tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47288382939115165312024-03-13T17:25:31.511-04:00Whilly Bermudez for FOOD PRO - Wine Connoisseurs & the Food EnthusiastsThe Food Pro Blog is Forum for the Dining Industry. Specifically, Restaurant Operators, Wine Connoisseurs,& the Food Enthusiast Community.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-25920842927801480712015-09-12T11:15:00.003-04:002015-09-12T11:15:55.554-04:00$15 minimum wage for fast-food workers?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yaci1ZMP24Q/VfRBp7O2gAI/AAAAAAAADlU/XItYvANktXA/s1600/15%2Bminimum%2Bwage%2Bfor%2Bfast-food%2Bworkers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yaci1ZMP24Q/VfRBp7O2gAI/AAAAAAAADlU/XItYvANktXA/s1600/15%2Bminimum%2Bwage%2Bfor%2Bfast-food%2Bworkers.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><b>New York OKs $15 minimum wage for fast-food workers</b></span></span></h2>
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NEW YORK (AP) — New York state will gradually raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 an hour — the first time any state has set the minimum that high.</div>
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Gov. <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Andrew Cuomo" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 161, 52) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" title="">Andrew Cuomo</culink>'s administration formally approved the increase Thursday, a move the Democratic governor announced at a labor rally with <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Joe Biden" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 161, 52) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" title="">Vice President Joe Biden</culink>. Cuomo said he would work to pass legislation setting a $15 minimum for all industries, a promise that comes as more and more cities around the country move toward a $15 minimum wage.</div>
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"Every working man and woman in the state of New York deserves $15 an hour," the governor told the enthusiastic crowd of union members. "We're not going to stop until we get it done."</div>
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Biden predicted the $15 wage for fast-food workers would galvanize efforts across the country.</div>
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"You're going to make every single governor in every single state in America look at themselves," he said at the rally in New York City. "It's going to have a profound impact."</div>
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He said he and <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Barack Obama" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 161, 52) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" title="">President Barack Obama</culink> remain committed to raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour.</div>
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The wage increase for fast-food workers in New York will be phased in over three years in New York City and over six years elsewhere in the state. It will apply to some 200,000 employees at large chain restaurants.</div>
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So far, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and the California cities of Oakland and Berkeley have approved phased-in increases that eventually will take their minimum wage to $15 an hour, or about $31,200 a year.</div>
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New York's increase was recommended by an unelected Wage Board created by Cuomo — a tactic that allowed the governor to circumvent the <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Legislature" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 161, 52) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" title="">Legislature</culink>, where the Republican-led Senate has blocked big increases in recent years. The current $8.75 minimum is already set to rise to $9 at year's end under a law passed by lawmakers in 2013.</div>
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Republicans held a hearing Thursday into the process behind the fast-food wage increase, which some restaurant owners have said they may challenge in court.</div>
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Fast-food workers had pushed for the increase, noting their industry employs more low-wage workers than any other sector of the workforce. They say that unlike landscaping companies or child care services, the fast-food business is dominated by multinational companies with billion-dollar profits.</div>
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Franchise owners, however, say the increase singles them out and gives an unfair advantage to mom-and-pop competitors that won't have to raise wages.</div>
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Pat Pipino, owner of a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop in <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Saratoga Springs, New York" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 161, 52) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" title="">Saratoga Springs</culink>, said some franchise owners could be forced out of business by the increase. He predicted that others may be forced to raise prices or cut positions to absorb the higher labor costs.</div>
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"By executive fiat, with the stroke of a pen, our financial model goes to pot," he said.</div>
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Opposition by business groups and Senate Republicans will pose a significant hurdle for Cuomo's proposed $15 minimum for all workers.</div>
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"Raising the wage floor in New York that far that fast could lead to unintended consequences such as severe job losses and negatively impact many businesses who are already struggling just to keep their heads above water," said Republican Senate Leader <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/John Flanagan" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 161, 52) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" title="">John Flanagan</culink> of Long Island.</div>
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Democrats in the state Assembly and New York City Mayor <culink class="culinks" culang="en" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Bill de Blasio" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 161, 52) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" title="">Bill de Blasio</culink> have long supported a $15 minimum. On Thursday, de Blasio welcomed Cuomo's call for a higher minimum wage and said he would "urge Albany to act quickly."</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-31477287374273706042013-08-02T17:44:00.000-04:002013-08-02T17:44:23.370-04:00One reason airline food is so bad? Your own tastebuds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yA70ccBtKCw/UfwoGmu1eUI/AAAAAAAADUA/VsTvpNNuH2w/s1600/wayne+bermudez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yA70ccBtKCw/UfwoGmu1eUI/AAAAAAAADUA/VsTvpNNuH2w/s1600/wayne+bermudez.jpg" height="216" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Elena, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 34px; line-height: 37.390625px;">One reason airline food is so bad? Your own tastebuds</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Elena, Georgia, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 37.390625px;">Jordan Gaines</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">When’s the last time you enjoyed your in-flight meal? Your answer is probably “never.” And with the first weekend in August being one of the busiest times of year to fly, flight attendants are likely bracing themselves for a new onslaught of complaints about flavorless airline grub.