacti, and longhorn beer taps finish off the eclectic look. The tables, bar stools, and chairs are crafted from rough-hewn wood and are not only aesthetically pleasing, but surprisingly comfortable. We sat in the long back room next to a nearly life-size poster of John Wayne marveling at the sliding bathroom doors (a stroke of genius in the tight space) and jamming to the Cherry-Poppin’ Daddies as we waited for our food. The feast for the eyes turns into a party for your mouth when the dishes arrive. Jen opted for tacos with chipotle-seared chicken and steak add-ons. I started with the Baja Chicken Enchilada soup, a hearty tomato-based soup which sparkles with the saloon’s signature cheese mixture (shredded manchego, monterey jack, and cheddar cheeses), as well as the crabmeat-stuffed endive: a savory mix of crab meat, chipotle mayonnaise, corn and tomatoes. The portions are just the right size and left us both feeling pleasantly full. The saloon offers quite a few vegetarian options and a variety of egg dishes, making the saloon a good choice for a morning brunch. Take-out and delivery are available as are a variety of micro-brews, wines and homemade desserts.

Happy I found Lost and Found Saloon [mango&lime]
Lost & Found Saloon [MenuPages]
Lost & Found Saloon [Official Site]

• Now that Congress finally finished farm bill, Bush to veto it [USAToday]
• Maybe a million Burmese storm victims going largely without aid [Bloomberg]
• In Canada, gov't support for ethanol subsidies waning rapidly [G&M]
• Rice production rising globally, but it won't stop rising prices [CNA]
• Crop dusting in California a lot more dangerous than it sounds [NYTimes]

Why don't you...

•...treat yourself to a nice dinner before the symphony? [MP: Boston]
•...speedily prepare a monkfish? [MP: Chicago]
•...shop at a posh new gourmet store? [MP: Philadelphia]
•...check out a new art exhibition? [MP: San Francisco]
•...jaunt off to Buenos Aires? [MP: South Florida]

Although West Kendall is most well known as a morass of strip malls and mega-marts, surprisingly it offers some excellent and hidden dining gems at discount-store prices. Take Off the Grille Bistro, for one. This storefront café is wedged in an unassuming strip-mall between a Christian bookstore and a Peruvian food market, just spittin’ distance from a CVS. However, behind those sheet glass windows, an unsurpassed culinary experience awaits. Founded by two brothers with culinary school training, the café offers made to order gourmet meals at fast-food prices. Inconceivable, you say? This food has flavor and flair. The presentation never disappoints. The steak fajita wrap (pictured), a generous portion of beef, peppers, onions, and cheese, is grilled perfectly and served with artfully cut plantain chips and a side salad. Our personal favorite (so far!) is the Mediterranean salad with grilled shrimp. One of the rare times that you will find shellfish and dairy paired, the salad perfectly contrasts the saltiness of the feta cheese with perfectly grilled succulent shrimp, hot off the barbie. If you just can’t get enough of Off-the-Grille, the café also offers a catering menu.

Off the Grille Bistro [MenuPages]
Off the Grille Bistro [Official Site]

If you're a regular visitor to these pages, you've probably seen a little of our coverage of the recent struggles to keep street food a part of the culture in Los Angeles. Though Menupages doesn't have a Los Angeles blog (yet), we pay attention because an attack on street food there could be a harbinger to other attacks on street food in the United States. And we love street food, be it tacos, bacon-wrapped hot dogs or just good old pretzels and roasted nuts.

That's why we were thrilled when Epicurious directed us to this lengthy article in Concierge.com: The World's Best Street Food. From safe stalwarts like Mexican tacos and Vietnamese Banh Mi to culinary adventures like Moroccan sheep's head, we found this in-depth guide to be some of the best in armchair traveling/eating.

Epi-Log's James Oliver Cury takes a shot at it for not including pizza or kebabs, but c'mon, the freaking Lonely Planet will direct you to those things. Guidebooks tend to skimp on things like tripe sandwiches, however, which is why we're thankful for the weird and subjective nature of this list.

World's Best Street Food [Concierge.com]
World's Best Street Food? [Epicurious]
Photo: Gerard Van der Leun [Flickr]

• Burma changes its mind about letting in foreign aid workers [NYTimes]
• After the junta was caught stealing supplies, WFP halts shipments [AP]
• Just as a reminder, most of Burma's farmland is under water [Bloomberg]
• New idea: lacking air power, the junta can't stop food drops [AFP]
• It's really Hate On Food Aid Day: WFP worker killed in N Kenya [Reuters]

Pabst Blue Ribbon, the beer that's somehow turned from a working class standby into a hipster fashion accessory, has made it into two separate news stories lately.

