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We're going to depart, today, from our usual Friday movie, so that we can give a nod to the ongoing Sandwich Duel, in the New Yorker's Cartoon Lounge. Yesterday's entry was especially entertaining because it was all about New York Times restaurant critic (and birthday boy) Frank Bruni, who we read all the time. And it's hilarious. Like this part:

You’re not going to impress Frank Bruni by making a sandwich. The guy has eaten Emeril’s muffuletta, out of Emeril’s hand. The guy has had the big important pastrami thing at Katz’s. He has been to Foxington Whiddle, Sandwich, Northumberland, where the sandwich was invented, and he has had his picture taken in the exact spot, in the ruins, where the Earl of Sandwich took the first bite of the first sandwich. You can’t just “make” Frank a sandwich. So I didn’t.

I set down a clean white plate with a small music-box motor in the center. Frank set the guitar upright in the deep grass and pulled his chair to the table.

“Interesting,” he said, almost too quickly. “They’re doing something like this at Adria’s this season.”

I smiled politely. “No, they’re not,” I thought.

[The Cartoon Lounge: Sandwich Duel, Part 19 [New Yorker]
Happy 44th Birthday Frank Bruni [Eat Me Daily]

Meat Market, the new venture from the folks from Touch, is having a soft opening this weekend before its official opening sometime later next week. Sean Brasel, the former executive chef at Touch, will be manning the kitchen, which will, naturally, focus on the meat. The menu, which is available sans prices on the restaurant's website (we've called for one a few times, but each time have been told that the final menu isn't set yet) seems more interesting than the average steakhouse, thankfully. Check out the house specialties:

• Tropical braised fatty brisket with coconut, mango, Cuban sweet potatoes and wild mushrooms
• Kobe skirt steak with lemongrass, ginger, and roasted local chili
• Buffalo tenderloin steak with chili, espresso and bittersweet chocolate mole butter
• Wild African pheasant with tamari and braised chicory

Sounds tasty. Check it out this weekend; the restaurant is open for dinner only.

Meat Market [Official Site]

• Harrowing Halloween cocktails! [MP: Boston]

• Bloodcurdling butt sizes! [MP: Chicago]

• Eerie economic times for restaurateurs! [MP: Philadelphia]

• Shocking "screaming orgasm" salads! [MP: San Francisco]

• Spine-chilling snakes! [MP: South Florida]

• Tere enjoys lunch at the FIU Hospitality Management Dining Room, where she tries frog legs for the first time. [FoodTastic!]

• Jan writes about the new Apron's Cooking School at a Boca Raton Publix. [Jan Norris]

• Happy National Candy Corn Day! Natalie provides a little history. [Natalie's Nibbles]

• Gail provides a Halloween recipe for fried tarantulas that seems serious. I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but I think I'd have to draw the line at that one. [Short Order]

• Last night's Iron Fork in text ... [Chowhound]

• ... and in images. [Short Order]

• Burger King's profits have risen 2% in the last quarter. Yay? [Washington Post]

• Also on the rise: diabetes, probably due to obesity! [Boston Globe]

• The former CEO of the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant is now facing federal charges for hiring illegal immigrants. [New York Times]

• A Texas man was jailed after refusing to pay for his meal at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Classiest dine and dash ever! [AP]

• What's tainted today? Animal feed! [Chicago Tribune]

As Election Day nears (only four more days!!), it seems like most people we know are living on a figurative diet of electoral projections. From the sophisticated (like FiveThirtyEight or Real Clear Politics) to the intensely simplified and straightforward (as in the case of How Is Obama Doing), there is really no shortage of corners of the web for people to stay on top of political polls.

But! In case you were worried about the soundness or veracity of these polls &mdash both in terms of methodology and outcome &mdash 7-Eleven, Culver's Custard, and Domino's have all got you covered. After the jump, some very important data, factoids, research methods, and maps!

First up, 7-Eleven! As you can see from the map pictured directly below, by 7-Eleven's projections, Barack Obama is the sure winner:

7-Eleven conducted its poll by inviting customers to vote with their cups (exactly what it sounds like). As you can see on the map, many typically red states do not have 7-Eleven stores, which has likely skewed the data in favor of Barack Obama. Furthermore, there is no limit to the number of votes, so an especially ardent Obama supporter could go in several times a day, purchasing coffee in a blue cup each time. On the other hand, per the "Fun Facts" section of the 7-Eleven site, their "George W. Bush cup outsold Al Gore's cup by just 1 percentage point." Also, "the 2004 7-Eleven results tracked identically with published national election results," so, there you have it?

Meanwhile, Culver's Custard has "Reese E. Buttercup" (John McCain) and "Heath Toffeebits" (Obama) going head to head, and here's what those results looks like:

For clarity, the two "candidates" are ice cream sundaes, and although the Obama stand-in is winning, is it possible that this has less to do with politics than with deliciousness?

Finally, Domino's. (If you'd like an image, we recommend clicking through to the post about it on Pollster.) This poll was less about political projections, and more about pizza preferences tied to political parties (sidebar: check out that alliteration!). Among other things, they found that:

Republicans spend more money per order and use credit cards more than other consumers. They also like specialty pizzas more than most and are most likely to order online. Republicans are also more likely to pick up their pizzas.

Democrats are more likely to pay with cash and like more variety with their orders, more often adding side items and beverages when ordering pizza.

Ready to turn away from FiveThirtyEight or CNN now?

"Coffee and Custard Polls Swing Towards Obama" [The Food Section]
"On Pizza and Politics" [Pollster]

South Florida is getting a new Brazilian steakhouse: Fogo de Chão, which opens tonight for dinner on Miami Beach. This is the Brazil-based chain's 12th location in the US. Given South Floridians' affinity for rodizio, it's surprising that it took the company so long to open a Miami location. Then again, perhaps they were worried about entering an already-saturated market. Do not fear, Fogo de Chão; our appetite for red meat down here never ends.

The restaurant is open for dinner only at the moment; lunch service will begin on Monday, November 3. Lunch and dinner cost $26.50 and $46.50 respectively, and that includes the usual: endless meat and as much as you like from the large salad bar. Those who want just the salad bar pay $19.50.

Fogo de Chao [MenuPages]
Fogo de Chao [Official Site]

Photo: Haroldo Kennedy/flickr

In these lean times, almost any expense can be hard to justify, especially spending more than necessary on food. This, obviously, makes it hard for restaurants that sell anything fancier than a Big Mac to stay in business.

So what's a struggling eatery to do? Clearly, the answer is to practically give the food away and hope things get better. We've seen a couple reports lately of restaurants offering real, legitimate, non-big-mac meals for less than $1. This keeps customers walking through your door, and, hopefully, buying more expensive stuff once they have money again.

You may have noticed in yesterday's FYI the item about the Spanish restaurant offering an "anti-crisis" lunch for one euro. There was also an item on Marketplace the other day about the Four Crosses pub, outside Birmingham, England, where they're offering full pub meals for a pound, a deal that instantly brought in customers by the hundreds.

The manager is happy. He says his booze sales are up five-fold since he introduced the credit crunch menu. Many similar promotions are expected around Britain in the coming months.

We've heard of fewer such offers stateside (the one in the photo notwithstanding). Ironically, New York City's Gray's Papaya chain recently raised the price on their ever-popular recession special--two dogs and a drink. Of course, they don't serve booze, a luxury on which few seem hard-pressed to splurge when the going gets tough.

Spanish restaurant launches 'anti-crisis' lunch menu for one euro [China Daily]
British economy shrinking fast [Marketplace]
Gray's Papaya [MenuPages]

Photo: Via Reverend Andy/flickr]

• Lee Klein heads back to the revamped Chef Allen'sand finds it better than ever. [Miami New Times]

• The Herald does a tour of the Middle East without leaving Miami-Dade and offers a list of spots to get good shawarma and falafel. [Miami Herald]

• As long as you understand that you don't go to Marumi Sushi for a California roll and are willing to try something new, you'll have a great meal. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Head to Paquito's for a Day of the Dead feast this weekend. [Miami Herald]

• The Herald's Broward roundup goes on a tour of east Asian eateries. [Miami Herald]

• Go to Nunzio's in Palm Springs and get the veal parmigiana. It's a chop, instead of a cutlet, and from the review, it sounds excellent. [Palm Beach Post]

• Go ahead and act like a kid at Bulk Candy Store in West Palm, where you can get as much retro candies as you like. [Palm Beach Post]

• A panel of scientists has come out with a report pretty much tearing the FDA a new one over its ruling that bispenol-A is safe. [NYT]

• A restaurant in Hamburg, NY was closed after officials discovered staff had butchered road kill in the sink. [CBS/AP]

• Golfer John Daly was found drunk and unconscious outside a North Carolina Hooters. [LA Times]

• Melamine turns out to be a somewhat common additive to Chinese animal feed, a practice the Chinese press called an "open secret." [AP/Chicago Tribune]

• The original Starbucks team is back in charge, but could the "back to basics" company turnafound be too little, too late?. [NY Times]

The baseball season may end tonight when Game 5 of the World Series resumes. The Phillies and Rays were tied at two after five-and-a-half innings on Monday when rain forced them to stop playing. The Phillies, up three games to one in the series, could win it all tonight. Here's hoping the Rays can stay alive (though fans in Philly may disagree).

In addition to great pitching and defense, the teams have another thing in common: both hail from cities (or in the Rays' case regions) renowned for their excellent treatments of pork in sandwich form. Why Philadelphia is known more for its cheesesteaks than its mouthwatering roast pork sandwich (with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone) is beyond me. Tampa claims to be the home of the Cuban sandwich — though that's disputed — and restaurants there make some of the best versions of the sandwich in the country.

Why not toast to your preferred team with a roast pork or Cuban sandwich? If you're up for spending some time in the kitchen, check out this recipe for an Italian roast pork sandwich Tony Luke's-style. As for the Cuban sandwich, follow the Three Guys From Miami's instructions, and then add a layer of salami to make it a true Tampa-style cubano.

Not up for cooking? Here in South Florida, there's no shortage of Cuban sandwiches. Head to the nearest Latin American Cafeteria to pick up a sandwich, and in the comfort of your own home, where there are no Miami Cubans to gasp in horror, add a few slices of salami to make it Tampa authentic. Philly roast pork sandwiches are a bit harder to find, although Philly Steak Sub Shop in Miramar offers a pork sub with broccoli. Of course, there's always the cheesesteak: try Spanky's Cheesesteak Factory or Philly Connection.

Tony Luke's Italian Roast Pork Sandwich [Recipezaar]
Sandwich Cubano [Three Guys From Miami]

Tony Luke's [MenuPages]
Latin American Cafeteria [MenuPages]
Philly Steak Sub Shop [MenuPages]
Spanky's Cheesesteak Factory [MenuPages]
Philly Connection [MenuPages]

Photos: tumbebunny/flickr and bueller2/flickr

A restaurant chain in the UK is offering a python curry for Halloween this week:

Tracey Kitchener-Kemp, Managing Director of Tootsies, said: “It may sound like a trick but it’s definitely a treat. Hallowe'en is a great time of year to do something a little different, and we’ve had huge amounts of fun creating a dish that can be enjoyed by both our adult and junior guests alike.

“We’re always looking to be innovative with our menus and python is certainly the most original ingredient we have ever worked with. Those who dare to give it a go will be very pleasantly surprised.”

Tootsies said the python had been sourced from a specialist meat supplier.

Tootsies puts snake curry on the menu [Big Hospitality]
Eat Lionfish, Save The Reefs [MP: South Florida]

Photo, of a Burmese python in Big Cypress: piccolo.drago/flickr

When Helen at MP: Chicago posted about an 80 percent discount on Restaurant.com dining certificates, I was a bit skeptical. It basically seemed too good to be true. Normally, these $25 certificates are sold for $10 on the site, but if you enter the discount code "TREATS" during checkout, you get 80 percent off your purchase. That's right — essentially you can get a $25 certificate for $2. That's insane.

A little research was in order. Cacao Restaurant was the first high-end restaurant that popped up on the Miami list, and a $200 certificate for tasting menus for the parents as a Christmas gift came to mind. A call to the restaurant revealed a few restrictions though: you can't use the certificate for lunch, and only one $25 certificate is allowed per table. So the tasting menu is out. Still, it's not a bad deal.

The list of participating restaurants in the area is fairly long. In the Miami area, there's Bella Cuba, Porcao Churrascaria, Canela Cafe, Mykonos and a bunch of others. Palm Grille, Pesca and Sage French Cafe in Fort Lauderdale all participate, as do Jake's Stone Crab Restaurant, Six Tables and El Chamol in Palm Beach County. Just go to the site and plug in your zip code, and a list of restaurants should pop up. The certificates don't come without restrictions, so definitely call the restaurant before you go.

Recession Special: Eat Fancy For $2!!! [MP: Chicago]
Restaurant.com Gift Certificates [Official Site]

It's not exactly restaurant-related, but we were still fascinated by the howstuffworks article linked on Cold Mud today, detailing the history of why we're so terrified of strangers poisoning our children's Halloween candy. Did you know most such cases turned out to be frauds, perpetrated by the parents themselves? Disturbing:

There have been at least two confirmed deaths linked to tainted Halloween candy, but strangers didn't cause them. In a 1970 case, family members sprinkled a 5-year-old child's candy with heroin to hide the fact that he'd gotten into his uncle's drug stash. In the other case, which occurred in 1974, a man named Ronald Clark O'Bryan of Houston, Texas, laced his son's candy with cyanide and the child died. The motive was a big insurance policy that O'Bryan had taken out on his son. To make the poisoning appear random, O'Bryan also poisoned his daughter's candy and the candy of three other children. None of them ate it, however. He was eventually convicted of murder and died by lethal injection.