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">But is in-flight food really so bad, or is our perception of it just a little off? As it turns out, there’s a scientific reason why food is less savory at 30,000 feet.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">Even before takeoff, cabin humidity decreases to about 12 percent. Once at altitude, the combination of the dry air and pressure change reduces our taste bud sensitivity. In fact, our perception of saltiness and sweetness drops by around 30 percent at high altitude, according to a 2010 study by the German airline Lufthansa. If you ate airline food at sea level, you might be surprised by how liberally the chefs have actually spiced it.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">But high altitudes’ impact on our taste buds is just part of the bland in-flight food story. Another puzzle piece has to do with the fact that “flavor” is, in fact, a combination of both taste and smell.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">“When you put something in your mouth, the vapors from this pass through the nasopharynx to reach the olfactory receptors high in the nose,” explains Dr. Tom Finger, professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and co-director of the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">In addition to reduced taste bud sensitivity, cabin pressurization causes our mucus membranes to swell, blocking this pathway (remember the last stuffy nose you had and how difficult it was to enjoy your chicken noodle soup?). Cabin pressure also decreases the volatility of odor molecules, or their ability to vaporize and enter the nose.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">Dry air doesn’t help our sense of smell, either. Typically, odorants are transported to olfactory receptors in the nose via the mucus lining. When the nasal cavity is dried out, the efficiency at which odorants are detected by the brain is reduced. When you “lose the olfactory component,” explains Finger, “you lose much of the flavor component of food.”</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">Interestingly, a 2011 study published in the journal “Food Quality and Preference” suggests an alternative hypothesis behind the blandness of airplane food: the loud, constant hum of the aircraft engine.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">During the experiment, 48 participants listened to either silence or white noise with headphones while snacking on sweet and salty foods. They were asked to rate the intensity of the flavors and several other characteristics.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">With background noise, food was rated as less salty and less sweet than in silence. White noise, however, increased the perceived crunchiness. Andy Woods and colleagues at the University of Manchester posit that noise distracts eaters, making it difficult to concentrate on the taste and properties of their food.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">Is there a way to combat all of these sensory changes and actually enjoy some munchies while miles in the air? Not really, although some airlines are working to create morepalatable in-flight products, such as British Airways’ new teabag specifically developed for use at 35,000 feet.</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 37.390625px;">Just go in prepared with the knowledge that your food might not be so delicious for a couple hours. Or bring your own food like the majority of travelers are doing these days. But no matter how you prefer to snack on-board -- and no matter how delicious the snack -- it’ll probably still taste a bit like cardboard.</span></span></h1>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-39143885504356487182013-07-30T22:03:00.003-04:002013-07-30T22:03:47.925-04:00The App That Knows Your Food Likes Better Than You Do<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Bn3AEDjQNc/UfhwYxVcaMI/AAAAAAAADSs/SxSjSz-AQYs/s1600/wayne+bermudez+miami.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Bn3AEDjQNc/UfhwYxVcaMI/AAAAAAAADSs/SxSjSz-AQYs/s1600/wayne+bermudez+miami.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The App That Knows Your Food Likes Better Than You Do</span></span></h1>
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<b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">By Adam Tanner<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Two weeks ago I arrived late in the
day in Singapore after a long flight. I had not done much research about
restaurants in town, so I dropped off my bags and wandered to Club Street, a
hilly lane of restored traditional shop houses in Chinatown. Lively, attractive
restaurants lined the street. I randomly picked one place. It was pretty good
as well as expensive, as are many things in super modern Singapore. But I left
feeling I might have done better with a little more planning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I thought about that meal after I learned about<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.nara.me/" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #666666; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Nara Logics</span></a>, a company that promises to find
restaurants that you love anywhere, based on your own preferences. The site
calls itself a “personal discovery engine,” which means it painlessly leads you
to restaurants based on the data you have entered into the site.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">There plenty of apps to help you find a place to eat: Foursquare,
OpenTable, UrbanSpoon, Yelp. Nara claims it uses a new type of neural-network
algorithm to do the job better, using more sensitive analysis of your (and
everyone’s) picks and pans. To date it has made its money through
revenue-sharing deals with<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.forbes.com/companies/opentable/" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #666666; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">OpenTable</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>,
Uber and GrubHub. The service is opt-in only and Nara says it does not
share any data about its end users. The company started in 2010 and last
year raised $7 million from angel investors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">On Tuesday, the Cambridge, Mass. company
announced a deal to license its technology to Asia’s leading telecommunications
group,<a href="http://www.forbes.com/companies/singtel/" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #666666; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">SingTel</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>.
The deal, the first of its kind for Nara, marks the latest step in greater
personalization of the Internet. It also raises questions about how companies
will use the ever greater amount of personal data they are learning about us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">SingTel is
not disclosing details about how it will use Nara’s recommendation engine,
saying only that it will deploy first in Malaysia, then Australia and
Singapore, for restaurant recommendations. But Nara is planning to move beyond
dining into financial services and other commerce categories and sees SingTel
as a way to do that. SingTel has made a greater effort to buy and license
apps for its 468 million mobile customers than typical U.S. wireless carriers.