First: The PBR Coffin (shown above). Bill Bramanti, a 67-year-old beer fan in suburban Chicago, ordered a coffin shaped like a Pabst Blue Ribbon can to use when he dies "100 years" from now. To celebrate, Bramanti threw a party for his funeral home and his friends — a party centered around showing off his coffin. Of course, he also used the coffin to store the beer cans at the party:

"The silver coffin is laminated with the design of a red, white and blue PBR beer can. The inside contains a black liner to prevent seepage so Bramanti can store cold brews in it until he winds up inside. On Saturday, it was filled with ice and PBR. Bramanti thinks it can fit about 15 cases of beer and 150 pounds of ice.

"I wouldn't expect anything less for my dad," said Bramanti's daughter Cathy, who was one of about 25 people munching on roast beef sandwiches and sipping PBR inside a 2,000-square-foot barn Bramanti built in South Chicago Heights for parties. "He's a man that loves to entertain. He likes it when people are happy. This is what he does. There's all kinds of things in here."

USA Today has more.

Meanwhile, a certain Mr. Barack Obama has publicly declared his love for PBR. At a campaign appearance at the Raleigh Times pub in North Carolina, Obama proudly quaffed a Pabst — and thereby upstaged Hillary and the Boilermaker one last time.

Man plans to be buried in Pabst Blue Ribbon coffin [Southtown Star]
Illionis man designs beer can coffin [USA Today]
Obama woos blue collar voters with his beer taste [The Telegraph]

[Image via Southtown Star]

This Friday, Bruce Springsteen and the world-famous E Street Band finally returned to Fort Lauderdale for their tragically deferred, but well-worth-the-wait concert. Getting another chance at a tail-gate, we decided to upgrade our fare with soup, salad, and sandwiches from 1909 Café. The savory chicken bayou sandwich on crusty French bread paired nicely with the soups of the day: lobster bisque and creamy carrot. The carrot was our favorite, nice and buttery with lots of beta-carotene, essential for belting out vibes at the concert. We also enjoyed a lovely pasta salad with artichoke and sun-dried tomatoes, perfect with the lemony-ness of our Blue Moon beer. The culinary adventure didn’t stop at the parking lot, but continued at the Bank Atlantic Center (background). It was our first visit to the BAC, and we were sufficiently awed by the posh-setting. Its array of concert/arena fare well exceeds the usual pretzels, pizza, and popcorn found at other venues. These favorites are there to, but the BAC boasts a dessert bar with chocolate cake, cheesecake and key lime pie, as well as several swanky bars featuring premium drinks. The leather seats are just the place to enjoy your concert goodies as you sit back to enjoy the show.

1909 Cafe [MenuPages]
1909 Cafe [Official Site]
Bank Atlantic Center [Official Site]

So here it is months after publication and you still haven't read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. Everybody else seems to have at least skimmed it, but you're still working on Omnivore's Dilemma (and haven't made a particularly impressive go at that, either).

Never fear. Those tech-savvy gluttons at Google got him to come by for a talk, and have posted said talk on their very own Youtube. It's about an hour long, so don't start it up in order to put off that next project for five more minutes. Maybe watch over lunch. That's what we're going to do because we've got a penchant for guilt.

Michael Pollan At Google [chayday Food Journal/Accidental Hedonist]

• With over 100k confirmed dead, Burma finally accepting food aid from...everyone [Yahoo]
• 2m people in Sadr City running out of food and other supplies no good for anyone [NYTimes]
• North Korea, as out of food as anyone, ended negotiations with US for aid "sincerely" [RadioAU]
• India's banned commodities trading of several foodstuffs, for all the good it'll do [Bloomberg]
• As drumbeat against ethanol intensifies, corn state senators keep plowing away [AO]

We're leaving tonight for a short jaunt to Buenos Aires. It's been five years since we've been to the city of good air, or anywhere in South America for that matter, so we are very excited about returning. We're especially excited about the food, and we expect to return with tales of excellent beef and triple dulce de leche gelato. (The latter was our favorite mid-afternoon snack when we studied abroad there; yes, we were a bit chubbier back then.)