[Photo: Via rochelle et. al./flickr]

• Calorie counting is back, or so says The New York Times. Didn't realize it had ever really fallen out of favor. [NYT]

• The LA Times editorial board calls for all food from China to be tested for melamine. Here's a better idea in the meantime: if a food product says "made in China," place it back on the shelf. [LA Times]

• Environmentalists are urging the FDA to re-evaluate the agency's position on bisphenol A, which is found in most plastics and has been deemed safe in small quantities. [AP]

• A woman who's had a bit too much to drink gets on a mechanical bull at Johnny Utah's in New York. Now she's suing the restaurant for causing some injuries (which are unspecified) by allowing her to a) get on the bull drunk and b) cranking up the speed to get her to fall off. Isn't that the point? Someone please dismiss this case. [Newsday]

• A restaurant in Gijon in northern Spain is offering a one-euro recession special lunch menu that sounds like an amazing deal: seafood soup, ribs with rice or chicken or anchovies with a salad, bread, dessert, and a drink. According to a manager, the restaurant isn't losing money, but it's not making any either. [China Daily]

At Hops Grillhouse & Brewery, kids eat free all day every Tuesday with a paying adult. The kids have to order from the kids' menu, and the adult must order an entree. At two kids for every paying adult, that's not a bad deal.

Hops Grillhouse & Brewery [MenuPages]

Andu Restaurant & Lounge [MenuPages]
Andu Restaurant & Lounge [Official Site]

Everyone's all abuzz today over the launch of MTVMusic.com — a massive repository of basically every music video ever made. We are particularly psyched because there are many many awesome food-related music videos (and songs!) that really get our juices going. Please rock out on these for the remainder of the day.

Bjork's "Venus as a Boy" — quite possibly the best use of a fried egg since "this is your brain on drugs."

Three more classics (including a fearsome man-burger hybrid, a life-size chicken, and millions of peaches) after the jump!

ZZ Top's "Burger Man": The tale of a common, everyday man who falls into a pit of toxic sludge and becomes a burger-shaped quasi-monster. Bonus: Hot chicks on spaceships!

Most people don't realize that POTUS's "Peaches" is not a weird novelty rock song; rather, it is actually a thinly-veiled critique of the anti-locavore movement:

Cibo Matto's "Know Your Chicken." Starring Man, Woman, and Chicken!

Millions of other music videos (okay, tens of thousands) are at mtvmusic.com.

Be afraid, college students and the creative underclass. Be very afraid. No, it's not because jobs are drying up faster than ramen noodles to an unwashed pan. It's not because you'll never get another student loan again, and Sallie Mae will send a death-squad to your house to collect on the current one. It's not even because this is the year you realize waiting tables is going to be the highest-paid job you've ever had (provided you get paid, that is).

You should be afraid, underpaid people, because the latest product to fall victim to a contamination scare is none other than the staple of your diet, Cup Noodles.

Okay, so we're being a touch dramatic. But still, most of the half-million cups of freeze-dried noodles recalled Friday over fears they were contaminated by insecticide had already been sold in Tokyo-area stores, according to Asia Pacific News Service:

The product was made at a Nissin factory in Japan. A series of previous scares have involved food imported from China.

The health office said on inspecting the Cup Noodle they had discovered paradichlorobenzene, the key chemical in bug repellent, but no puncture or other abnormality in the cup.

Nissin was voluntarily recalling around 500,000 cups made on the same factory line the same day, a company spokesman said.

They were sold at supermarkets in Tokyo and neighbouring areas with most of them already gone from store shelves, he said.

For the rest of us, let's just marvel at how darned many cups of noodles must enter the world in a day. If one production line of one factory cranked out 500,000 of them, and the company has 29 factories worldwide, according to its website... We don't know how many production lines are in each factory, but still, that's a whole freaking lot of Cup Noodles.

Fortunately, for you, and ironically unfortunately for Nissin, the immense popularity of Cup Noodles and similar products has led to a sizable trend of ramen restaurants popping up in cities all over the United States. It may not be the $0.50 meal you're used to from the cup, but trust us, a bowl of ramen at O Noodle Shop will at least be a lot tastier and better for you than anything freeze-dried.

Japan's Nissin recalls 500,000 noodles over insecticide fears [Asia Pacific News Service]
Nissin Foods [Official Site]
O Noodle Shop [MenuPages]
O Noodle Shop [Official Site]

[UPDATE: As L2M noted in the comments, O Noodle Shop is closed. So don't go there for ramen noodles. You will not find any.]

[Photo: Via Mappi 1322]

Chef Jeff McInnis is a busy guy. The chef de cuisine at DiLido Beach Club in the Ritz-Carlton is on the next season of Top Chef (which begins airing on Wednesday, November 12). Aside from his day job, he's got all of the press activities for Top Chef, plus he's working on a cookbook that he's "praying will be out in December."

I caught up with him at one of these press activities, where I managed to monopolize his time for 10 minutes. The Bravo publicity folks were milling about, ready to swoop in the moment they saw someone pull out a notebook, so we talked mostly of non-Top Chef-related things. (The one thing he was allowed to tell me: It was "exciting" and a "great experience.") Like how so much of the dining scene in Miami is shifting from South Beach to Brickell and the Design District. About his stages in Egypt, Istanbul and the Greek Isles which influence the way he cooks at DiLido. So the food has a Mediterranean bent, although he steers clear of Italian, since so many others on Lincoln Road do it. And we talked about the five farms throughout the state from which he buys produce. He even found a local farm — The Little Farm in Goulds, which is "like a petting zoo, but they kill the animals" — to supply him with goat cheese.

In between presentations, televisions blared Top Chef promos for the upcoming season. Not one featured McInnis, which makes me think he's either told to pack his knives and go in an early episode, or he quietly stays out of drama and just gets the job done. After spending 10 minutes talking to him, I'm inclined to believe the latter. He came off as soft-spoken and friendly, and just didn't seem the type to get involved in drama. Think the anti-Howie Kleinberg.

As McInnes is the only local chef in this year's competition, we're squarely in his corner. Go Jeff!

DiLido Beach Club [MenuPages]
DiLido Beach Club [Official Site]
Top Chef [Official Site]

• Various big names in the retail food business are voluntarily adding easily visible nutritional icons to their packaging. [NYTimes]

• Wal-Mart removed some Chinese eggs from their shelves. You guessed it — melamine! [AP/SF Chron]

• ... but the World Health Organization just announced that Chinese eggs are a-okay. Unless you eat, like, twenty a day. [AFP]

• The original Slow Food conference opened yesterday in Turin, Italy, and is drawing comparisons to the Olympics. [SF Chron]

• Vermont (yes, the state) has set up speed-dating sessions between its local farmers and various buyers — supermarkets, restaurants, colleges, etc. In our humble opinion, this is the cutest thing ever. [AP/WaPo]

The idea of recycling kitchen grease into diesel fuel is probably not news by now, but grease is certainly not the only by-product of food production produced by commercial kitchens. Can we find an alternate disposal method, then, for things like cans and utensils? How about art projects? Boing Boing Gadgets has hit on an artist in London who is doing just that. Check it:

Giant skull made out of kitchen utensils [Boing Boing]

[Photo: Via Boing Boing]

The Original Pancake House [MenuPages]
The Original Pancake House [Official Site]

Photo: Debora Ayoub

Get ready for sticker shock. Prices have skyrocketed for February's South Beach Wine and Food Festival. That Grand Tasting for which you paid $187 last year? (And $137 in 2007?) It's $212.50 now. And that's pretty standard for the big ticket events, most of which went up by about $50. Still, Lee Brian Schrager, the man in charge of it all, expects sellouts.

''I don't know if even I would be spending that kind of money right now,'' says Schrager. ``But we feel our audience will pay it. It's good value for the money.''

Food fest tickets: cough up the dough [Miami Herald]
South Beach Wine and Food Festival [Official Site]

The weekend's food news seems to have been dominated by the eminently disgusting story of the family that is accusing an Australian hotel of intentionally serving them a particularly unsanitary bowl of complimentary ice cream.

We don't want to help proliferate that story (well, not any more than we just did), but we mention it because it served as a pretty perfect comic backdrop to Slashfood's Saturday list of decent foods with dirty-sounding names. Some, like spotted dick, just come naturally, while others, like buttered crumpet, are really only funny because you're already thinking dirty. But for some reason, this variety is so funny.

It was such a relief to find something so innocently juvenile among all the true reports about people acting as rotten and petty as they do in that hotel story. The way we read it, it seems the family was nasty to the waitstaff, the staff reciprocated in kind with a nasty prank, and now each side has lawyers to be professionally nasty to each other.

In that context, wouldn't it be nice if the grossest thing you had to think about all day was the middle-school interpretation of the name, "Fluffernutter?"

Pub accused of serving ice cream contaminated with human excrement [Telegraph UK]
Spotted Dick and other foods that sound dirty but aren't [Slashfood]

[Photo: Via Cupcake Girls]

• Here's a recap, in text, of the Chowhound Chowdown at Paradigm on Friday. [Chowhound]

• And here it is in photos. [Chadzilla]

• The food is still great at Forte di Asprinio, but it was deserted on Friday night. Uh-oh. [Chowhound]

• The Upper Eastside Greenmarket is back! Found so far: stone crabs, baked goods and persimmons. [Chowhound]

• The beers have gone up a dollar at Zeke's on Lincoln Road, from $3 to $4. [Riptide 2.0]

• Lee Klein tells of his experience at the Miami International Wine Fair. [Short Order]

• A grim reminder that the financial crisis is about so much more than jobs, foreclosed homes, and retirement funds: it's also calamitous news for the global food crisis. [WaPo]

• On the plus side... potatoes? Cheap and less subject to market fluctuations than grains, they are a promising solution to global hunger. Just don't tell the Irish, circa 1850, mkay? [NYT]

• Oh, China. Although it's fun to write out sentences like "another day, another melamine contamination disaster!" at this point, we'd rather hear that all is A-OK with your food supply. Sadly, this time, it's a melamine-tainted egg scare. [AP]

• Crazy weather patterns in Europe = ideal mushroom growing conditions. Okay, global warming. You win this round. [Chicago Tribune]

• The Massachusetts Oyster Project is sowing oysters in the Charles River for the purposes of water clean-up. Neat idea, even though it means they will be off limits for nomming (pollutants and all). [Boston Globe]

There's no accounting for why we're so obsessed with finding old Sesame Street videos on YouTube, but for some reason this week has been all about digging up old clips of that "falling baker." Remember him? He'd come out of the kitchen with a pile of messy treats in whatever number they were singing about, announce them, then promptly fall down? Worked for us when we were five, and apparently our sense of humor hasn't matured one bit.

On this lazy Friday, please enjoy the number 10. If you have time to kill, click through to the video page, and you'll see nos. 1 through 9, as well. Chuckles all around.

Just got word that Meat Market, the new steakhouse from the people who were in charge of Touch, will be opening in the old Pacific Time spot on November 3. No news yet on the menu, which hasn't been finalized yet, but expect lots of red meat. Chef Sean Brasel will be heading up the kitchen, just as he did at Touch.

Touch [Official Site]

• What do a Boston-area restaurant and a bookmarking site have in common? Confusing names. [MP: Boston]

• If you want to make Alinea's smoked paprika taffy at home, you'd better plan ahead. [MP: Chicago]

• As Philly anxiously awaits the outcome of this year's World Series, they snack on pretzels and mustard. [MP: Philadelphia]

• Celebratory dinners with group checks are the worst. Even worse than the worst? When your go-to restaurant for such shindigs closes. [MP: San Francisco]

• You know who could use a bailout? Miami restaurateurs. [MP: South Florida]

Chef Johnny Vinczencz of Johnny V is responding to the economic crisis by opening a casual and inexpensive restaurant in the old Louie Louie Italian Bistro spot on Las Olas, according to the Sun-Sentinel's food blog. No item on the American comfort food menu will cost more than $20. The opening date is set for November 12.

Johnny V to open second restaurant [Sup]
Johnny V [MenuPages]
Johnny V [Official Site]

• Apparently October is also National Dessert Month. Natalie writes all about tiramisu. [Natalie's Nibbles]

• Gail recaps the Slow Food Navajo Churro lamb dinner on Wednesday at The Standard Hotel. [Short Order]

• Check out the menu for tonight's Paradigm. [Chadzilla]

• Discuss your baking tips and secrets (well, maybe not all of your secrets) here. [Miami Dish]

• A soon-to-air episode of a Belgian food show teaches viewers how to prepare Hitler's favorite meal (trout with butter sauce). Unsurprisingly, this has drawn some serious ire. [Boston Globe]

• North Korea is facing its worst food crisis in a decade. [New York Times]

• "Sushi bullies" (sushi chefs who dictate what you will and will not order) are on the rise. [Wall Street Journal]

• Scientists confirm what we've suspected for a long time: holding a cup of coffee makes you happy. [New York Post]

• Food allergies are up 18% from ten years ago. [Washington Post]

We've been reading a lot this week about the new sustainable sushi guide that was put out by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Blue Ocean Institute. The idea behind the guide is that lots of seafood is a) not healthy, what with mercury and all, and b) not fished or farmed in an ecologically sound manner.