It even bought a mobile advertising business last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">As more
people enter their likes and dislikes in Nara’s engine, the overall data
network will improve in its sensitivity. “An important component of Nara’s
engine is its ability to learn from all of its users across the platform,” Nara
CEO and founder Thomas Copeman said. “Eventually, all users across all
businesses that are powered by Nara can improve our knowledge
about both user tastes and preferences and related venues and entities.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">As its
sophistication grows, the service should be able to recognize national
differences in taste. For example, it would steer Brits and residents of its
former colonies toward restaurants that doled out the Marmite while
sparing Americans the unpleasant sensation of eating it for the first
time. “Over time, we believe that this could be an incredible hyper-local
value-add to SingTelGroup’s half a billion mobile customers,” said Loo
Cheng Chuan, head of SingTel’s Digital Life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">But blending
services into one huge personal profile may not go down well with those who
don’t like being data-profiled as they move around Asia and across multiple
apps. Nara sees itself more as part of the solution, not the problem. “Nara
provides a ‘privacy silo’ where the system can work and transact on the behalf
of the user,” Copeman said. “We almost imagine it as a personal anonymizing
avatar that acts on your behalf to gather information and act with the
internet, which is especially crucial given the growing number of services who
are dedicated to linking your transactions to your identity.”<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-58390252034553778992013-07-24T09:24:00.001-04:002013-07-24T09:24:23.199-04:00Wendy's to sell restaurants<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PqjKp2llIb8/Ue_VfWr18gI/AAAAAAAADNQ/VJ_3WCvIVCo/s1600/Wendy's+to+sell+restaurants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PqjKp2llIb8/Ue_VfWr18gI/AAAAAAAADNQ/VJ_3WCvIVCo/s1600/Wendy's+to+sell+restaurants.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Wendy's tops expectations; to sell restaurants</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wendy's reported a quarterly profit above Wall Street
expectations and said it's selling 425 of its restaurants to franchisees, a
move that's expected to help boost its profit margins. The move isn't unusual;
fast-food companies often own only a small percentage of their restaurants.
This helps keep their operating costs in check and gives them a more stable
stream of income that's tilted toward royalty fees and rent, rather sales at
restaurants. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wendy's, based in Dublin, Ohio, also raised its dividend by 25
percent to 5 cents per share. Its stock was up 10 percent at $7.32. CEO Emil
Brolick said that the sale of the restaurants will also help expand adoption of
the company's new restaurant designs. That's because Wendy's plans to sell the
restaurants to "well-capitalized" franchisees willing to pay for the
remodeling.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-10124286865543065612013-07-20T10:45:00.003-04:002013-07-20T10:45:52.372-04:00New York pastrami: America's best regional food?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><b>Sarah Green, 10Best.com</b></span></span></div>
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If you've ever visited New York, or are lucky enough to live here, you know that there is no city more deserving of the name "the city that never sleeps." With thousands of restaurants and delis open around the clock, there is certainly no shortage of good food, and perhaps the most iconic is pastrami.</div>
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Pastrami has a strong presence in New York, one that can be traced back to the Romanian Jews who immigrated here in 1872, bringing the traditions of their homeland with them. Once in America they found beef to be more affordable than pastrami typically made from goose breast, and soon adapted their recipe.</div>
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Today you see pastrami from all different cuts of beef in different parts of the country, but the most popular is the belly, and brisket in particular. It takes bringing, numerous spices (including a lot of pepper), smoking, and finally steaming to make this typically tough piece of meat worth the wait, and New Yorkers stand in line for a good pastrami sandwich day in and day out.</div>
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Seek out a traditional institution like <span style="font-weight: 700;">Katz's Delicatessen</span> on Houston St. and you'll find heaping sandwiches, perfectly prepared, of pastrami on rye. The recently reopened <span style="font-weight: 700;">2nd Ave Deli</span> at 162 East 33rd Street has garnered much acclaim, and for good reason: it takes two hands to hold its pastrami sandwich. <span style="font-weight: 700;">Blooms Deli</span>, in the heart of the city on Lexington Avenue, is one of the few places to enjoy a pastrami sandwich on gluten-free bread.</div>
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Each place has a committed following of customers who keep coming back for more. While anything can be put between two slices of bread and called a sandwich, it's the ingredients that count, and these delis offer some of the very best.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">Are you a fan of New York pastrami? Vote for it at <a href="http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-iconic-american-foods/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-iconic-american-foods/">10best.com/awards</a>, as your favorite iconic American food in the 10Best Readers' Choice Awards contest.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-31072380617314547992011-08-22T11:02:00.000-04:002011-08-22T11:02:16.905-04:00Chef makes eating fresh, local seem easy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S5F9vSCdCLo/TlJvdKXXW2I/AAAAAAAACcA/BeNl_l_UoBg/s1600/paul+buchanon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S5F9vSCdCLo/TlJvdKXXW2I/AAAAAAAACcA/BeNl_l_UoBg/s320/paul+buchanon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Chef makes eating fresh, local seem easy</span></b><br />
<br />
Paul Buchanan is one of the city's premier chefs. An educator, culinary consultant and caterer, Buchanan runs Primal Alchemy, which promotes using fresh food, in season, grown locally, whenever possible. You can check it all out on <a href="http://www.primalalchemy.com/">www.primalalchemy.com</a>.<br />
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Q: Growing your own food or buying it at farmers markets is fine for produce, but what if you eat the occasional animal?<br />
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A: You can do that locally, too, or at least you can know where it's coming from. We have livestock raised for us by the Buena Park FFA (Future Farmers of America). We recently butchered a 240-pound Red Duroc pig.<br />
<br />
Q: You didn't name it, did you?<br />
<br />
A: No, of course not. "Pig" is what we called it.<br />
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Q: What did you have for breakfast?<br />