We'll be back on Monday morning; in the meantime, posting will be just a bit lighter than usual.

Photo: Lucypassos [Flickr]

The hole that Burger King was in after the failure to agree to a penny-per-pound increase for tomato workers has just been getting deeper and deeper. Last week, we learned that a vice president in the company wrote some blog posts criticizing the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. There's also talk of some e-mails sent from the BK server that were sympathetic to the group.

And today we learned that Burger King actually hired someone to spy on another group, the Student/Farmworker Alliance, that works with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers:

In March, a woman named Cara Schaffer contacted the Student/Farmworker Alliance, saying she was a student at Broward Community College. Her eagerness aroused suspicions, but she was allowed to join two of the group’s planning sessions. Internet searches by the alliance revealed that she was not a college student.

Ms. Schaffer is the 25-year-old owner of a private security firm. Her company, Diplomatic Tactical Services, seems like the kind of security firm you’d find in one of Carl Hiaasen’s crime thrillers. Last year Ms. Schaffer was denied a private investigator’s license; she had failed to supply the Florida licensing division with proof of “lawfully gained, verifiable experience or training.” Even more unsettling, one of her former subcontractors, Guillermo Zarabozo, is now facing murder charges in United States District Court in Miami for his role in allegedly executing four crew members of a charter fishing boat, then dumping their bodies at sea.

According to the company, the spying was done for security purposes in an effort to prevent any violent acts and ensure the safety of its employees and assets. Which would be justified if the group had a history of violence, which it does not. At all.

So, this could be fun. Sit back, relax, and watch the corporate backpedaling.

Burger King probes e-posts [Miami Herald]
Burger with a Side of Spies [New York Times]
Coalition of Immokalee Workers March Today On BK Headquarters [MP: South Florida]
Burger King [Official Site]

Thank goodness nobody was hurt so we can make jokes like that. Seriously, though, the thought of hundreds of thousands of chili peppers going up in flames is kind of awesome (in the traditional sense, meaning awe-inspiring, not the slang sense meaning good). Here's the story:

HYDERABAD, India - A fire has broken out at one of India’s largest chili markets, burning hundreds of thousands of pounds of chili peppers.

Residents and officials say the burning chili smoke is stinging the eyes and throats of people in Guntur in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

One local official says 150,000 bags of chilies have been destroyed across a 20-hectare area in Saturday’s blaze.

Officials have evacuated nearby residents, and firefighters are still trying to control the flames.

No casualities have been reported. It remains unclear what started the fire.

• Two of the founding fathers of our country, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, are both known to have grown chiles.

• Capsaicin is a colorless, pungent, crystalline compound, C18,H27NO3.

• The shorter the molecular chain, the hotter the pepper.

• One fresh medium sized green chile pod has as much Vitamin C as six oranges.

• One teaspoon of dried red chile powder has the daily requirements of Vitamin A.

• The heat from a chile pepper is concentrated in the interior veins or ribs near the seed heart, not in the seeds as is commonly believed (the seeds taste extra hot because they are in close contact with the hot veins).

• If, when a chile pepper is cut open, the veins have a yellowish orange color in that area, it usually indicates the pepper will be a potent one.

• To date, the hottest chile pepper in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records is the "Red Savina" habanero. It measured an amazing 577,000 Scoville Units.

Giant chili market catches fire in India [Hot Sauce Blog]
Chile Pepper Facts [Cosmic Chile]
Chile Facts [The Chile Pepper Institute, University of New Mexico]
Image: Cosmic Chile

Diners at Moon Thai & Japanese, across the street from the University of Miami, now have a sleek new menu featuring pictures of all of the restaurants signature rolls, appetizers, and entrees. The handy little flipbook is a new take on the restaurant menu and a clever marketing ploy. We went to lunch yesterday for Moon Thai’s fantastic Red Thai curry and just had to order the Popeye Roll, spinach, cucumber, and spicy mayo after seeing it on the menu.