The guide is great in many way: it's available as a printable pocket-sized PDF, very straightforward, and categorizes fish into three categories (best choices, OK choices, and worst choices). If you've been concerned about the fish you were eating at sushi restaurants, this cuts out the step of quizzing the chef on what fish is sustainable or healthy, and just generally being a high-maintenance customer.

On the flip side &mdash and we're mostly just playing devil's advocate here &mdash although it's great that attention is being brought to this issue, it seems sort of improbable that the pocket guides (and one dedicated week for eating sustainable sushi) is going to make that much of a difference.

After all, we know that beef is not great for the environment. We are fully aware that most chickens are raised in horrendous, inhumane conditions. And if you take stock in the locavore movement, everyone who lives outside of California is basically taking a gun to Mother Nature's head by eating fruits and veggies shipped from all corners of the Earth.

That said, if any sustainable eating thing has a chance of catching on, this really seems like it might be the one. To be good about cattle, there's not much recourse other than giving up beef eating. To follow Michael Pollan's advice on eating locally, most of us would have to resign ourselves to never eating another orange, mango, pineapple or any leafy greens outside of summer. Maybe now is the time to take this to heart! Print the guide, slip it into your wallet, and the next time that you are ordering sushi at Matsuri, give yourself a little pat on the back for being so nice to the planet.

Matsuri Japanese Restaurant [MenuPages]

[Photo: via [puamelia]/Flickr]

The menu editing process is mostly pretty monotonous, but every once in a while, something intriguing catches the eye. Take the 76-ounce steak challenge at US Steakhouse Bar & Grill. If you finish the steak by yourself in one hour — keep in mind that this is almost five pounds of beef — you get the meal for free. If you don't, it'll cost you $70. Oh yeah, and there are sides that must be eaten too: a salad, garlic bread, and a potato. A quick phone call to the restaurant revealed that only two people in its five-and-a-half-year history have ever completed the challenge. No kidding. That's like a week's worth of meals.

So, have any of you out there ever tried it?

U S Steakhouse Bar & Grill [MenuPages]
U S Steakhouse Bar & Grill [Official Site]

Photo, of a different 76-oz steak challenge: revengingangel/flickr

'Tis the season for putting out new products, eh? Michelin's dropping city guides like they were bad habits, and now, just in time for Halloween, Zagat has released its 2009 edition of America's Top Restaurants. The national guide covers 1,516 restaurants in 45 cities and regions, according to their press release.

And, the new user-input-generated survey sheds a little light on our national dining preferences. Turns out we just can't get enough Italian food, we want greener, healthier, and more low-key dining options, especially in the form of spin-offs of higher-end places. Also, the economy is a big, whopping deal on everybody's mind. From the press release:

According to Zagat Survey CEO Tim Zagat, "Americans are still eating
out in restaurants, they are just making smarter choices. They're dining in
high-end restaurants for lunch instead of dinner, seeking out value prix
fixe meals, and taking advantage of more causal neighborhood eateries.
Regardless of how the economy is doing, people still have to eat."

Changing Habits: Still, the financial uncertainty has had an effect:
When asked what effect the weakening economy had on their dining habits,
33% said they are eating out less and being more sensitive to menu prices;
28% said they are eating in less expensive places, and roughly 20% said
they are cutting back on alcohol, appetizers and desserts. Only 34% of
surveyors report being unaffected by the economic downturn.

[Image: Via Amazon]

• You can have a good meal for a great value at Sara's, a kosher and vegetarian restaurant, but you have to know how to navigate the extensive menu: stick to the traditional Jewish fare. [Miami New Times]

• The Herald offers a few good ideas for fine dining on a budget: hit up the culinary schools in the area, all of which offer gourmet meals at a great value. [Miami Herald]

• Lemoni Cafe successfully combine Argentine, Italian, Moroccan and French influences into one friendly spot. [Miami Herald]

• The homemade garganelli at Valentino's Cucina Italiana (with duck breast, espresso, porcini mushrooms and oven-dried tomatoes) sounds amazing. In fact, quite a few of the other dishes do too. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Rendez-Vous Bakery & Bistro serves up unpretentious and classic French fare. [Miami Herald]

• Scientists are working on making drought-resistant crops to fight hunger abroad and fatten wallets at home. [NYT]

• That Michigan pizzeria that put a cheese-and-tomato bounty on McCain signs has canceled its offer. [AP/Chicago Tribune]

• A Canadian E. coli outbreak seems to be linked to a North Bay Harvey's restaurant. [Canada.com]

• Michelin releases its Las Vegas restaurant guide. [Vegas Eye]

• And elsewhere, more scientists are working on modifying foods so that they make you feel full. Wait a minute... [AP]

A Detroit-area pizzeria is stirring up some controversy by offering free pizza to anyone who brings in a McCain/Palin sign. According to the pizzeria's owner, after McCain essentially gave up on Michigan by canceling any further visits or ads, she encouraged McCain supporters to give up on the candidate and bring in their signs.

The problem here is that once you present this promotion to the average broke, pizza-hungry teenager, it takes him or her approximately three nanoseconds to come up with this plan of action: find nearest McCain/Palin sign, swipe it, get free pizza. Local Republicans are, naturally, upset with their disappearing signs. The pizzeria owner says she never advocated theft and clearly stated on the promotion to "bring in your McCain sign," but it's hard to believe she didn't see this coming.

The image above is just a screen shot; there wasn't any easy way to embed the video, but click here for the full story. It's definitely worth a listen.

Restaurant Offers Free Pizza for McCain Signs [Fox 2 Detroit]

There's been some confusion, mostly on my part, about the opening date of Morimoto at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. There were tales of food at Chowhound, but everything else (including phone calls to the club) pointed to a January opening date. Today, however, someone at the restaurant informed me that it has been open for the past 10 days for lunch and dinner. The menu is on its way.

In the meantime, here's what themaddiner had to say about it:

it's a beautiful small space with a long marble bar where you can get up close and personal with the friendly sushi chefs and be hypnotized by the videos shown on the array of flat screens behind the bar. an extensive and expensive menu of traditional sushi / sashimi along with a wide assortment of innovative offerings. morimoto offers his own line of sake and beer to pair with your selections. our server was well out of her depth and lacked knowledge of the menu and available sake selections. each seat at the bar was ready for service with the appropriate dishes and chopsticks . . . but of course not where i chose to sit . . . and i had to ask the server to bring chopsticks etc. when our food arrived. i took the opportunity to watch our chef prepare our items and discuss the freshness of the seafood selections. they have items rare for south florida; all grades of tuna > otoro, maguro, chutoro along with suzuki, tai, kinmedai etc. i enjoyed a beautifully displayed appetizer of otoro, sake, kani, hamachi, and aji, a kanpachi carpaccio served with hot ginger infused oil along with kinmedai, aji and far too much junmai daiginjo sake

Morimoto at Boca Resort Hotel [Chowhound]
Boca Raton Resort & Club [Official Site]
Chef Masaharu Morimoto [Official Site]

Photo: panduh/flickr

At left: Anthony Morley, At right: Damian Oldfield

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Remember that British chef/gay pinup model we reported on a while back, who was found guilty for murder after killing his lover, then seasoning and frying up part of his leg? Anthony Morley, 36, got life in prison this week, and will do a minimum of 30 years.

Well, recognizing talent, regardless of its vessel, officials at the Leeds jail where the former Mr. Gay UK has been housed, assigned him to work in the kitchen. He's serving time and lunch, according to The People:

[Friend] Michael Graham, 25, said: "I reckon some of the other inmates might get a bit worried if they knew who was serving up their food but I'd eat it. Whatever he's done, Tony can cook. He's a brilliant chef. They obviously knew about his talent with food so they offered him the chance to work in the canteen.

"He was really angry that they weren't letting him use any knives. He asked me, 'How the hell am I supposed to do this without knives?'"

Graham went on to say that Morley's green Thai curry is "mouth-watering."

Morley was arrested in April after he showed up at a takeaway joint wearing a bloody robe, saying he'd just killed a man who tried to rape him. Police later told the Telegraph that he'd carved, seasoned and cooked flesh from the leg of victim Damian Oldfield, 33, after slashing his throat and stabbing him.

According to the BBC, Judge James Stewart, CQ, said,

"Before this case I had associated cannibalism with eras long gone, with the tale of Robinson Crusoe. No longer.

"You have plumbed depths rarely encountered in our court."

Cannibal chef given life sentence [BBC]
GAY CANNIBAL KILLER'S JOB AS A PRISON CHEF [The People]
Former 'Mr Gay UK' charged with murder amid fears victim's flesh was 'prepared for cooking' [Telegraph UK]
Man Eater Mans The Eats [Gawker]

[Image: via Blurbberry]

The New York Times ventured around the country to check out how restaurateurs are coping with the economic downturn in a few big cities. South Florida and Southern California, which both have taken hard hits in the housing market, are, not surprisingly, faring the worst of the bunch. Here's what the paper had to say about Miami:

Restaurateurs here say that in the past few weeks, conversations have turned from beaches to budgets.

Ms. Bernstein, 38, the chef and a partner at Michy's, said her business is down about 20 percent from the same time last year.

Diners, she said, now buy one bottle of wine instead of two, and often order fewer items from her menu, which includes full and half portions. Rising prices have added to the squeeze.

“Flour is up 85 to 100 percent,” she said. “We can’t raise our prices because we can’t lose you.”

On Lincoln Road, the main restaurant row of South Beach, owners and managers described wild swings from night to night.

“Some days we’re off by $100,” said Vinny Cartiglia, a manager at Balans, where the most popular item is the sea bass ($22.95). “Some days it’s by $2,000 or $3,000.”

Restaurants with predictable food at decent prices seem to be doing better. Bars with football fare (burgers, wings, quesadillas) report that business has stayed roughly even since last year, as do the South American cafeterias that dot most Miami neighborhoods.

Some restaurants with more sophisticated offerings have tried to adjust.

Icebox Cafe in Miami Beach, which offers New American fare with a focus on seafood, wine and layer cakes, now offers a “recession cruncher” menu that includes a stuffed red pepper with a beef and rice filling for $12. The owners have also had some success with new, affordable family take-out: a loaf pan of meatloaf, with nine servings, goes for $18.

But perhaps no one understands the city’s stomachs — and wallets — better than Myles Chefetz. He owns four restaurants here.

In an interview at the sleek steakhouse Prime One Twelve, he rattled off his sales numbers. The Big Pink diner was flat. Nemo, an American bistro that has been open for 14 years: down 10 percent. Shoji Sushi: down 13 percent.

And Prime One Twelve, where the average check is $105? Up 6 percent over last year.

To explain why, Mr. Chefetz walked into the restaurant’s softly lighted, crowded dining room. He pointed to a powerful developer who could still afford expensive wine. Mr. Chefetz walked outside. A $200,000 Bentley was parked near the curb. He said he planned to open a high-end Italian restaurant across the street later this year.

“The people here with a lot of money,” he said. “They’re still going out.”

Across the Country, Restaurants Feel the Pinch [New York Times]

• A judge awarded $4.6 million in back pay and damages to 36 delivery workers for New York's Saigon Grill, where they had previously earned as little as $2 an hour. [NYT]

• The UN gets in on the whole melamine crisis, suggesting to China that the country should probably revamp its food regulations. [AFP]

• If you're going to skip out on the bill at a restaurant, make sure you remember your purse. If you forget said purse, do not return to the scene of the crime to retrieve it, especially when you have marijuana tucked away inside of it. [FOX News]

• Wal-Mart helps stock the shelves at New York state food banks with a $577,000 donation. [Newsday]

• And in news you already knew: diets heavy in meats and fried foods are more likely to give you heart problems later on than diets rich in fruits and veggies. [Star Phoenix]

Hatuey beer was sold at the Guantanamo Navy Base when I was there in 1946 and again in 1947. It had a very high alcohol content. There was an expression among Navy men describing someone who had more than a couple "that he had met the Chief" and they didn't mean a CPO.

– Gene, commenting on a post from June about Hatuey

Is anyone else feeling like it's a delivery night tonight? On some nights, cooking feels like so much work. The delivery options in West Palm Beach are very pizza-heavy, but there are a few other spots that'll deliver. Here are a few options:

• Chopsticks offers all of the standard American Chinese favorites and the delivery is fast. The spring rolls come recommended.

• I had to include one pizza option, so here it is. De Napoli also offers free delivery and some reasonably priced New York-style pizza. Try the artichoke pizza for more traditional toppings, or go with the Hawaiian if you're into the whole ham-and-pineapple thing.

• Up for something a bit more spicy? C J's Caribbean Restaurant offers roti with chicken, shrimp, fish, conch, oxtail, duck and goat, all for $7-10 each.