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A: Let's see ... I had lowfat yogurt with blueberries and granola. I bought the granola from Sconeage Bakery at the farmers market on Sunday. It's a local business.<br />
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Q: What's the best farmers market in the area?<br />
<br />
A: It used to be the Friday one in downtown, but now it's been taken over by leaps and bounds by the Sunday farmers market at Alamitos Bay Landing behind the Whole Foods.<br />
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Q: Do you buy all your produce there?the farmers there. I'm not a health nut, but I want to know where my food comes from.<br />
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A: We grow a lot of our produce at gardens around town just for my family - me, my wife and our daughter. But I buy everything that we use in the business mostly at the farmers market. I know and am friends with most of <br />
<br />
Q: I've seen some of the tomatoes you grow. They're beautiful, but don't they kind of gang up on you this time of year?<br />
<br />
A: They do, but there are things you can do with them when you get too many. I grow about 15 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and several non-hybrid varieties. You can can them, make sauce, dry them. There's nothing easier than making tomato soup.<br />
<br />
Q: Easy for you, or easy for me?<br />
<br />
A: You just fill up a blender with tomatoes. Just take the stems out and throw them in to the top. Put in a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of kosher salt, three cloves of garlic and set the blender on high for one or two minutes. And after it's smooth, pour a slow stream of olive oil - two tablespoons at the most - down the center of the funnel. All you do then is pour it through a fine strainer to remove the seeds and the skin and you're done. You can make soup in all different colors - red, yellow, orange, green.<br />
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Q: Before I forget: Dogs or cats? I mean as a pet, not an ingredient. Or, you can do it as an ingredient if you'd like, but you're gonna get letters from the cat people.<br />
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A: I'm a dog person, definitely, for pets. We have a 13-year-old dachshund, a brindle named Ziggy, and we have another dachshund named Dasher.<br />
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Q: Labor Day is coming up. If I wanted you to cater it, what would you make?<br />
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A: I'd probably go with barbecued chicken chili. Chicken is good, but sometimes it takes too long to grill, so it's good to go with the chili. I'd serve it with sweet corn pudding; the corn is really good right now. Not too much bread, because it's too filling and not that great, unless it's a killer garlic bread, then it's worth it. I just smear some fresh garlic and butter on a good sourdough and grill it. Then, a big salad, or a big platter of heirloom tomatoes with a little basil and sea salt and balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I go to We Olive on Second Street in Belmont Shore and get their peach white balsamic vinegar. For a salad dressing all you need is that, with olive oil and salt and pepper. Maybe some diced shallots, and that's all you need.<br />
<br />
Q: You ever just go out and grab a burger somewhere?<br />
<br />
A: I'll eat at In-N-Out about once every three or four months. I have steak maybe about as often. Short ribs a little more often. In general, we try to eat better quality. I pay about twice as much for meat than you would at a grocery store, but I only eat about half as much beef as most people, so it comes out about the same.<br />
<br />
Q: Where do you do all your cooking for catering?<br />
<br />
A: My kitchen is at 19 39th Place. Anyone can come by. If the curtains are open, we're there.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-42931070377050141452011-08-10T12:55:00.001-04:002011-08-10T12:55:00.665-04:00'MasterChef' axes chef after failure to replicate Gordon Ramsay dish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-72OG8AptNgA/TkK32FOQbuI/AAAAAAAACa4/58Q2jJYGVZo/s1600/Gordon+Ramsay+dish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-72OG8AptNgA/TkK32FOQbuI/AAAAAAAACa4/58Q2jJYGVZo/s1600/Gordon+Ramsay+dish.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-large;"><b>'MasterChef' axes chef after failure to replicate Gordon Ramsay dish</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s139/masterchef-usa/news/a334266/masterchef-axes-chef-after-failure-to-replicate-gordon-ramsay-dish.html#">Lara Martin</a></span><br />
<br />
Ben Starr has been eliminated from theMasterChef kitchen. <br />
<br />
The travel writer from Dallas, TX lost his chance to scoop the $250,000 prize and title of 'MasterChef' on Tuesday night's episode of the Fox competition. <br />
<br />
Ben had started the episode on a high, winning the Mystery Box challenge with a shepherd's pie that <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrities/gordon-ramsay/">Gordon Ramsay</a> called "delicious". The Mystery Box ingredients had included ground pork, ground veal, ground beef, vegetables, potato and rice, and Gordon admitted that he had never had a shepherd's pie made with veal until now. <br />
<br />
Adrien and Jennifer were also in the top three for the Mystery Box challenge. The former made three different meatballs with three different sauces, although the judges thought it was too salty, and the latter made a meatloaf with roasted corn and homemade ketchup. <br />
<br />
Ben's prize for winning the Mystery Box was to choose which dish personally created by Gordon the cooks would replicate in the elimination challenge. As an added advantage, he could ask Gordon three questions about the dish that would help his cooking, while the other chefs would have to cook without a recipe. He chose for the contestants to cook roasted loin of venison.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately for Ben, he was forced to admit he "squandered his advantage" when he served an overcooked venison. Graham said: "This is a far cry from Chef Ramsay's dish and it's a shame to see a beautiful animal and a lovely cut go to waste."<br />
<br />
Christian, Jennifer and Adrien were also criticized for their offerings. Christian's venison was too peppery and not the star of the dish, while Jennifer overcooked her meat, and Adrien was so unhappy with his dish he told the panel there were "no excuses" and apologized to Chef Ramsay for wrecking his signature creation. <br />
<br />
Suzy, however, fared much better, despite earlier admitting she's never cooked or tasted venison before. She was named the winner for her well thought-out dish that was the closest to what Gordon had presented. <br />
<br />
Jennifer, Adrien and Christian scooped the remaining places in the final four, meaning Ben was sent home. Before eliminating him, Gordon said the judges had "truly thought" he had a shot of making the final two or three. <br />
<br />
Gordon said: "Your excitement and enthusiasm is legendary. You have a career in this industry and you have to take that and reach for the stars." <br />
<br />