Moon Thai & Japanese [MenuPages]
Moon Thai & Japanese [Official Site]

• UN finally starts moving food to Burmese cyclone victims [ET]
• WFP: let's rebrand it as a "global hunger emergency" [VOA]
• Have you noticed ingredient shifts at your local diner? [AP]
• Attention urban vacant lots: you will be farmland [NYT]
• Ghrelin's role in eating more pervasive than ever! [SD]

Things you know about Myanmar/Burma:

1) On May 3-4, the country's Irrawaddy delta region was hit by a powerful cyclone, killing 22,500 and leaving over 40,000 missing as of publication time (nationwide population: 55 million)

2) Last fall, the ruling military junta cracked down on widespread, monk-lead demonstrations, leading to the political imprisonment of hundreds and quashing hopes of a democratic revolution

3) Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel prize-winning democracy activist, has been under house arrest there for much of the past two decades

Things you may or may not know about Myanmar/Burma:

1) "Myanmar" is a pre-colonial name that the junta encourages you to use, and "Burma" is the somewhat racist colonial appellation that Aung San Suu Kyi prefers, because one really sticks it to the junta that way

2) Until a few days ago, Burma — let's just go with that...stupid junta — was a net exporter of rice, but the country's rice bowl (this is an official term) was storm-surged into oblivion. Maybe China will give them rice?

3) Burma is shunned by most of the world for its human rights violations and narcotics-based export economy. The junta is reasonably good friends with China

Things you don't know about Burma:

1) The junta is being pretty cagey about taking aid from the international community, but you can donate through the Anglican Relief & Development Fund

2) Burma has a unique and wonderful cuisine that's hard to find in the United States but always a joy to come across. It's a natural fusion of Indian, Chinese and South-East Asian traditions, meaning you can get chicken biryiani, durian ice cream and night market rice noodles in a single sitting if you so desire. They even have their own form of tofu, made from chana dal (split, skinless chickpeas) or yellow split pea flour, depending on the ethnic group. Better than soy-based tofu? In many ways. You like dumplings? The Burmese have half-a-dozen indigenous varieties to try. And so forth.

For us, though, the single biggest achievement of the Burmese kitchen is its myriad and exotic salads. Thai salads are more famous, but the Burmese do a job at least as sophisticated throwing raw and pickled vegetables and miscellany together into something greater than the sum of their parts. Observe:

• Pork Ear & Tongue Salad from the recently closed Burmese Cafe in Queens, NY (Jane! Jane! Jane!):

• "Burmese Feast" Tofu Salad from Golden Triangle in Whittier, CA (Tales of an LA Addict):

More salads than you could properly digest, after the jump...

• Burmese Tofu Salad from Nyaung Shwe in Inle Lake, Burma (rheanna2):

• Pickled Tea Leaf Salad, constructed, from Myanmars in Falls Church, VA (bazudaiku):

• Pickled Tea Leaf Salad, deconstructed, from Burma Superstar in San Francisco (isasmitra):

• Pickled Tea Leaf Salad, colorful, from Ko Phayam, Thailand (rheanna2):

• Tomato & Cucumber Salad, available all over the country (mook elliot):

• Unknown Salad involving bamboo from Kyauktan, Burma (Danburg Murmur):

• Champac Flower Salad from Sagaing, Burma (meemalee):

• Pennywort Salad from Yangon, Burma (Danburg Murmur):

You'll note that the salads available in Burma itself are somewhat less elaborate than their expat cousins — a common occurrence for resource-poor countries with important cuisines (cf. Cuba and Ethiopia). Also, Burmese food the world over is on the sour side; just keep it in mind.

The tofu and tea leaf salads are prominent (and delicious), but you basically can't go wrong in the oeuvre. Aside from the restaurants already mentioned, we recommend Cafe Mingala or Village Mingala in New York (a mini-chain!), Rangoon in Philadelphia, and Mandalay in San Francisco. Consider it an international civic duty. And/or, again, donate!

• Alesh reviews Pepe's Cafe, a small place in Key West that features great fish and some excellent pies. [Critical Miami]

• If you're in Wellington and in need of barbecue, Smokey Bones might just do the trick. [FoodTastic!]

• Check out the photos from Paula's pig roast. They stuffed pork shoulders with ham, bacon, guava shells and prunes and then rubbed brown sugar on it and poured malta over the whole thing. Yum! [mango&lime]

• A BBQ question: if Tom Jenkins Bar-B-Q is closed, where do you go? [Chowhound]

Chow today linked to this handy roundup of local health departments. Many make their scores available online, but some require you to ask for them. This information is public, and the departments' phone numbers and addresses are at least available, so if you're really curious you can find out just what's up with that weird aftertaste in your soup. Or you may not want to.

There are a lot of diet-related online tools to help you count calories and fat, but the USDA's What's In The Food You Eat is the most comprehensive we've found for counting not only the bad stuff, but the vitamins and minerals as well. It doesn't list every single food in the world, but there's a good overview.