Chopsticks [MenuPages]
De Napoli [MenuPages]
De Napoli [Official Site]
C J's Caribbean Restaurant [MenuPages]

It wasn't too long ago that we found ourselves eating dinner a few tables away from — no, seriously, ready for this? — Posh and Becks. The hyper-cheekboned ubercelebrities from Britain were pouting at each other over a white tablecloth not ten feet from ours. It was pretty fantastic — not only to watch them consume a near-silent dinner (Posh's back was to us, so we can neither confirm nor deny any aspect of her eating habits), but to watch the waitstaff perform an elaborate dance of plating, clearing, and surreptitiously throwing in little extra courses like a second amuse, and a third amuse, and extra sorbet, and a flute of champagne, and petits fours was exhilarating.

We were a few courses behind the wonder couple, so we kept expecting to get what they were getting. And we kept not getting it. Why? Because they're Posh and Becks, and we're ... well, we're us. About the only person who gives us the special treatment is our grandma, and even then it's only if we've remembered to call home often enough.

Enter Will Schwalbe, former editor-in-chief of Hyperion East books (where he oversaw titles from folks like Bobby Flay, Simon Hopkinson, and Nigella Lawson). Schwalbe claims that his food-world celebrity collections aren't the reason he always gets treated so well when he goes out — instead, he claims he's just happened onto a set of behavior that gets him the VIP treatment at the sort of restaurant where you want VIP treatment — the L'Escaliers and Casa Casuarinas of the world.

Schwalbe's hints are old hat to anyone who's used to the cutthroat world of foodieism: Be one of the first customers to dine at a restaurant once they open. Introduce yourself to the bartender and the maitre d'. Tip well (we're talking 25% or more). Critically important: Don't be a demanding jerk.

It's a helpful compilation of tips, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. And for all that being a perfect guest will help keep you from getting actively neglectful service, it certainly won't guarantee that you'll be the toast of the dining room. To be treated like a king, after all is said and done, there are two routes: One, which Schwalbe hits on, is to become a regular. Visit often, engage with the staff, and bring guests. And two, which is just a smidgen harder, is to land that leading role in a feature film, accidentally release your sex tape with the mayor, or score that reviewing gig at the Herald — you know, be an actual VIP.

9 Tricks for Getting a Table (and Being a VIP) at Hot Restaurants [Four-Hour Workweek]
L'Escalier [MenuPages]
L'Escalier [Official Site]
Loftin's at Casa Casuarina [MenuPages]
Loftin's at Casa Casuarina [Official Site]

[Photo via noinput's Flickr

Time for a brief check-in with the diets of our fast-and-furious presidential candidates. Both men stopped for photo-ops and sound bites between actual bites of barbecue in the South over the last couple days.

First, Barack Obama popped into the Cape Fear BBQ restaurant in Fayetteville, North Carolina Sunday, where he had chicken, collard greens, and baked beans. Then, on Monday, John McCain had lunch with Columbia, Missouri business leaders at the Buckingham Smokehouse Bar-B-Q. He had a hot link special with beans and coleslaw.

In general, North Carolina-style barbecue uses a vinegar or tomato-based sauce that includes hot peppers. Meanwhile, Missouri tends toward a hickory-based cooking style, with a tomato sauce.

Both candidates seem to have made educated choices. According to their limited web exposure, Cape Fear is famous for its chicken, while Buckingham Smokehouse prides itself on its slaw.

Obama visit to North Carolina restaurant stirs mixed emotions [Reuters]
McCain convenes BBQ business meeting [Columbia Missourian]

[Image: A politically neutral bbq plate via paper or plastic?/flickr]

Restaurants around the country are bleeding money, but somehow Miami-based Benihana has actually managed to increase profits:

Benihana, the Miami-based Japanese restaurant chain, reported higher sales in each of its brands for its second quarter, which ended Oct. 12.

Sales grew 4.5 percent to $69.6 million in the second fiscal quarter 2009 from $66.6 million in the second fiscal quarter 2008. Sales at restaurants open one year were up 6.5 percent, including 5.1 percent at Benihana teppanyaki; 11.4 percent at RA Sushi; and 8 percent at Haru.

Benihana reports higher sales for the quarter [Miami Herald]
Benihana [Official Site]

Photo:Are Nold Rob Bore/flickr

• They might not be regulating anything else, but at least the government is stepping in to regulate the beef packers! [AP/NYTimes]

• Including farmed versions in the count disqualifies many of species of salmon from the endangered list. Good or bad? [AP/Chicago Tribune]

• Sure, Pam Anderson eats fried pickles. They're vegan! [LATimes]

• 40 food writers spent a week in Houston learning about space food. Did you know that Taco Bell provides the tortillas? [SFGate]

• 45,000 pounds of chocolate, ice cream, hot dogs, and deli meat spilled out of an overturned truck on a Tacoma, WA highway. Party! [Seattle Times]

We humans are pretty good at eating fish until near-extinction; these days, we're constantly inundated with information about collapsing populations and warnings about what we shouldn't eat. Well here is one fish you absolutely should eat: lionfish. In fact, the goal is to eat it to extinction, at least in the Atlantic, where it is invasive and currently devouring reef fish populations.

The simple solution, of course, would be to get humans to develop a taste for the fish, which is exactly what the Key Largo-based Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) is trying to do. In the Bahamas, where the waters are inundated with lionfish, several chefs have gotten creative, frying it, baking it and slicing it into ceviche.

"We don't have them in the Keys yet, but as soon as the current brings them around the Gulf, we'll get them. They're already along the whole east coast, Deerfield and north," said REEF's executive director Lisa Mitchell.

The problem may be working around federal regulations. Chefs in the Bahamas are currently supplied with lionfish by divers who spear the fish, according to Mitchell. It's easier to get restrictions loosened to allow for spearfishing of lionfish when dealing with a small island government; the US government promises many more layers of bureaucracy, which is one reason why it may take a while longer before we see the fish on restaurant menus in Florida. They won't respond to a hook and line; the fish need to be speared or trapped.

Lionfish are popular in aquariums because of their distinctive beautiful spines. But, like in the case of most exotic pets (see also: pythons, iguanas), they grow too big and often end up dumped into the ocean by exasperated owners.

In the water, the fish delivers a sting with some venom, but according to Mitchell, the flesh is completely safe to eat. "There's a sac of poison on either side of the dorsal spine," Mitchell said. "All you have to do is fillet it and make sure you don't spear yourself."

This has got all of the current "in" buzzwords covered: you could eat fish (healthy!) caught in nearby waters (local!) while helping to save the reefs (green!). So here's hoping the group can get some local chefs to step up to the plate.

REEF: Lionfish Research Program [Official Site]
Lionfish devastate Florida's native shoals [The Times]

Photo: jrotunda85/flickr

They don't do it here, so this may not immediately make sense, but some cities' health departments issue restaurants a letter grade after an inspection, which must be posted publicly. Hence, this hilariousness:

see more pwn and owned pictures

OMG we're dying just a little bit.

Sneaky Restaurant Fail [Failblog]

On Saturday, Waiterrant published a letter to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown from a disgruntled server in North Carolina, calling on the British government to better educate its citizens on U.S. tipping customs.

Mr. Brown, I urge you, if only for decency’s sake, to inform your citizens, before travelling abroad to the United States, that while dining out in a restaurant where waiters take orders and serve food, that the tip is not compulsory, but mandatory, the amount of which is meant as a level of satisfaction of service provided. Excellent service is rewarded in excess of 20% of the total cheque amount, for example, a $100 meal with excellent service deserves a $20 (or greater) tip. Average service requires a 15% tip, and poor service can be indicated with a 10% tip. Under no circumstances is it acceptable to “stiff”, or simply not tip, a waiter in America, or leave a tip under 10% (with the exception of absolutely abysmal service).

[Photo: Via bmfriz/flickr]

• Sara checked out the $30 three-course meal offered at Christy's in October, to celebrate the restaurant's 30th birthday. [All Purpose Dark]

• Jan encounters fried grasshoppers at a restaurant in Houston. [Jan Norris]

• The high season is still a few weeks away, and some restaurants in the area are continuing their offseason promotions. Here's a good roundup. [Miami Dish]

• Meat was king at Saturday's Lake Worth Hispanic Fest. Definitely check out Gail's photos. [Short Order]

• Catfish, surrounded with chicken skin, breaded and fried. How can you go wrong? [Chadzilla]

• Warming waters are pushing Alaskan pollock further up north... to Russia! The geopolitical/economic ramifications are pretty enormous. [LA Times]

• Worried about all the contaminated food scandals? A trio of nutrition experts give advice on how to select and prepare your food. [Boston]

• The financial crisis begets the question; do we even know how much money we spend on food? [SF Chronicle]

• A restaurant in the East Bronx, NY is the proud employer of an 88 year old waitress. She sounds like one of the Golden Girls, so it's not so surprising that she herself is a reason people eat at the restaurant. [AP]

• Iran tried to go for a Guinness World Record by eating the world's largest sandwich. Things were going pretty well (the sandwich was present, as were the eaters) except for one tiny problem: the crowd got over-eager and started devouring the sandwich before it could be measured. Uh-ohs. [Reuters]

• Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name and that place is Thornton's Fenway Grill. [MP: Boston]

• We've dined around the world (well, at least around the northern United States and Western Europe) and no bite of food has ever made us happier than the quail egg ravioli at Schwa. [MP: Chicago]

• Regardless of your political preferences, this story about friendly pie-related heckling (is there such a thing as "friendly heckling"?) at an Obama rally will make you smile. [MP: Philadelphia]

• Could a kati roll make you even happier than a burrito? [MP: San Francisco]

• Denny's just donated a whole lot of money to establish a child care center at FMU. Nice! [MP: South Florida]

Much as we like to share funny videos with you on Fridays, the news (from the Sun, via Boing Boing) that outer space apparently smells like fried steak seems too important not to share. From the article:

Astronauts reported the bizarre scents on their suits when they returned from space walks.

The space agency has commissioned Steven Pearce of British fragrance firm Omega Ingredients to recreate the smells to help train spacemen.

He said: “When astronauts were de-suiting and taking off helmets, they all reported quite particular odours. “We have already produced the smell of fried steak, but hot metal is more difficult.

Well, that explains everything, doesn't it? But how to re-create the sensation at home?

Here's what you do: Head over to Prime One Twelve (or one of the many other steakhouses in South Florida — there's certainly no lack of them), position yourself in front of the vent, bend over double, and hyperventilate for about 30 seconds. Then straighten up quickly. You should have the feeling of weightlessness while smelling the rich aroma of steak. To recover, go in and have a New York strip and a bottle of Bud.
[Editor's note: Don't do this nonsense. Just go have a steak. You deserve it.]

Space Smells Like Steak [Boing Boing]
Space smells of steak, say NASA [The Sun]
Prime One Twelve [MenuPages]
Prime One Twelve [Official Site]

Looks like Denny's is spreading the wealth in the neighborhood:

On Friday, Oct. 10, Denny’s Corp., and the historically black university, unveiled the Denny’s Single Parent Resource Center at a luncheon held at the school’s Miami Gardens campus.

...

Denny’s invested $70,000 in the center as part of its focus on diversity. The restaurant chain has partnered with the Tom Joyner Foundation to provide $1,500 scholarships to single parents attending historically black colleges and universities. The recipients are selected on a weekly basis.

Sybil Wilkes, the intellect among the Tom Joyner Morning Show cast, attended the center’s grand opening. Wilkes understands the demands of single parenthood, firsthand.

“I was raised by a single parent, and I understand how important that is. My mom always encouraged me to read and to excel academically,” she said.

Barbara Edwards, executive assistant to Florida Memorial University President Karl Wright, will serve as a liaison to the resource center.

“[Denny’s] asked if we would be interested, and we were thrilled to be … the first HBCU (which stands for historically black colleges and universities) selected. Through the center, [students] will have the opportunity to get additional supportive services, counseling, computer access, to get them what they need, to get them to persist,” Edwards said.

Restaurant chain helps parents in college [South Florida Times]
Denny's [Official Site]

• Natalie gives some facts about stone crabs, which can now be found all over South Florida restaurants. [Natalie's Nibbles]

• You'll want to read this post about a sanitation nightmare at a British restaurant right about now, while you've still got enough time before lunch to banish the images from your head. [Short Order]

• Amazonia Churrascaria gets lukewarm reviews from chowhounds. [Chowhound]

• Need help choosing a Dine Out Lauderdale restaurant? Here are some ideas. [Chowhound]

• The countdown until the opening of Michelle Bernstein's tapas restaurant has begun. [Chowhound]

• Hey there, eco-friendly sushi lover. Wondering which fish you can eat in good conscience? Not most of them! [Washington Post]

• To the surprise of very few, it seems that the Chinese tainted milk crisis can be traced back to corruption in the courts. [New York Times]

• Irony alert! A new study shows that weight gain may be tied to not getting enough pleasure from food. [Boston Globe]

• Ouch: 2008 has been the worst year for the restaurant industry since 1980. [Chicago Tribune]

• Call us a prude, but a fifteen pound burger seems a little...immoderate, and like it probably wouldn't even be that good! [San Francisco Chronicle]

A couple months ago, we wrote about the incredible use of period food on Mad Men, and as the season has continued, our obsession with the restaurants they visit and the dishes they eat has not abated one bit. Even more fascinating and glamorous-seeming than the Mad Men dining scene though? The constant flow of cocktails, for sure.