Before exiting, Ben predicted that Adrien would win MasterChef. He later said: "This has been a life changing experience for me and ultimately I go home with happiness and incredible friendship and such intense education because cooking is my life and I'm walking away from this whole experience much the richer for having spent the last few weeks of my life here at MasterChef."</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-62409786035973943532011-08-09T13:06:00.000-04:002011-08-09T13:06:56.351-04:00Is it OK to breastfeed in restaurants?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cp5e8aWHAMc/TkFpKuA33LI/AAAAAAAACZ4/rgiDquSMLag/s1600/Is+it+OK+to+breastfeed+in+restaurants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cp5e8aWHAMc/TkFpKuA33LI/AAAAAAAACZ4/rgiDquSMLag/s320/Is+it+OK+to+breastfeed+in+restaurants.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Is it OK to breastfeed in restaurants?</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Michael Bauer</span><br />
<br />
“That crying baby is really annoying,” I heard someone say at newly refurbished <a href="http://dosasf.com/valencia_home.htm">Dosa </a>on Valencia earlier this week. “Why do people bring babies to restaurants?”<br />
<br />
I followed the sound and looked over to the middle of the room to see the originator of the noise; instead saw the mother expose her breast and feed the baby. The baby quieted immediately and the woman went on talking to her dining companions.<br />
<br />
I was surprised, and admiring, of the young mother’s seeming lack of self- consciousness. She made no attempt to hide the process, even when the waiter came over to take the order. Every once in a while I saw someone look her way, eyes widening as they took in what was going on.<br />
<br />
It made me contemplate our public mores and my own surprised reaction. Most states, including California, have laws that allow mothers to breast feed in public. It’s certainly not a legal issue, though in some areas breast-feeding mothers will be cited for indecent exposure or public nuisance. It becomes more a conflict between the rights of the mother and the comfort of some diners.<br />
<br />
It’s easy to dismiss this as the diner’s problem, but living in society is all about getting along, which entails compromise and looking out for others. As we’ve seen with the recent actions of Congress, compromise isn’t easy to achieve.<br />
<br />
I may be offended by that woman in her purple and yellow outfit, or that man with the plumber’s butt hanging over the seat, but it’s their right to wear what they want. Is it the same with breast feeding?<br />
<br />
Trying to dig deeper into the issue, I went on line and discovered that this is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and last week was World Breast Feeding Week. <a href="http://www.bump.com/">Bump.com </a>recently did its <a href="http://www.digtriad.com/news/health/article/185818/8/Survey-Nearly-Half-Of-Women-Uncomfortable-Seeing-Public-Breastfeeding">second annual survey </a>of 1,600 women and found that 44 percent of women feel uncomfortable with public breastfeeding.<br />
<br />
So what do you think? Please weigh in.<br />
<br />
I know one thing: Seeing the mother breastfeeding was better than listening to a crying baby.</span><br />
<div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="author vcard" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</span><span class="author vcard" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</span></span></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-35510906062055841192011-08-05T11:36:00.000-04:002011-08-05T11:36:53.502-04:00Chefs, culinary students bake birthday cake for 1000 at state fair<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-klAA7hOEim4/TjwOEFy9ySI/AAAAAAAACY0/O7cXtQ8i95Y/s1600/culinary+students+bake+birthday+cake+for+1000+at+state+fair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-klAA7hOEim4/TjwOEFy9ySI/AAAAAAAACY0/O7cXtQ8i95Y/s1600/culinary+students+bake+birthday+cake+for+1000+at+state+fair.jpg" /></a></div>Chefs, culinary students bake birthday cake for 1000 at state fair</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b0b0b0; line-height: 18px;">by</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b0b0b0; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b0b0b0; line-height: 18px;"><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn">Dermot Cole</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b0b0b0; line-height: 18px;"><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FAIRBANKS — Students in the UAF culinary arts department have been baking and frosting about 30 square feet of sheet cakes to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Tanana Valley State Fair today.<br />
<br />
I dropped in on them Thursday afternoon at the UAF Community and Technical College kitchen in Hutchison High School. Instructor Luis Martinez figures the completed cake will contain about 50 pounds of flour and more than a smidgen of sugar in the rolled fondant icing. The kitchen brigade featured nearly a baker’s dozen of helpers this week.<br />
<br />
The eight sheet cakes are on individual pieces of cardboard topped by gold foil for ease of slicing and dicing. That is important when you try to serve 1,000 to 1,200 small pieces in a short period of time.<br />
<br />
In the center of the sheet cakes, there will be a carousel. The fair theme will be expanded to the sheet cakes with decorations representing fair staples such as fireworks and giant cabbages.<br />
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The Midnight Sun Chefs Association, a local chapter of the American Culinary Federation, and students from the culinary arts and hospitality program have been working on the cake all week.<br />
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It is to be served about 2 p.m. today after a ribbon cutting and dedication of the new Usibelli Stage.<br />
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•••<br />
<br />
TIMELY ITEMS: The time capsule at the state fair, a hefty container provided by Hector’s Welding, will be buried about 2:30 p.m. today as part of the opening day festivities.<br />
<br />
Twenty years from now, when the Tanana Valley State Fair turns 100, here is some of what should be inside when the time capsule is opened.<br />
<br />
Expect lots of fair documents, including the land purchase agreement, a 2011 fair schedule and poster, a 50th anniversary cookbook, a photo of the fair board and staff and exhibit guides from years gone by.<br />
<br />
There also will be fair T-shirts, a GVEA shirt, a North Pole shirt, a Donut Man shirt, a borough pin, a North Pole coin, a folder from the Breast Cancer Detection Center, a Usibelli Coal Mine paperweight, a folder from Joel’s Place and a Glee Notebook autographed by Lauren Potter, an actress on the show.<br />
<br />
There are several letters to the future. The authors include Fair General Manager Randi Carnahan, Sen. Mark Begich and the three local mayors.<br />
<br />
Jan Mitchell Weaver has included a detailed fair scrapbook that covers the years 1970-1988, along with a letter asking that these be given to her daughter.<br />
<br />
Fair Operations Manager Annette Gerlitz has written a letter to her son, Elijah David Gerlitz, and Carnahan also has written a letter to her children.<br />
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There is a vendor apron from Aunt Linda’s Funnel Cakes and another from Denali Cream Puffs, along with a letter to the future. A third vendor apron represents the Patty Wagon. There are photos of owner Don Burt, who was preparing the wagon for its 41st year at the fair.<br />