You're right to worry about pesticides in your food. Some of those things can be downright lethal. That's their job, after all. Here's an EPA write-up on their guidelines for pesticide levels in American foods. Additionally, the World Health Organization has this page on chemical risks in food, where you can check out global statistics.

How Many Insect Parts and Rodent Hairs are Allowed in Your Food? [Sixwise]
Restaurant Health Inspection Scores Online [Allfoodbusiness]
What's In The Food You Eat [USDA]
Setting Tolerances for Pesticide Residues in Food [EPA]
Chemical Risks in Food [WHO]
Photo: Perceval de Mons [Flickr]

• Guess which President's daughter's wedding's going to be organic! [AP]
• Whole wheat pasta service restored after Harvard student riot [BH]
• Myanmar cyclone kills 22k, shuts down the exporter's rice region [AFP]
• Thailand had an idea about a rice OPEC, but then backed off [Guardian]
• Letter: "it's not ethanol's fault that people eat too much and are wasteful" [Tribune]
• Editorial: "nevertheless, ethanol is doing more harm than good" [NYTimes]

A few weeks ago, Los Angeles County supervisors passed a new law restricting taco truck vendors from selling their goods in any one location for more than an hour. Breaking the law means a $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail. Although taco trucks were already required to move every 30 minutes, the punishment was a mere $60 ticket, if any at all. The ordinance "protect[s] the health and welfare" of LA county residents, says Gloria Molina, the County Supervisor who proposed the new law.

This being the future, pro-taco-truck activists have gained a lot of traction online, circulating petitions through a website called Save Our Taco Trucks and grabbing headlines in the L.A. Times among other publications. The Times covered not only the issue but it's galvanizing effect on desk-chair activists:

Zane Selvans, 32, of Pasadena offers an explanation. "There are at least two distinct populations that visit the taco truck," Selvans said. "There are the native Angelenos, and then there's the kind of hipster population who think it's cool."

Both groups have organized -- on the Internet, through blogs and social networking sites -- to get the law repealed. In a way that issues such as homelessness and healthcare have failed to do, the taco truck seems to have galvanized residents who until now didn't pay much attention to the workings of local government.

Save The Taco! [Bon Appetit]
Save Our Taco Trucks [Official Site]
For the love of L.A. taco trucks [L.A. Times]
The Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog: So Good It's Illegal [L.A. Weekly]
Photo: Courtesy of saveourtacotrucks.org

It's Cinco de Mayo. We hear it's not a huge holiday in Mexico, but on this side of the border, you're pretty much obligated to consume Mexican fare and drink as much beer as possible on this day. It's a Monday this year, so it's probably best to not overdo it on the beer front, since the office is not the best place to nurse a hangover. Here, we offer a few good places to get your fill of Mexican food tonight:

• Don Burrito in Kendall serves up some great taquitos and fajitas, and tonight they've got mariachis after 8:30 p.m. and a special on the Coronas: six for $15.

• Rosa Mexicano in Palm Beach Gardens is doing a special Cinco de Mayo menu that will have eight choices of appetizers, 10 entrees and a handful of desserts, all a la carte. The regular margaritas will be available, but tonight you can get them prepared tableside, just like the guacamole.

• The party starts at 5 p.m. at Cantina Laredo in Plantation. There will be a tent, a deejay, lots of food and plenty of drinks: $7 margaritas and $2 beers.

• Cheen Huaye is also hosting a party outside with a mariachi band after 8 p.m. and plenty of beer. They're also featuring a special menu with tuna shrimp ceviche, homemade chicken tamales and carne asada, among other things.

Photo, of the pomegranate margarita at Rosa Mexicano: yummyinthetummyblog [Flickr]

That lunchtime burger just seems like it tastes better when delivered in a brightly painted fuel-efficient little car, don't you think? The cars in the photo are the ScootCoupes — little two-seaters that top out at 35 mph and get 80 mpg — owned by Roxy's Pub in West Palm Beach. The restaurant uses them for local deliveries, according to this Sun-Sentinel article. We find them absolutely adorable.

South Floridians seek cheap wheels as gas prices soar [Sun-Sentinel]
ScootCoupe [Official Site]
Roxy's Pub [MenuPages]
Roxy's Pub [Official Site]

Photo: Scott Fisher for the Sun-Sentinel

Today is two things: It is Cinco De Mayo, and it is probably the last day you can pick up something for Mom and get it in the mail in time to reach her by next Sunday. You know what you do? You send her Mexican food.