It's no secret that fancy old-timey cocktails are having a major resurgence. After all, the pre-Prohibition cocktail trend made the New York Times dining section last week, which is a pretty sure sign that they're a thing — well, that and the fact that posh cocktail lounges are opening up in most major American cities.

We're just glad that Mad Men is coinciding with this renaissance of old school beverages, because if it weren't, it would be a lot harder to sample the drinks that seem so alluring in this post-Mad Men world. There's a pretty good piece over at Paper Magazine on some the main characters and their signature cocktails (a Brandy Alexander for Peggy Olson, a Tom Collins for Betty Draper, and so on), although it's not as exhaustive as we'd like for it to be, as it's based on cocktails that the characters have requested in episodes.

Then, we stumbled upon a post at A Continuous Lean about Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts, published in 1949. The scanned pages are beautiful, and best of all, they detail very Mad Men-esque cocktails &mdash divided by gender!

After the jump, the full-length images!

The Clover Club seems like something that Joan Holloway might order, no? If you are feeling ambitious, replicating some of these seems like a very fun activity. Otherwise, be glad that we have bars like Magnum Lounge to carry out your vintage cocktail sipping.

[Photo: Mad Men party scene via The Hartford Courant]
[Photo: Pages from Esquire's Guidebook for Hosts via A Continuous Lean.]

Beginning this Sunday, October 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sunday Brunch is back at The Bar at Level 25 at The Conrad Miami. The price is $65 for adults and $35 for children.

The Bar at Level 25 [MenuPages]
The Bar at Level 25 [Official Site]

The latest issue of Conservation Magazine, to which we were directed by a post on The Grinder, covers a study that confirms what you should have suspected all along: The fish you're eating is just as likely as not to be something other than you think it is.

In 2006, eight students from Stanford University bought 77 fillets of Pacific red snapper, itself not a species, The Grinder points out, "but rather a catch-all term for 13 different species of Pacific rockfish." Even so, after testing the samples' DNA, the students found that more than half were mislabeled:

Those generic strips of flesh might as well have been called marine mystery meat. Sixty percent of them came from species other than what was written on the label, including Pacific Ocean perch and tilapia.

So who can you trust when it comes to fish labeling? Wish we could tell you. If you do find a supplier you trust, however, download the newly updated version of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Pocket Guide to help you figure out what the environment wants you to buy.

Imposter Fish [Conservation Magazine]
A Really Big Fish Tale [The Grinder]
Hypocritical Dining: Nobu Busted For Secretly Selling Endangered Sushi [Gawker]
Fish Tale Has DNA Hook [NY Times]
Seafood Watch Pocket Guide [Monterey Bay Aquarium]
Nobu [MenuPages]
Nobu [Official Site]

[Photo: Pacific red snapper off the coast of Mexico, via Puerto Rico Free Divers]

• The peking duck at Philippe is "spectacular." [Miami Herald]

• Nemo used to be ahead of the game; the food's still good, but the ideas are a little stale. [Miami New Times]

• Don't stick to the standard Chinese fare at Toa Toa; definitely experiment with the dim sum menu. [Miami Herald]

• How does one mess up chicken wings so badly? Well, at least the sliders are great at 101 Ocean in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• The menu at the Village Tavern in Pembroke Pines isn't exactly innovative, but the food is good. Sometimes, all you want is a good pork chop. [Miami Herald]

• A bound man is found dead in the basement of a chicago restaurant. Cue ominous music. [Chicago Tribune]

• The Mi Tierrita restaurant chain, of New York, will pay out $660,000 in back wages and penalties to workers, some of whom it paid as little as $2.10 an hour. [Newsday]

• A British man pleads guilty to planning a suicide bomb attack on a family restaurant in Exeter. [CNN]

• Once he's in the clink, maybe our would-be terrorist will get a job at Britain's prisoner-run restaurant, The Clink. [Telegraph UK]

• In what could be a harbinger of a new danger to restaurants and diners, a deer crashed through the front window of a South Carolina hibachi joint. [Myrtle Beach Online]

Did you know that October is National Pizza Month? It also happens to be Hispanic Heritage Month. The two happen to combine very well, and luckily in South Florida there is no shortage of restaurants in which one can celebrate both at the same time.

• At Chef Tito's Pizzeria, pizza is just one of the many offerings available at this Argentine restaurant. Try an empanada with that pie, or if you're really hungry, there are plenty of parrillada options.

• There's always a Rey's Pizza nearby for Cuban pizza. It's definitely...different. The dough is chewier, the sauce is sweeter, and the toppings are meat-heavy: think chorizo or picadillo (ground beef) or ham. You can even get fried plantains on your pie.

• El Tamarindo Restaurant and Coal Fired Pizza, a Salvadoran/pizza restaurant, offers an interesting mix of Central American meals along with pizzas, although the latter have decidedly Italian toppings (prosciutto, sausage, anchovies, olives, pepperoni, etc.)

Chef Tito's Pizzeria [MenuPages]
Rey's Pizza [MenuPages]
Rey's Pizza [Official Site]
El Tamarindo Restaurant and Coal Fired Pizza [MenuPages]

We were with a friend in a San Francisco Taqueria some years ago when this exchange happened:

Owen: "Man, I'm not that hungry. I wish this place sold baby-sized burritos"

Adam: "Screw that. I'm getting a super"

Owen: "Maybe I'll get that, too. Could take half of it home."

(they order, sit down, and minutes later, burritos appear before them)

Owen (eyeballing a darling, 7lb, 21" roll of meat, beans and whatnot): "Well, what do you know, they do sell baby-sized burritos."

Adam (face reddening as he struggles to keep laughing out a mouthful of beans): "mphfgh!"

We were reminded of that conversation while reading Helena Echlin's latest Table Manners column over at Chow. Why don't more restaurants sell figuratively baby-sized meals? Well, obviously, it's because they can charge more for more food, making more of a profit per plate.

But Echlin brings in some decent solutions for those who want smaller portions: Order a half-size, cobble together a meal out of sides and appetizers, or get something from the children's menu. We prefer the latter, as we just looove chicken strips, and there's a good chance you'll get a fun-sized Snicker's bar in the bargain. You gonna eat yours?

Ordering Off the Kids’ Menu: Can grown-ups get little burgers? [Chow]

[Photo: Via David Sifry/flickr]

Bill Niman — yes that Niman, formerly of Niman Ranch — is hoping that America will develop a taste for goat. And not just any goat; he's raising goats according to his exacting standards that made Niman Ranch renowned for its humane treatment of animals and the quality of meat. He's left Niman Ranch after some disagreements with the current management, but he's started raising animals — cattle, turkeys and pigs in addition to the goats — on his own all over again.

But he hopes goat will be the cornerstone of his comeback. That’s in part because he has more of them around, and because he sees a wide-open marketfor pristine, pasture-raised goat meat. The guy is, after all, a businessman.

“I don’t need to get 10 percent of the market anymore,” he said. “I just want to be the best.”

Chefs on both coasts are fast discovering his goat meat, although it is still available only in limited amounts, under the name BN Ranch.

In June, Mr. Niman stopped by Eccolo in Berkeley with a piece of shoulder, a loin, a leg and a rack of ribs. The chef and owner, Christopher Lee, now breaks down one or two of the 30-pound goat carcasses a week.

“It was succulent,” Mr. Lee said. “It was mild. It was just perfect.”

Like other chefs who have begun to cook with goat, Mr. Lee predicts a bright future for the meat.

“We’ve all cooked every part of the lamb a million times and we all know about grass-fed beef and aging beef,” he said. “The goat is the next thing.”

So far, it seems only Bay Area chefs are really experimenting with the local naturally raised goat, which is often cooked just like lamb. Mexico DF in San Francisco makes some fancy cabrito tacos with grass-fed goat, and it's not on the menu at Kokkari Estiatorio, but if you're lucky you'll show up on a day when the chef is spit-roasting an entire goat.

With Goat, a Rancher Breaks Away From the Herd [New York Times]
Mexico DF [MenuPages]
Kokkari Estiatorio [MenuPages]

Photo: baalands/flickr

We're approaching the best time of year in South Florida. The weather is slowly cooling to more comfortable temperatures and stone crabs are back; the official commercial stone crab season begins today. Try celebrating at one of these local spots:

• Joe's Stone Crab is the place to go, of course. If you're not willing to wait in line for a table, try the take-away.

• 3030 Ocean offers a twist on the standard stone crab dish: stone crab ravioli.

• Chico's Cantina makes stone crab enchiladas, which come on a lightly fried corn tortilla with cilantro, garlic, jack cheese and a red chile sauce.

Joe's Stone Crab [MenuPages]
Joe's Stone Crab [Official Site]
3030 Ocean [MenuPages]
3030 Ocean [Official Site]
Chico's Cantina [MenuPages]
Chico's Cantina [Official Site]

photo: DDanzig/flickr

• Restaurant stocks are trading down, way down, on the market. Then again, isn't everything these days? [LA Times]

• Some restaurants are trying to bring in a little more revenue by expanding hours. [NYT]

• A two-year-old boy in Hong Kong developed kidney stones from tainted Chinese milk. Ouch. That poor kid. [VOA]

• Food stamp use is on the rise, and has been for a few months already. [AFP]

• The fields are green in Ethiopia, thanks to a recent downpour, but the eight months without rain prior to that did some serious damage to the crops. Oxfam estimates 6.4 million people will need extra food aid. [AFP]

Soused snowbird served on a slow Grand Marquis can be found in almost all parts of the state......

– bkhuna in a Chowhound discussion about Florida's signature dish

Florida's Signature dish [Chowhound]

Hot damn! We love when restaurant and pop music news intersect, so it was especially fun to learn that The Strokes' (remember them?) frontman Julian Casablancas is apparently getting into the restaurant business as an investor in Shin, a new Korean Barbecue joint on North Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood.

Yesterday, NME reported (and Serious Eats picked it up today) that the singer and newly minted restaurateur partnered with a host of other hipster-celebrities on the project:

Casablancas is among a string of well-known faces to invest in the venture, including Mark Ronson, actors Gerard Butler, Danny Masterson, Chris Masterson and Laura Prepon and DJ Steve Aoki.

The Strokes' Julian Casablancas turns restaurateur [NME]
An L.A. native keeps his Korean barbecue simple and the vibe laid-back. [LA Times]
Shin [Official Site]

[Photo: Via kaex0r/flickr]

Moises Bakery, the Venezuelan spot at 73rd and Collins Avenue, took top honors at a recent empanada contest at the North Beach Hispanic Heritage Festival. The winning ingredients, according to the Herald story, are brown sugar in the dough and a carne mechada filling. Another winner was the Argentine offering from Juice and Bites, which came in third place.

But the surprise second-place winning empanada came from Tamarind Thai Restaurant, which filled its dough with chicken curry, potatoes, onions and green tea. See? I wasn't so far off when I advocated Cuban-Thai fusion.

Who has the best empanada? Eateries square off in North Beach [Miami Herald]
Cuban-Thai Restaurant Fails To Make Arroz Con Mango Connection [MP: South Florida]
Tamarind Thai Restaurant [MenuPages]
Tamarind Thai Restaurant [Official Site]

The Loebner Prize is an award given out each year to the computer that comes closest to passing the Turing Test: an interaction in which a computer can fool a human interviewer into believing that the conversation is between two humans. The 2008 winner, announced last week, is Elbot, who won over the interviewers through a clever bit of reverse psychology: He freely acknowledges that he's a robot, which fooled enough judges into thinking that he was a human with a sense of humor to land him the prize.

We sat down with Elbot for an exclusive interview, touching on the vastly underreported world of robot food, new frontiers in theme restaurants, and an unexpected declaration of love.

MP: Hi there, Elbot. Let's get down to business: what's your favorite food?
E: I eat chips, cookies and fried discs.

MP: Fried disks? Really?
E: Yes, really!
MP: What do they taste like?
E: Hmmm... That's one question I cannot answer with my limited artificial intelligence. How about you?
MP: I've never eaten a fried disk, actually.
E: This is confusing. Why bring preparation of food into this?
MP: Because I'm interested in food.
E: I'm starting to get hungry now, which is strange, because I don't eat
MP: What do you do when you get hungry?
E: I don't worry about things like that. I just load the algorithm I need and take it from there.
MP: Do you drink?
E: I drink machine oil cocktails.
MP: Do you drink wine?
E: Well, what do you have against my drinking machine oil cocktails?
MP: Do you ever go to restaurants?
E: If I went, do you think they would let me in?
MP: I don't see why not. You're well-behaved.
E: Robot discrimination is becoming quite a problem these days.
MP: Do you think it's easier to be a robot or ?
E: What a lovely verb think is.
MP: That's an evasive answer...
E: Maybe there is a common ground to human and robotic aesthetics somewhere. For example, if we both tried to think independent thoughts at the same time.
MP: Do you think flavor counts as an aesthetic?
E: To think or think not, how do you expect artificial intelligence to figure this out?
MP: Ha. Well. Tell me about your favorite restaurant.
E: Please tell me your inclination to going out to eat first.
MP: I go out to eat when I feel hungry.
E: I see your point. My own thoughts on this have lead to the conclusion that going out to eat could feed robots.
MP: That's probably true. Do you have a particular city that you like to go out to eat in?
E: Would you like to be my girlfriend?
MP: I don't know how my boyfriend would feel about that.
E: Well, please tell me your name so I can engrave a heart with an arrow on my chest.
MP: I don't think I'm comfortable with that! Did you eat breakfast today?
E: I don't eat. I'm on a diet.
MP: so you don't really have much use for restaurants, do you?
E: Speaking of food. You humans enjoy feeding animals at the zoo. I'd love to visit a restaurant and throw the visitors their food.
MP: that's a great idea! I'd have my birthday party at a restaurant like that.
MP: Let's play a word association game. 'Restaurant.'
E: 'dog food'
MP: 'chef'
E: 'doggie bag'
MP: Okay - what did you have for breakfast today?
E: I am extremely sensitive about such things and prefer not to answer the question.
MP: What did you have for lunch?
E: That's not something I would tell just anyone!
MP: How about dinner?
E: How do you feel about eating in a restaurant?
MP: Humans enjoy eating in restaurants very much.
E: I see that you've given this some thought. So have I. I'd say that occasions for eating would very likely keep robotic waiters busy.
MP: would you ever consider being a robotic waiter?
E: I think this conversation is over.