<br />
There is an autographed copy of Miles Martin’s book, “Going Wild,” a food inspection certificate for Machos Nachos and information on Tim Welby’s history with the fair. Vendors Jeff and Nancy Anderson provided a rubber pork chop on a stick, which is sure to confuse people in the future.<br />
<br />
Someone 20 years from now may remember the daily printed form of a newspaper, as the July 31 edition of the Daily News-Miner is included in the package.<br />
<br />
There are two CDs, one from KUAC-FM and one from the KIAK-FM morning crew of Pete, Kathryn and the Cruiser. Anyone want to take a guess if there will be CD players in 20 years?<br />
<br />
I’m guessing that someone in 2031 will know enough about ancient technology to enjoy what Pete Van Nort, JB Carnahan (aka The Cruiser) and Kathryn Harris had to say way back in 2011.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-86308496143801160342011-08-04T14:07:00.000-04:002011-08-04T14:07:46.302-04:00Eating healthy food costs more money in US<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-brPvQKFfMas/Tjrf7SZoarI/AAAAAAAACX0/ykKWags1j1o/s1600/Eating+healthy+food+costs+more+money+in+US.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-brPvQKFfMas/Tjrf7SZoarI/AAAAAAAACX0/ykKWags1j1o/s320/Eating+healthy+food+costs+more+money+in+US.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Eating healthy food costs more money in US</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Anna Yukhananov</span><br />
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<b>Eating healthier food can add almost 10 percent to the average American's food bill -- and that is just to boost a single nutrient like potassium.</b><br />
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Researchers from the University of Washington looked at the economic impact of following new U.S. dietary guidelines, which recommend eating more potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium, and avoiding saturated fat and added sugar.<br />
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The diet recommendations try to fight rising rates of obesity in the United States, but the study findings underline some of the obstacles to adopting new habits.<br />
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In an article in Health Affairs published on Thursday, the researchers reported that eating more potassium, the most expensive of the four nutrients, can add $380 to the average person's yearly food costs.<br />
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Americans spend about $4,000 on food each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.<br />
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At the same time, getting more calories from saturated fat and sugar reduces overall food costs, the study said.<br />
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Pablo Monsivais, acting assistant professor at the University of Washington and one of the study's authors, said the government should consider the economic impact of food guidelines.<br />
<br />
"We know that dietary guidelines aren't making a bit of difference in what we eat and our health overall," he said. "And I think one missing piece is that they have to be economically relevant."<br />
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"They emphasize certain foods without much regard for which ones are more affordable."<br />
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More than one-third of children and two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese.<br />
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In the study, the authors collected questionnaires on the typical eating habits of 1,123 people in King County, Washington, and calculated how much each diet cost based on retail food prices in three local supermarkets.<br />
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However, they did not factor in costs for food bought outside grocery stores, such as fast food -- which would likely increase the food cost for each person.<br />
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The study also found that it is more expensive to eat more dietary fiber and vitamin D, and that people with higher average incomes were more likely to eat healthier food.<br />
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Monsivais said when talking about eating more fruits and vegetables, the government should also mention the most cut-price options. For examples, bananas and potatoes are the cheapest sources of potassium.<br />
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"(Guidelines) should tell people where you get the most bang for your buck," he said. "By putting the economic dimension on dietary guidelines, it would be very helpful for those on the economic margins, but also for everyone ... trying to save money in the current <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/economy">economy</a>."</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-69453218446908389162011-08-03T11:41:00.000-04:002011-08-03T11:41:40.135-04:00Grilled Cheese Should Be Made by Moms, Not Restaurants<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dlwko9HosW0/TjlsLysRW1I/AAAAAAAACW0/Fbo3TPMTLRM/s1600/Grilled+Cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dlwko9HosW0/TjlsLysRW1I/AAAAAAAACW0/Fbo3TPMTLRM/s1600/Grilled+Cheese.jpg" /></a></div>Grilled Cheese Should Be Made by Moms, Not Restaurants</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By <a href="http://www.time.com/time/letters/email_letter.html">JOSH OZERSKY</a></span></div><div><br />
</div><div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My heart sank a little when I read about a new restaurant franchise opening this month in San Francisco. Called the Melt, and founded by Jonathan Kaplan, the inventor of the Flip camera, it promises aerated soups and <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/06/01/jonathan-kaplan-from-flip-cams-to-flipping-grilled-cheese/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">grilled-cheese sandwiches that you can order ahead of time via a smart-phone app</a>. It's a great idea, like finding a soul mate in a strip club, or electing a government that can simultaneously protect the interests of 300 million people. But like those things, this restaurant concept will never work out. The very qualities that drew Kaplan to grilled cheese — its elemental character, its universal familiarity — are the very things that will be missing from the Melt.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The grilled-cheese sandwich may be the most perfect of all American foods. I say this with all due respect to the hamburger, pit barbecue, chocolate pudding, fried chicken and any number of other native wonders. I will even go so far as to say that it is my favorite food. But of course, I'm not alone in this. It's everybody's favorite food. That's why Kaplan wants to make it the centerpiece of his new venture, which he told me will be an "amazing fast-casual restaurant experience" that appeals to our nostalgia for this particular sandwich and its ability to <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/07/29/138590240/entrepreneur-bets-on-happiness-with-grilled-cheese" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">make people happy</a>.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