It sounds impossible, we know, but you're probably going to eat Mexican food tonight to celebrate the victory of Mexican forces over the French in the battle of Puebla in 1862. While you won't want to pack something home from the restaurant and save it for your mother all week, we think you may be in the spirit of fiesta today, so have collected some web resources to help get that burrito into Mom's hands by Mother's Day. Put in your web order or make your road trip plans now and that guacamole and margarita will taste so much better tonight.

We can't speak to the quality of the food at Burrito Brothers, but their mailing service does include burritos and other freeze-able products. Even a sub-par burrito would be a treat by the mail, and this way, all mom has to do is heat the thing up.

Aside from sending whole, cooked food products through the mail, probably the most effective way to get your mother a Mexican feast from afar is to send its individual components and maybe instructions on assembly, if required. You could shop at your local Mexican market and pack them yourself or, if you do not have one nearby, think about ordering some (admittedly over-priced) sauces and whatnot from Mexican Food and Gifts To Go. It may not be quite as fun as delivering whole burritos, but we think that, for the right woman, a case of salsa counts as a real gift, and not just a novelty. Something to consider.

Finally, if you're driving or taking the train to visit Mom, and want to bring her the real item, fresh from your local taqueria and still hot, the good folks at Burritophile have perfected a technique. Basically, it involves storing the burrito/tacos/torta in a cooler with a hot brick. This works for at least two hours, according to Burritophile.

Burrito Bros. Taco Co [Official Site]
Mexican Food and Gifts To Go [Official Site]
How to Keep Your Burrito Hot on a Road Trip [Burritophile]
Cinco De Mayo [Wikipedia]
Photo: Starbuckguy [Flickr]

• Food riots in Mogadishu indicative of Somalia's dysfunction [NYTimes]
• Bush's remarks on role of India in food crisis irk Indians [Guardian]
• In an era of confectionery corporate mergers, whither Tootsie? [Tribune]
• Suburban Chicago man commissions Pabst Blue Ribbon coffin [AP]
• 100 tons of frozen meat and poultry might be contaminated! [Reuters]

• We count five wines served with this dinner. Niiiiice. [MP: Boston]

• Birthday vacations probably involve a drink or a dozen. [MP: Chicago]

• Is a pretzel dog the ultimate drunk food? Maybe! [MP: Philadelphia]

• Cure your hangover before you fly with huevos rancheros at the Oakland International Airport. [MP: San Francisco]

• Florida has vineyards? Who knew? [MP: South Florida]

• Tere tells of a new quesadilla spot open on Ponce in the Gables. [Coral Gables]

• Carrabba's Italian Grill is still a crowd-pleaser. [FoodTastic!]

• Sara's been fishing for her own dinner in the Keys, but letting someone else cook it for her. Sounds like a good deal to us! [All Purpose Dark]

• A chowhound provides some great ideas for breakfast in Boca Raton. [Chowhound]

• And here's some very helpful advice for a trip down to the Keys. [Chowhound]

Remember when you were in grade school and, on the occasional Friday, usually after lunch, your teacher would dim the lights and while away the afternoon with a barely relevant movie? Well, that's us today. It's a lazy sort of morning here at MenuPages and we have a lot of housekeeping to do. So here's one of our favorite restaurant-related clips from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, to waste approximately seven and a half minutes of your precious time. Enjoy!

Something is very, very wrong in the Mark Militello South Florida empire. Three weeks ago, his restaurants on South Beach and in West Palm Beach closed, and yesterday the Las Olas location unexpectedly shuttered:

The mood among employees at Mark's Las Olas on Thursday was somber.

"We're all heartbroken. It's really a shame," said John Marron, a Mark's Las Olas server for 14 years.

Marron said a manager notified him of the closure Thursday but offered no explanation for the decision. "Everyone's kept in the dark," he said by phone, noting that employees had been fearing the announcement since the other locations closed.

Militello on Thursday downplayed the newsworthiness of the closing. "This whole thing is so unimportant," he said, when asked about the string of restaurant closures.

Your last option in the area for Militello's cuisine is Mark's Mizner Park in Boca Raton.