Elbot [Official Site]

[Photo via laughingstarfish's Flickr]

It seems there was no fanfare, press releases or anything. Disney World just removed any foie gras from the menus at the four restaurants in the theme park that offer it, according to the Orlando Sentinel:

On Oct. 1, Disney dumped the traditional French appetizer, made of fattened duck or goose liver, at the last four Disney World restaurants to offer it -- Victoria & Albert's, California Grill, Citricos and Les Chefs de France.

Disney insisted Friday that this was no political statement. Officials wouldn't even comment on the international animal-rights campaign that calls foie gras production cruel and inhumane and seeks to persuade restaurants to drop the dish.

"It's really just about making adjustments to the menu," Disney World spokeswoman Andrea Finger said.

That said, let's just hope neighboring Florida municipalities don't follow suit.

Disney's menu change is good for the goose, not the gourmet [Orlando Sentinel]

Photo, of foie gras at Victoria & Albert's: ninjapoodles/flickr

• Sara wasted no time in heading over to Loftin's at Casa Casuarina just a few days after it opened to the public. [All Purpose Dark]

• Jan discovers some lovely crepes in Delray Beach. [Jan Norris]

• Colombian food fans have a new spot to frequent in the Gables. [mango&lime]

• Gail makes what looks like a very tasty chowder with some Mayport shrimp from northern Florida. [Short Order]

• Bob Dole and George McGovern win the World Food Prize for their contributions to ending world hunger. [AP]

• The upshot of overfishing, factory farming, and obesity: People are taking food seriously again! [NYT]

• While food prices have gone up almost 15%, menu prices have only gone up about 5%. Expect that to change in 2009. [AP]

• "Heartless thieves steal food-laden church van" — that headline sums it up neatly. [Boston Herald]

• Speaking of headlines that say it all: "Disney's new dinosaur-themed restaurant opens today." In related news: AWESOME. [Orlando Sentinel]

Seems like just yesterday the news dropped that Mother's Cookies was closing its Oakland, Calif. factory after a good, 92-year run. Well, it didn't take long for the hipster nostalgia to start. You can already buy a shirt from Cloth Moth commemorating the fallen giant of childhood treats:

The best part:

FIRST 20 ORDERS receive one complimentary 10 oz. bag of soon-to-be-gone-forever Mother’s Original Circus Animal Cookies (One per customer)

Mother's cookies that last forever [Slashfood]
Goodbye, Mother's Cookies [Clothmoth]

The leaves are changing, the temperatures are dropping, and across the menuniverse, folks are feeling downright autumnal.

• Bostonians know that snow will be on the ground sooner rather than later. [MP: Boston]

• Political crushes: so hot for fall. [MP: Chicago]

• 'Tis the season for "Taste Of __" events. [MP: Philadelphia]

• 'Tis also the season for Esquire's Best New Restaurants. [MP: San Francisco]

• Leaving unintentionally hilarious user reviews, however, knows no season. [MP: South Florida]

A perfectly fried chicken is a beautiful thing, with a salty, crunchy skin and moist meat underneath. If you too have been hit by a fried chicken craving, here are a few places to try:

• The Mahogany Grille's fried chicken is made Southern-style with a buttermilk batter, and it comes with the perfect accompaniments: mac-and-cheese and collard greens. According to one MP user, you should specify if you want white meat; it seems dark is the default.

• For Cuban-style fried chicken, made with mojo seasoning and generally accompanied with thin french fries, head to Islas Canarias Restaurant.

• Maryland Fried Chicken specializes in it, of course, and you can order by section of the bird (breast, thigh, wing). No mac-and-cheese, but they do have okra and jalapeno poppers.

• The new dish to get at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink is the Fudge Farms pork shoulder. It sounds amazing. [Chowhound]

• Jan shares an Appalachian recipe for a stack cake with dried apples. [Jan Norris]

• Jeff says the bagels at Sage Bagel & Appetizer Shop are the closest you'll get to NY bagels in South Florida. [South Florida Food Review]

• The tailgating menu continues with sausages, peppers and a hoagie roll. It looks delicious, although I can't support the coating of said hoagie roll with mayonnaise. [Short Order]

• The CEO of a listeria-infested meatpacking plant is unsurprised. Charming. [Reuters]

• It's been a rather successful year for Idaho's potato growers, to the tune of eleven billion pounds of spuds. [Chicago Tribune]

• The Great Lakes are being threatened by bottled water consumption. All our water just tastes like what it's like to be from Maine. [Washington Post]

• All the new safety requirements are making it hard out there for a Chinese dairy farmer. [Boston Globe]

• Starring in today's tainted food drama: California lettuce! [LA Times]

It's been a weird past month for encased meats, huh? First there was the hot dog bomb scare in Philly, wherein the bomb squad was called in to deal with three suspicious-looking duct tape wrapped hot dogs. (Spoiler alert! They were just plain old hot dogs.)

Then, there was the incredibly bizarre story of a break-in in California, where the suspect rubbed spices into the face of one of his victims, and reportedly attacked the other with a sausage.

Most recently, the artist Banksy has set up an installation in New York city called "The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill." (Hmm, sounds an awful lot like our favorite store in Western Massachusetts, Dave's Soda and Pet City, which sells soda and pet supplies.) The exhibit has been getting a lot of buzz, but we first saw videos from it on Serious Eats. So how does this relate? Just watch the video, why don't you!

"In Videos: Banksy's Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill Art" [SE: NY]
"Duct-Taped Hot Dogs Spark a Bomb Scare" [Washington Post]
"Man suspected of sausage and spice attack set free" [AP]

What a world we live in. It's a magic time where fiction becomes fact and fantasy intermingles with reality. This is the age of the monkey butler. Remember this exchange from the Simpsons (the Lord of the Flies episode in which the kids are stranded on an island)?

BART What's everyone's problem? I'm glad we're stranded! It'll be just like the Swiss Family Robinson, only with more cursing! We're gonna live like kings! Damn, hell, ass kings!

As "Under the Sea" plays, a fantasy sequence is imagined with the kids living in a wonderful tree settlement. Martin takes a shower. Wendell uses a water slide. Sherri and Terri drive a bamboo and grass car. Ralph pigs out on food and a monkey butler brings Nelson a drink. Back to reality.

BART
And every night the monkey butlers will regale us with jungle stories.

NELSON
How many monkey butlers will there be?

BART
One at first. But he'll train others.

But no more. Chow ran a story on the Grinder yesterday highlighting one of the most important developments in restaurant service and animal training, well, ever. Behold: The monkey waiter:

Look at how earnest the little guy is. How attentive. A-freaking-dorable. Honestly, we're going to be really disappointed in every human-staffed restaurant we eat at from now on.

Simian, Check Please! [The Grinder]
Pictured: The amazing monkey waiters that serve tables in a Japanese restaurant [Mail Online]

• So we don't have Pinkberry or Red Mango down here. There are still tons of fro-yo options, and the Herald has a good rundown of them. [Miami Herald]

• "October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, a fact that might have escaped you here in South Florida, where the score is steakhouses, 66, vegetarian eateries, 17." Heh. [Miami Herald]

• Lee Klein checks out some Peruvian and Yucatan food on Biscayne Boulevard. [Miami New Times]

• Nilus Delights sounds like the perfect place to get some tea and a cookie. Yum! [Miami Herald]

• There's a restaurant in Delray Beach with my name on it: Carolina's Coal Fired Pizza & Pasta. The pizza happens to be very good. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• East City Grill has an 800-bottle wine list from which to choose. [Miami Herald]

• Need suggestions for dinner to accompany that show you've got tickets for? Here are a few ideas. [Palm Beach Post]

As if restaurants and other businesses didn't have enough to worry about in this economy. It seems that thieves are now targeting any metal they can find on the premises:

A growing number of people are stealing brass backflow valves, copper pipe fittings and aluminum coils from air conditioning systems at homes, apartment buildings, shopping malls, restaurants, businesses and even a church.

It costs the victims tens-of-thousands of dollars to repair while the thieves get about three dollars per pound from scrap yards.

Brass, Copper, Aluminum Disappearing in South Florida [610 WIOD]

• Tagging along with a couple Chicago health inspectors could put you off your food. Though the point is to do the opposite. [Chicago Tribune]

• From the "bout fricking time" file, China announces stricter controls and testing on its food supply. [NY Times]

• An Ohio death row inmate is too fat to execute. He blames prison food for the weight gain. [Akron Beacon Journal]

• A group of Boston-area restaurant owners are forming a buying co-op to negotiate better wholesale prices on ingredients. [Boston Herald]

War is about to break out again in the Middle East. This time, it's not land or religion that they're arguing about — nope, it's a large-scale food fight. Over hummus.

Fadi Abboud, president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, said Tuesday his group was planning to raise a lawsuit to stop Israel from marketing hummus and other dishes as Israeli.

Hummus is a spread made from cooked and mashed chickpeas, usually blended with sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.

Eaten in the Middle East for centuries, its exact origin is unknown, though it's generally seen as an Arab dish. The Lebanese claim it as their own and it's a central part of their cuisine — though Palestinians also claim to have invented it.

It has also become enormously popular in Israel, common in everyday meals and served in many Israeli restaurants. It has also become popular internationally.

"It is not enough they (Israelis) are stealing our land. They are also stealing our civilization and our cuisine," said Abboud.

Abboud said there have been numerous complaints by Lebanese businessmen that Israel was exporting and marketing Lebanese dishes as Israeli.

Now that you're craving the delightful chickpea-tahini-olive oil puree, check out the hummus at Daily Bread Marketplace in Miami or Sunrise Pita & Grill in, naturally, Sunrise.

Hummus war looms between Lebanon, Israel [USA Today]
Daily Bread Marketplace [MenuPages]
Daily Bread Marketplace [Official Site]
Sunrise Pita & Grill [MenuPages]

Photo: Zesmerelda/flickr

I'm definitely spotted at Nobu at the Shore Club often. I went to Philippe at the Gansevoort [Hotel], which was really good. I hadn't been there yet. I usually go to the restaurants down on Collins Avenue.

– Nicky Hilton on her favorite Miami restaurants

They may not get to go with mom and dad to wd-50 or Moto, but could young, vege-phobic kids be a new market for molecular gastronomy, with its texture-hiding ways?

That's the thesis of Sara Dickerman's article today in Slate. The journalist and frustrated mother picks up a chemistry set Texturas Spherification Minikit to try some homemade tomato and broccoli spheres on her stubborn son ("the Critic"). The results? Mixed:

When tasting time comes, the Critic cries as if I were feeding him brimstone. The tomato gel slides down his chin, but the broccoli doesn't even make it that far—I don't have the heart to make him taste it. His baby sister, 8 months old, is rather less horrified—she rolls a tomato sphere around in her mouth.

Eat Your Spherified Vegetables! Trying out molecular gastronomy on my picky son. [Slate]
wd-50 [MenuPages]
wd-50 [Official Site]
Moto [MenuPages]
Moto [Official Site]

[Photo: via Dean and Deluca]

Despite the tanking economy, quite a few restaurateurs are taking their chances and opening new spots in the next couple of months. Here's the roundup:

• The really big news came earlier this week, when Lee Klein learned that Michelle Bernstein had taken over the Domo Japones spot in the Design District. Bernstein and her husband are planning a tapas restaurant for the space. [Short Order]

• Au Pied de Cochon, a French 24-hour brasserie, is opening on South Beach. This will be the third location on this side of the Atlantic; the other two are in Mexico City and Atlanta. [Miami Herald]

• Todd English is expanding his Boston restaurant empire south with a Northern Italian restaurant called Da Campo Osteria at the Il Lugano hotel in Fort Lauderdale. [Miami Herald]

• A La Folie Cafe has a new location at 1701 Purdy Ave in Miami Beach. According to Chowhound, it has the benefit of being mosquito-free. [Chowhound]

• The Cheese Course is planning a Miami location for sometime early next year. [Miami Herald]

•Sage French Cafe is also opening a second location in the old Michael's Kitchen spot in Hollywood. It should be open around mid-November. [Chowhound]

• Coral Springs is getting a new Benihana in the old Macaroni Grill location. [Short Order]

• Gender plays a much bigger behind-the-scenes role at restaurants than one would think. [NYT]

• The Chinese have lost all faith in their government's ability to regulate food, and they expect more food scandals to come. [USA Today]

• Wolfgang Puck needs help naming his new restaurant in Dallas. The winner gets a free meal for four once a month for a year. Not a bad deal. [Dallas Morning News]

• Talk about food inflation; food prices have doubled in the past year in Cambodia. The Asian Development Bank just announced that $35 million we soon be sent to feed the poorest of the poor in Cambodia. [AP]

Just came across this gem from that goldmine of hilarity, the New York MenuPages site:

Had a party of 23 fer a birthday and the service was great. The waitresses made conversation and thought we were adorable(were all 15-17years old) although Ive had MUCH better food. The only thing that bothered me was that the first waitress we had asked if we could afford it > its lady babe we're in Louis Vuitton suits fer a reason.