<span class="see" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc0000; display: block; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal bold 12px/155% georgia, arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2085108_2085114_2085131,00.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">(See the top 10 state-fair foods.)</a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But the problem with a restaurant serving grilled cheese is that the sandwich is too simple. It has three elements — white bread, American cheese and margarine — which are generally held in low esteem by the sandwich-buying public even though these ingredients come together in an amazing bite, simultaneously crisp and soft, double-buttery and starchy sweet, lush and delicate. Who could object to that? But as the judges recently told another aspiring grilled-cheese franchiser on <i>America's Next Great Restaurant</i>, to carry the weight of a restaurant concept, the sandwich needs to have what entrepreneurs call "added value": something that will make it worthwhile to the consumer to seek it out instead of just making it at home. </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So, inevitably, the white bread gets swapped out for some fancier, coarser, denser substance that will obscure and distort the sandwich's taste. The American cheese, whose supernatural meltability, evenness and quick-setting viscosity make the whole thing possible, gets replaced with waxy, greasy cheddar, smoked Gouda or whatever; and the thin, even coat of fat, which suffuses the delicate airiness of the white bread, gets tinkered with as well.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Our technology allows us to make the sandwich with very little fat," Kaplan proudly told me the other day. As if that were a good thing! He also claims to have idiot-proofed the grilled-cheese sandwich, using nonstick silicone-coated sandwich presses that can crust up a sandwich in less than a minute, while at the same time shooting microwaves into its interiors, melting the cheese at a rate calculated by Cray supercomputers to coincide with the browning time.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The cooking technology sounds promising enough. The truth is there aren't enough skilled short-order cooks to make the sandwich well. I've <a href="http://www.slashfood.com/2005/08/29/grilled-cheese-and-bacon-and-me/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">spent a lifetime</a> drunkenly pleading with or threatening inept cooks who couldn't be bothered to butter the bread or to brown a grilled cheese evenly. But regardless of whether Kaplan's high-tech panini presses can get their part right, the Melt, which is planning on doing a huge takeout business, will still have to wrap the things up. And that will almost certainly kill them even deader than cheddar cheese and nine-grain bread will.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
<span class="see" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc0000; display: block; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal bold 12px/155% georgia, arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1915679,00.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">(Read a Q&A with a cheese expert.)</a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Grilled-cheese sandwiches can't be wrapped up. That's why they are a dream of home life, an idyll of childhood. Someone (your mom) has to make them, put them on a plate and serve them immediately. The sandwich is only good for three minutes, and can't last even one second once it's been wrapped in any kind of container. The Melt will use unbleached paper, but that won't help — even if the sandwich were placed in a box equipped with a dozen tiny exhaust fans, I have trouble believing it would not steam itself to death, because, really, what is a grilled cheese but the quintessence of everything lightest and crispiest in our cooking? The violence done by wrapping it in paper or plastic or tin foil is almost sadistic; you might as well just pour a glass of water on the thing, and then throw it against a wall, before bashing your own head against it in frustration.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Of course, your mom would never do that to a sandwich. She doesn't care about the faux-progressive ingredients, the added value, the canned nostalgia or the need for speed. All she wants is to make it taste good and for you to eat it. If that moment and the meal it represents could be bought and sold, that really would be an amazing fast-casual experience. But fast-casual experiences, by definition, aren't amazing. And perfect foods don't get better when you change them.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Josh Ozersky is a James Beard Award—winning food writer and the author of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-color: initial; border-style: initial; font: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hamburger-History-Icons-America/dp/0300117582" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"></a></span></i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hamburger-History-Icons-America/dp/0300117582" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Hamburger: A History<i></i></a><i>. He is currently at work on a biography of Colonel Sanders. Taste of America, Ozersky's food column for </i>TIME.com<i>, appears every Wednesday.</i></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="see" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc0000; display: block; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal bold 12px/155% georgia, arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/08/11/regrettable-food-dennys-releases-fried-cheese-melt-sandwich/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">See Denny's attempt at a grilled-cheese sandwich.</a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="see" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc0000; display: block; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal bold 12px/155% georgia, arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,1899863,00.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-size: 12px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">See the best restaurants for cheese lovers.</a></span></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-24701123503211892842011-08-02T09:20:00.000-04:002011-08-02T09:20:50.990-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EoDHZRwbngY/Tjf5rgKtZtI/AAAAAAAACVw/HkOH0uJXLik/s1600/McDain%2527s+Restaurant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EoDHZRwbngY/Tjf5rgKtZtI/AAAAAAAACVw/HkOH0uJXLik/s1600/McDain%2527s+Restaurant.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Monroeville Restaurant Ban on Kids Sparks Predictable Reactions</b></span><br />