Las Olas restaurant becomes third in Mark's group to close in recent weeks [Sun-Sentinel]
Afternoon Roundup: Mark's South Beach Closing Tonight [MP: South Florida]
Mark's Las Olas [MenuPages]
Mark's Mizner Park [MenuPages]
Mark's Las Olas [Official Site]

Photo: Babyfro [Flickr]

Buttercream Cupcakes and Coffee [Official Site]

Look out Daniel Boulud — a $167 hamburger (GBP85) has debuted at select Burger Kings in London.

Burger King's new Kobe beef burger will be topped with blue cheese and will be sold at the chain's Kensington and Chelsea locations in London. According to Lucy Barrett of British mag Marketing, it's all just one gonzo PR stunt:

"The idea of a burger that no one buys is not as ludicrous as it seems. Burger King will use it to promote a gap in perception between it and McDonald’s. It could lead consumers to reassess the quality of the brand."

The burger, which will use wagyu beef, was inspired by a similarly priced truffles-and-brie sandwich that UK chain Selfridges was supposed to roll out. However, there was one change made to BK's sandwich: they ditched the idea of topping it with foie gras after encountering pressure from PETA.

No word about how the animal rights activists feel about all that yummy, yummy beef.

Burger King Goes Black Tie [Portfolio]
Burger King to offer exclusive London burger [Marketing]
Burger King agrees to drop foie gras from GBP85 burger [Marketing]
It's a whopper of a price [The Sun]

• Check out the photo of the lobster pot pie at Bourbon Steak. It just looks so decadent. Victoria Pesce Elliott names the restaurant the best steakhouse in town. [Miami Herald]

• Lee Klein checks out taco truck-turned restaurant Maya Grill in Florida City. The carnitas tacos are excellent, and there are free refills on the horchata. [Miami New Times]

• The juices are fresh and mostly organic at Miami Juice Restaurant and Healthy Food Emporium in Sunny Isles. [Miami Herald]

• We're all about the visuals today. In this case, it's the dessert spread at Sunday brunch at Pier Top. [Miami Herald]

• It's been open for just a few days, but already Pistache is drawing rave reviews. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Charles Passy re-visits R J Gator's and learns that despite the new ownership, the sports-bar staples are still tasty. [Palm Beach Post]

We didn't need the Grinder to tell us that mint juleps are what one drinks on Kentucky Derby Day, but we did sort of need them to remind us that this Saturday is the big day and we'd better get the ice crushed, the bourbon laid in, the mint plucked, and the glasses painted silver.

The iconic Southern cocktail really has no equal, including the trendy mojitos that have been nipping at its heels the last few years. As the Plumparty catalogue copy states next to the $72 four-pack of traditional silver glasses, "the mint julep is more than a beverage, it is a ceremony steeped in tradition and an emblem of Southern hospitality and heritage."

Well, we won't judge you if you use glassware for your juleps. The important thing is that you're using good bourbon, fresh mint and the right recipe. To that end, the Churchill Downs website offers this concoction, which calls for the use of Early Times, a whiskey we usually see relegated to the well.

In addition to keeping your secret safe if you use glass glasses, we'll aid in the cover-up if you decide to swap the bourbon for, say, Knob Creek or Maker's Mark. Anyway, here's the recipe, after the jump:

Early Times Mint Julep

* 2 cups sugar
* 2 cups water
* Sprigs of fresh mint
* Crushed ice
* Early Times Kentucky Whisky
* Silver Julep Cups

Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight. Make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of Early Times Kentucky Whiskey. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

Mint Juleps Have Their Moment [Grinder]
Early Times Mint Julep [Churchill Downs Official Site]
Silver plated mint julep cups [Plumparty]
Image courtesy of Churchill Downs

Not only is the food at Miss Saigon Bistro consistently good — the caramelized short ribs (pictured) are phenomenal, but the staff treat their customers like family. It’s rare these days to find yourself moved by a restaurant experience because it is so GOOD! We came in early on a Sunday night and avoided the evening rush. Our table was attended by almost all of the waiters who seemed to be providing a different role at each table. We’ve seen this style of service once before at a comparable restaurant and the results were disastrous. Appetizers were delivered promptly and after an appropriate interval our dinner was served with a smile. The manager also took time to attend to each table and oversee the staff in a collegial and welcoming manner. Now we realize that this kind of service should be the rule and not the exception, but the staff at Miss Saigon executed this with such charm and grace that they merit a little extra attention. This is definitely a place to come with a large group or a number of children.

Miss Saigon Bistro [MenuPages]
Miss Saigon Bistro [Official Site]