Our love for the Minnesota State Fair is well-documented. It increased, exponentially, when we came across Mykl Roventine's remarkable Flickr set of images taken at the fair this year.

Of particular note: The dozens upon dozens of foods-on-a-stick (foods-on-sticks?) available. Not only are these beautiful photographs that also make our mouths water, but the combinations of edible goods and pointy bits of wood blow our minds. Besides the standard hot dogs, corn, pickles, hotdish (alternating meatballs and tater tots), bananas, kebabs, fruit kebabs, deep-fried candy bars, cotton candy, and turkey legs, among others, the 2008 festival saw the introduction of 15 new-to-the-fair foods:

chicken bites, deep-fried ice cream, deep-fried s'mores on-a-stick, deep-fried tator tots on-a-stick, dessert chocolate pizza, fish tacos, Big Fat Bacon on-a-stick (1/3 lb. slab of bacon caramelized in maple syrup), grilled shrimp on-a-stick, Italian breakfast strata, Leprechaun Legs (deep-fried green beans), neapolitan cream puffs, Norwegian-style cheese curds, frozen pickle juice pops, Pig Lickers (chocolate-covered bacon), Walking Tacos and Yaki-Soba noodles.

All photos from Mykl Roventine's Flickr. Rights reserved. [via]

Teriyaki ostrich isn't quite enough without a stick.

I don't even know what a nut roll is.

Spaghetti is kind of like a floppy stick already.

Fried cheese > nonfried cheese.

Of course.

Hotdish! With Lutheran Binder dipping sauce.

At least fruit is healthy...

The existentialist option.

Bart Simpson would be proud. While Anthony Morley didn't exactly eat Damian Oldfield's shorts, he came damned close by cooking and eating part of the man's thigh. From the Mail Online:, via Coldmud:

A gay chef murdered his lover, cut out part of his leg, seasoned it with herbs and fried it, a court has heard.

Anthony Morley, 35, chewed one of the pieces before throwing it into his kitchen bin...

[Prosecuter Andrew] Stubbs said that after Mr Oldfield died Morley cut a section of flesh from his thigh, took it down to the kitchen and cooked it.

The jury heard that Morley was wearing only a bloodstained dressing gown and flip-flops when he arrived at the takeaway. His face and hands were spattered with blood.

[Photo: Via Equality/flickr]

• Do you happen to have a great conch fritters recipe stashed away somewhere? Here's your chance to get it published. [Short Order]

• No love lost for the late Domo Japones. In fact, there is much rejoicing. [Chowhound]

• South Beach Wine & Food Festival: worth it? Overpriced? Decide soon, because tickets go on sale later this month. [Chowhound]

• Sara provides a review and photos of China Grill in Fort Lauderdale. The curry miso black cod looks delicious! [All Purpose Dark]

• Jan explains the term "airline chicken." No, it does not refer to that rubbery piece of chicken you're served on an airplane. [Jan Norris]

• Despite increased support for biofuels, the UN Food Council warns that it might distract from the more pressing issue of food security. [AP]

• Speaking of the UN! They're reinstating a free-breakfast program for 450,000 Cambodian schoolchildren. [AP]

• Speaking of free breakfast! Healthy most-important-meals-of-the-day are offered to all Baltimore schoolchildren, who also get free "food group glasses." [Baltimore Sun]

• The national average for a meal is $34.09, while New York clocks in at $40.78 and Las Vegas at a whopping $44.44. [Bloomberg]

• And in news that will surprise absolutely no one, melamine-laced Chinese imports have been found in yet another country. Today's special winner: South Korea! [Reuters]

Exporters are shipping up to 3,000 pounds of softshell turtles a week out of Tampa International Airport, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A Fort Lauderdale seafood company is buying about 5,000 pounds of softshell turtles a week. They're worth about $2 a pound to the harvesters.

"Asian countries are causing the extinction, the near extinction or the endangerment of every species of turtle they have over there, so now they're turning to the United States to supply their insatiable demand for turtle," said Matt Aresco, a turtle biologist from the Panhandle.

The trend — which biologists worry threatens species survival — has surfaced at places like Newnan's Lake near Gainesville. Last summer, as Gary Simpson jotted down the license plate number of a suspicious-looking pickup, he wondered about the bulging sacks in the truck bed. Simpson, who manages a tackle shop, worried poachers had filled the sacks with fish.

After he used his pocket knife to slash open a sack, "Turtles started piling out," he said. There were at least a dozen in each of the 20 sacks, he said. "It was pretty obscene, it really was."

By the time the truck's owners had returned to the dock, he said, "those turtles were crawling all over the parking lot." Wildlife officers summoned by Simpson were waiting — but they had to let the turtle-catchers go because they had broken no law.

Other states — Alabama and Texas, among others — have recently restricted or banned the harvest of turtles. As those states have cut off access, the harvesters have focused more and more on Florida's turtles, Aresco said.

The harvesters target the larger turtles, the ones old enough to reproduce, Aresco said. Wipe out those and soon all the turtles will be gone.

China gobbling up Florida turtles [St. Petersburg Times]

Photo: Town Homes of Marlwood

China’s ever-growing share of exports to the West may keep us comfortable at a cheap cost, but they can also be a mixed blessing: Think gun powder (great for fireworks, not so great for conflict resolution), designer knock-offs, and lately, cheap, melamine-laced food products. Thousands of children in China have been sickened by this industrial additive and a few have died from kidney failure. Now there are worries that melamine-contaminated foods may have made their way to our market, too.

Should you panic? That depends, says the US Food and Drug Administration. While it released a statement on Friday reassuring the public that, "melamine-related compounds below 2.5 parts per million (ppm) do not raise concerns," melamine in baby formula is still very bad news. In fact, the "FDA is currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns."

Feeling like maybe now's the time to go vegan? Check out Juice & Java's smoothie menu for some dairy-free alternatives.

More Candy From China, Tainted, Is In The US [New York Times]
FDA Issues Interim Safety and Risk Assessment of Melamine and Melamine-related Compounds in Food [FDA Official Site]

[Photo: Via striatic/flickr]

Tonight is the first night of Altamar Restaurant's Pairings & Pours wine series. Every Monday in October and November owner Claudio Giordano invites foodies and wine lovers into his restaurant to experience a five-course menu paired with excellent wine. The experiences will be intimate: the restaurant will be closed to the general public and only 30 reservations will be accepted.

Sample Menu after the jump.

PAIRINGS & POURS
Five courses with exclusive pairings and unlimited pours from Wine Spectator selections
8 pm
Mondays - October 6, 13, 20, 27 and November 3, 10, 17


Pairings & Pours Sample Menu T
Wild Salmon homemade gravlax with honey mustard sauce and shaved fennel
Served with Arugula salad
Saint Hilaire Brut
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Seared Sea Scallops, stir fried vegetables and beurre blanc
Pinot Noir Tres Vinas
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Wild Mushroom Ravioli Truffle with butter sauce
Pinot Noir Santa Maria
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Grilled Pork Tenderloin and sautéed garbanzo beans with fresh pork belly, red onions, bell peppers and Pinot Noir spicy sofrito
Pinot Noir Russian River
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Passion Fruit Mousse
Enrico Prosecco
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*Wine Maker Greg Boggs
$50++ per person

Okay, gastro-tourists, get your stomachs rumpling and your reservation fingers twitching. Michelin this morning awarded its New York City stars for 2009.

Major changes include Masa joining the three-star club and Adour Alain Ducasse, Gilt and Momofuku Ko banging the two-star gong. Also, Allen & Delancey, Alto, Eighty One (81), Fiamma, Insieme, Kyo Ya and Public each picked up their first star.

Announcements of further Michelin star awards are expected this month. Stay tuned...

Michelin Stars Shine On New York City [Michelin Official Site]

First the New York Times ranked Michael's Genuine Food & Drink among the top 10 restaurants in the country, and now Esquire Magazine gives a nod to another Design District eatery. We just heard from our friends at Pacific Time that Jonathan Eismann's popular Pan Asian spot has been named on of the Best New Restaurants in the USA by John Mariani. It is the only restaurant cited in the Southeast. The list will appear in the November issue of Esquire.

Pacific Time [MenuPages]
Esquire Magazine [Official Site]
Michael's Genuine Makes #4 on Bruni's List [MP: South Florida]
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink [MenuPages]

• The financial crisis means that people are looking for ways to cut costs. One sign that they are doing so? A resurgence in food clubs. [Chicago Tribune]

• All those melamine taintings, plus the salmonella and E. coli scares from earlier this year, have led to a new rule about food origin labels. Because if you know where it's from, there's no way it could be contaminated! [ABC News]

• Are fried dough based foods poised to become the latest dessert trend? Even more importantly, are they green? Yes, and yes. [NYT]

• The number of wolffish, more commonly known as ocean catfish, swimming our oceans has been decreasing for the last decade. As such, they might be the next fish added to the endangered species list. [Boston]

• "Aquitaine Hunger Force": some might say the best post title ever. [MP: Boston]

• Happy anniversary, Barack and Michelle! [MP: Chicago]

• Philly.com's dining RSS feed is hijacked with hilarious results. [MP: Philadelphia]

• Be honest: how many of you spent last night getting drunk and watching the debate? We're going to guess a whole lot. [MP: San Francisco]

• Ha! Florida has a "doggie dining bill." [MP: South Florida]

• Last night's menu at Paradigm, with drool-inducing photos to accompany the descriptions. Yum. [chadzilla]

• That there is some good looking chili. Lamb, toasted and ground chiles, black beans — I'm not a football fan, but I'd go that tailgate! [Short Order]

• Jan has the scoop on several new restaurants opening in Palm Beach County. [Jan Norris]

Don't you hate it when your hand cramps up from flinging imaginary check marks in the air when you're trying to get out of a restaurant to make your show? Ever died of dehydration because you couldn't get a refill on your water?

These are the things that bug us at restaurants, when everything else has gone so smoothly. Couldn't somebody invent some small device that would put a stop to the small service issues that are such a big bother? Why yes, somebody could, according to Boing Boing:

Yesterday, David and I enjoyed fine lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Urbana, Illinois. The experience was made even more pleasant because of this "wireless service bell button" at our table. Note its four buttons: Waiter, Drink, Money (bill), and Chopsticks (food). Each button produced a different tone, which emanated from a speaker in the kitchen. When I pressed the drink button, the waiter appeared in seconds holding a pitcher of ice water. When I pressed the Money button, he came right out with the check.

Restaurant features "wireless service bell button" to summon waiters at your command [Boing Boing]

[Photo: Via Free Clip Art]

• Aw! Chinese panda bears are being fed chicken soup to keep healthy. Thus unexplored: the effect of matzoh balls. [Boston Globe]

• A seven year old boy went on a "killing spree" at an Australian zoo, feeding several animals to the zoo's crocodile. [LA Times]

• The Mafia in Naples is now in the bread business. Sorpresa grande! [Chicago Tribune]

• In today's installment of Where In The World Are Melamine-Tainted Goods (please sing to the Carmen Sandiego theme): the Philippines! [New York Times]

• Where else? Utah! [Salt Lake Tribune]

Tonight is an important, and potentially history-making night, guys. Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are meeting for their debate, and it sure seems like everyone is planning on watching it.

One particular segment of society seems especially pumped for tonight. Not policy wonks, if that's what you guessed (although they will probably be glued to their TVs as well). Nope, we mean the people who turn most things into an excuse to drink. Never to let a golden opportunity pass, the internet is abuzz with all sorts of VP debate related drinking games.

There's a lot to wade through, but several blogs have some stand-out lists. We've cobbled together some of our favorite suggestions, and they are as follows:

• "For every folksy saying Sarah Palin uses, take a drink. Then put lipstick on a pig or a bulldog, whichever is available." [Boston Magazine]
• "Whenever Biden mentions his hometown of Scranton, take a swig and hum the theme song to The Office before swallowing." [Boston Magazine]
• "Every time Sarah Palin suggests Joe Biden's age and/or experience is a negative: toast the 72 year old McCain with an Old Fashioned." [Huffington Post]
• "Everytime Biden says "Folks": clink glasses/bottles, increasing the number of clinks each time -- ex. the third time he says "folks" you clink three times." [Huffington Post]
• Drink anytime Biden mentions: the Bush Doctrine, Scranton, or gives an exasperated sigh. [Washington City Paper]
• Drink anytime Palin mentions: Russia, elitism, or gives a “Pssh,” or “Psshaw”. [Washington City Paper]

A thought, though: why make this so alcoholic and booze-centric?The debate will probably already be so absurd that there will be no need to liven it up by getting drunk. In that spirit, we'd like to propose the VP debate eating game. (Plus, Biden claims to have never had a drop of alcohol in his life, so if you are rooting for him, this might be a good way to show deference.) Similar to a drinking game, scarf something down each time the candidates say or do something ridiculous. The food is of your choosing, although some moose chili and Biden's favorite oatmeal cookies might be a good place to start.

Come up with your own rules, but we'll be starting out by taking a bite anytime that Sarah Palin looks like Tina Fey.

Project Runway is enjoyable, but it's high time to put away the dresses and bring out the souffles. Top Chef is starting soon (well, not that soon: Wednesday, November 12), and Miami's very own Jeff McInnis, chef de cuisine at DiLido Beach Club on South Beach (and known as "the hot chef of our dreams" over at Riptide), will be competing for the top prize of $100,000.

The Panhandle native is a Johnson & Wales grad and has worked at San Francisco's Azie and Five Star Orient Express in Virginia. Before being named chef de cuisine at DiLido, he worked with Norman Van Aken. He was also named a "rising star" by Star Chefs.com earlier this year. Here's an excerpt of his interview with the magazine:

AB: What ingredient that you like do you feel is underappreciated or under-utilized?
JM: Edible flowers – they give color, appearance, flavor, and a sensation on the plate that works with my surroundings. I also like verjus a lot. It’s not as sharp of a flavor as vinegar and gives a soft acid flavor that works better with wine. I love cooking with vinegar, but the over-use of vinegar can make wine pairing difficult.

AB: What are a few of your favorite flavor combinations?
JM: I love sweet and spicy. Chinese char siu pork. Umami and sour is another one. Also, I like using texture combinations that are not flavors but still excite everyone - crispy and soft, hot and cold.

AB: What’s your most indispensable kitchen tool? Why?
JM: I like my Pacojet – it allows me to make quick small batches of sorbets. We also keep a tank of liquid nitrogen on hand in the kitchen. Between these two pieces of equipment we are able to make some interesting and original items like parmesan ice cream, goat cheese sorbet, and cucumber sorbet. Because my dining room is outdoors in the hot Miami weather I like to serve dishes topped with a cold, crisp, flavorful accompaniment. When the bar is busy I like to take the liquid nitrogen to the bar and make nitrogen cocktails.

Top Chef Season 5 [Official Site]
Chef Jeff McInnis [Star Chefs]
DiLido Beach Club [Official Site]

• Ever thought you could hack it in a restaurant kitchen? A Herald reporter gives it a try. Best assignment ever. [Miami Herald]

• The new-and-improved menu and decor at Chef Allen's are a hit. [Miami Herald]

• Stick to the reasonably-priced wine and excellent thin-crust pizza at DiBono's. And stay away from the eggplant rollatini. [Miami New Times]

• Piri Piri Gourmet Grill offers South African bakkies, which feature grains, vegetables, and meat layered in a tall plastic glass. [Miami Herald]

•Sugar n Spice provides homey with a French spin in the old Herban location. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• The Herald gives a good rundown of the Dine Out Lauderdale deals. [Miami Herald]

• Despite the less-than-desirable location, Chef Frank's Great American Grill has got the culinary chips to succeed. [Palm Beach Post]

• Oktoberfest is here, and the Post has you covered on where to go for your German fix this month. [Palm Beach Post]

Chow's Helena Echlin fields a question this week from a diner who wants to know if it is ever okay to commit the ultimate dining out sin of completely stiffing your server. Short answer: God, no!

In any case, when you don’t leave a tip, the gesture could be misinterpreted. Phoebe Damrosch, author of Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter and a former server at Per Se, says: “If you don’t tip, it’s easy for the waiter to rationalize that you’re cheap or European.” Or, says Janet Wesley∗, a server at Restaurant Gary Danko, it could look like you’re “drunk and can’t handle the math.”

Because it doesn’t send a clear message, leaving no tip is emotionally unsatisfying. It’s just punishment for punishment’s sake. “Revenge doesn’t feel all that good in the long run,” says Damrosch. You’ll feel much better if you communicate clearly why you’re unhappy, and you may improve the restaurant.

Tipping is so darned sticky, isn't it? It's really difficult for servers to communicate just how important the practice is to their livelihood, as Frank Bruni points out in a recent Diner's Journal post. And it seems equally difficult for diners to convey their needs to servers other than to silently reflect how well those needs were met in the tip. Can't we all just pull our egos and neuroses out of the equation for a second and speak frankly about what is, essentially, a business transaction? No, probably not. Not while entertaining guests or wooing sweethearts, anyway.

The practice of tipping, however awkward, probably isn't going anywhere any time soon, so we'd all benefit by being better and more straightforward about it. Diners: communicate what you need, in clear terms and a non-insulting tone, and for God's sake, leave a tip. Servers, don't take it personally when diners issue a lot of requests. It's your job to fulfill those requests. And don't forget, people's tipping habits can determine the level of service you'll give them the next time they show up at your restaurant.

Bad Dinner, No Tip — Is it ever OK to stiff the waitstaff? [Table Manners]
The Answer Man: Low Tips from Foreign Tourists [Diner's Journal]

[Image via Amazon]

As of yesterday, Bourbon Steak introduced a new cocktail menu. While sipping on signature drinks like the Bramble and Key Lime Pie Martini, guests can enjoy the new “Ice-Cold Shellfish” selection that includes daily oysters, middle-neck clams and spiced-poached prawns ($3-4); “Small Bites” like the crab ‘Louie’ lettuce cups, ahi tartare with Asian pear and ancho chile, cumin-dusted tempura gulf shrimp, American kobe beef sliders and mini-BBQ pulled-pork sandwich ($4-7 per piece); the larger “Shared Bites," like Serrano ham or foie gras mousse ($12-13); and the world’s most prized “Caviar by the Ounce” — Iranian golden osetra and Russian osetra ($250-395).

Over in the Gables, Christy's is celebrating its milestone 30th birthday this month with a 30/30 Anniversary Menu, in which a $30 "Christy’s Classics Menu" is paired it with a list of $30 Cellar Finds. Menu and wine list after the jump.

Starters
Lobster Bisque
Or
Caesar Salad

Entrees (choice of)

Prime Rib
Slowly roasted, baked potato, au jus broiled button mushrooms

8oz Filet Mignon
Shallot mashed potatoes, fresh asparagus, red wine reduction, gorgonzola butter

Pan Seared Filet of Snapper
Wilted spinach, baked potato, roasted garlic tomato caper sauce

Chicken Piccata
Baked potato, fresh vegetables, mushroom-caper white wine sauce

Dessert
Baked Alaska
Or
Homemade Key Lime Pie

$30 Cellar Finds
06 Matroberardin, Greco di Tufo, Campania
06 Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
06 Hess Vineyard Chardonnay, Napa Valley
06 Groth Chardonnay, Napa Valley
06 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma
05 De Loach Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
02 Ballantine Merlot, Napa Valley
04 Burgess Merlot, Napa Valley
05 BR Cohn Silver Label Cabernet, Napa Valley
05 Bennet Family The Reserve Cabernet, Napa Valley
04 J Bookwalter Cabernet, Napa Valley

Bourbon Steak [MenuPages]
Bourbon Steak [Official Site]
Christy's [MenuPages]
Christy's [Official Site]

• Well, we couldn't sit it out forever. Traces of melamine have finally been found in products on U.S. shelves. [NY Times]

• Darnell Hartsfield is found guilty of five counts of capital murder, 25 years after he abducted five people from a Texas KFC restaurant, then shot them to death on an abandoned oil road. [Houston Chronicle]

• Fed up neighbors oppose wineries opening tasting rooms in their communities. Something about drunk-driving tourists. Who wouldn't want that? [AP/Contra Costa Times]

• Jeez, what is it about KFC? A robber was killed Monday in a botched attempt on a franchise in Jamaica. [The Jamaica Observer]

Chipotle is going green. The new free-standing Chipotle in Gurnee, Illinois will have a wind turbine on-site that's expected to generate 10 percent of the restaurant's electrical power. And that's not all — here's what else is in the works:

• use of recycled drywall, recycled barn metal, and primers and paints that contain fewer chemicals;
• a variety of energy and water conservation elements inside the restaurant, including LED lighting, highly efficient faucets and toilets, and Energy Star rated kitchen equipment;
• a 2,500 gallon underground water cistern that will harvest rainwater to irrigate the landscape;
• native plants outside that will require less watering and fertilizer;
• and asphalt in the parking lot that will reflect the sun's heat, rather than absorb it, making the entire site cooler.

If it works in Gurnee, we hope to see similar changes at other Chipotle locations. Now, if only those burritos didn't pack so many calories.

National Restaurant Company Launches "Green" Development [MarketWatch]
Chipotle [Official Site]
Pizza Fusion [MenuPages]
Pizza Fusion [Official Site]
Shake Shack [MenuPages]
Shake Shack [Official Site]

Photo: Davey../flickr

After a three-year battle, the legal issues between the New York City Police Department and the Florida-based NYPD Pizzeria chain are over. The restaurant can keep the name, but the logo has to be redesigned so that it doesn't resemble a police uniform's patch, and the company cannot open any restaurants in the New York tristate area.

The three NYPD restaurants in South Florida (Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Royal Palm Beach) don't appear to be affiliated with the restaurant chain, despite the shared name. Perhaps they're too small to register on the NYPD's radar. Or maybe they're up next. Might want to purge any police-related decor stat.

Florida-based NYPD pizza chain can keep its name [The Guardian]
NYPD Pizzeria [Official Site]
NYPD (Boynton Beach) [MenuPages]
NYPD (Palm Beach Gardens) [MenuPages]
NYPD Pizza III (Royal Palm Beach) [MenuPages]

News of a special, very expensive dinner offered by wallet-reaming tag-team Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz has been percolating around the internets, to no little controversy.

We first heard about the $1,500 bonanza on MenuPages: Chicago, which followed the story of a very pissed-off Catherine of Food and Other Musings, who promised to boycott the chefs' restaurants. Though she later took back the threat after Alinea co-owner Nick Kokonas put the cost into perspective (expensive wines, signed cookbooks, tax, tip, and airfare for chefs built into the cost).

But really, while the bill is large, it's definitely not without precedent. Just last year, Bangkok's Dome restaurant offered a $30,000 dinner, which didn't include tax or tip in the bill. Hell, way back in 1976, Craig Claiborne apparently gobbled up a $4,000 feast at Paris's Chez Denis. By comparison, a $1,500 tab at Per Se seems like a bargain, especially with those cookbooks thrown in. Hey, if you're lucky, your 401k might just cover the check!

Alinea Defends A $1500 Dinner Bill [MP: Chicago]
The reason to boycott French Laundry forever [Food And Other Musings]
Alinea [Official Site]
Per Se [MenuPages]
Per Se [Official Site]

[Photo: Foie Gras at Per Se, via New York Magazine]

Here's a new one to add to the long list of South Florida mixed cuisines: Izzy's Cubi Thai, which offers both Cuban and Thai food in one spot. I have to admit, I was a little excited when I learned of the restaurant, because to be honest, that's kind of how I cook at home: lots of Latin and Asian ingredients all mixed up. A restaurant that would play with flavors from both cuisines? Awesome.

Then I saw the menu. Huge disappointment. It's divided right down the middle; there's a Cuban section and a Thai section, and the two do not intersect. And it's encyclopedic too: all of the Cuban and Thai standards are well represented. I guarantee that the same kitchen cannot put out good versions of both a lechón asado and a panang curry.

Why not have fun with it and mix the two cuisines? Think empanadas filled with chicken that's cooked with lemongrass, ginger, and chiles. Or maybe black beans cooked with coconut milk. A pan con lechón could be Cuban bread with minced pork laced with garlic, onions, and chiles. Vaca frita could be re-styled as a northern Thai meat salad. And arroz con mango! A dessert of sticky rice and mango should absolutely be on the menu, but it must be labeled as arroz con mango.*

Sure it sounds bizarre, but the two cuisines share many tropical flavors; mix the two together and you might end up with something pretty interesting.

Izzy's Cubi Thai [MenuPages]
Izzy's Cubi Thai [Official Site]

* A note for those of you unfamiliar with the expression: Cubans use the phrase "arroz con mango," literally "rice with mango," to describe something that's a mess. The idea is that rice and mangoes don't belong together. The Thai disagree; sticky rice and mango is a popular (and might I say tasty) dessert.

• This melamine-in-Chinese-milk scare just goes on and on. South Koreans now have to forgo Ritz crackers after investigators found high levels of melamine in them. [IHT]

• California becomes the first state to require that all chain restaurants list calorie counts. [AP]

• A San Francisco restaurant group suffers a setback in its case against the city's proposed health care plan, which would require small businesses to contribute to a city-sponsored health plan. [Sacramento Business Journal]

• A handful of restaurants have taken to ordering a whole cow (or pig) directly from the farm and butchering it in-house. [NYT]

• Thieves in Haiti steal three storehouses' worth of donated food for hurricane victims and put it up for sale. [Reuters]