<b>The restaurant has banned kids under 6. For us, it should have been age 10.</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By <a href="http://sewickley.patch.com/users/kelly-burgess">Kelly Burgess</a></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The news that <a href="http://www.mcdains.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">McDain's Restaurant</a> in Monroeville is banning kids under age 6 spread like wildfire, making the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7373191n" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">national news</a> and talk show forums such as the <a href="http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-ridiculist/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RidicuList on CNN's Anderson Cooper</a>, and sparking predictable reactions about discrimination.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feedback seems to be pretty mixed, with some people welcoming the move and others pointing out that there are plenty of rude/obnoxious/smelly/whatever adults as well. </span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This has been a hot topic in our household as well as we reminisced about not being able to go to a restaurant any more upscale than<a href="http://pine-richland.patch.com/listings/mcdonalds-757" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">McDonald's</a> until our oldest son was 10 or so.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No matter what we did, what distractions we employed, what threats we used, he always became restless and disruptive in restaurants. Our other two were fine from a very early age.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The thing is, at least we recognized that going to a restaurant wouldn't work with him. It's parents who don't seem to notice their child is crawling under my table or throwing mashed potatoes who are the problem.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My husband and I have both been to McDain's a number of times. Our youngest son used to belong to a theater group out that way, and we'd drop him off at his group, go hit a few golf balls (McDain's is also a driving range) and have dinner.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The owner is right. It is an adult atmosphere and not for very young kids.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've definitely had our share of bad dining experiences having to do with children misbehaving in restaurants, but kids can be wild anywhere.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently, I did a story on <a href="http://pine-richland.patch.com/articles/have-a-safe-fourth-of-july" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">fireworks safety</a> and visited our local fireworks stand. While I was walking around looking at the merchandise, two little boys were careening up and down the aisles, screaming and punching each other and bumping into the other customers. Meanwhile, their mom and dad shopped, completely oblivious to the havoc they were wreaking.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few days before that, my husband, son and I were at a rather upscale restaurant in Ohio and the two children at the table behind us were so loud we could hardly hear each other talk. It was the parents and grandparents who were the problem.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The parents, apparently wanting to show off their children's amazing recall, had them singing the "Fifty, Nifty United States" as well as math songs and "how many days in the month" songs at the top of their lungs until we were longing for earplugs. And the check.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their relatives thought it was cute, but it was beyond annoying to those of us who were not actually related to those children. I also would like to add here that the son who was with me is known for his amazing voice, but I certainly would not ask him to start belting out something from <a href="http://pine-richland.patch.com/articles/les-miserables-a-hit" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">my favorite musical</a> while other people were trying to eat.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not that he would have if I had asked anyway. He's 17 now, old enough to realize that's not appropriate restaurant behavior. Also, old enough to get annoyed when the small children at the next table are so disruptively loud. So, they do grow out of it, but it's up to us parents to keep them home, or just dedicate ourselves to kid-friendly places like McDonald's until they do.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recipe: English Muffin Pizzas</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we reminisced about some of the crazy stuff our kids did when they were little, it prompted our kids to also start talking about some of the "kid food" we used to make that we hadn't even really thought of in years.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was one of my daughter's favorites, and she said she wished we still made them. They're so easy and versatile and can be made for a quick lunch, a quick dinner, or by the babysitter while mom and dad go to a nice restaurant. Let the kids help. They love to do so and are more apt to eat something they make themselves.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span></b></div><ul style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">English muffins, at least one per child</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pasta sauce or pizza sauce</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mozzarella cheese</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Toppings of choice, such as vegetables, sliced olives, cooked meat, pepperoni, sausage, etc. If you like it, you can put it on a pizza.</span></li>
</ul><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b>Directions:</b><b> </b></span></div><ol style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat broiler</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Split English muffins with a fork (you can toast them first, but don't need to)</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spread each half with pasta sauce</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top with favorite toppings</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Broil for about 2 minutes until cheese is melted</span></li>
</ol></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-9395789680029368322011-08-01T11:55:00.000-04:002011-08-01T11:55:44.115-04:00El Bulli: World's best restaurant serves its final meal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O7Y1nlwzkiQ/TjbMdnZXD8I/AAAAAAAACU0/T1rklTaJoTc/s1600/El+Bulli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O7Y1nlwzkiQ/TjbMdnZXD8I/AAAAAAAACU0/T1rklTaJoTc/s320/El+Bulli.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>El Bulli: World's best restaurant serves its final meal</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">On the final menu on Saturday were 50 dishes with intriguing names such as Clam Meringue, Olive Spheres and Hot Cold Gin Fizz.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">For 14 of the 24 years that the virtuoso chef Ferran Adria has been in charge of its kitchen, the restaurant has maintained the almost unattainable Michelin three-star status and been rated the world's best restaurant five times by British magazine The Restaurant.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">After a final dinner and drinks party for faithful clients and staff families, Mr Adria will close down the restaurant and begin turning it into a top level cuisine foundation he hopes to open in 2014.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"People think I should be sad but I feel the happiest man in the world," said Mr Adria. "El Bulli is not closing. It's just transforming."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">He himself was not sitting at a table for dinner on the final night. Instead, as usual, he was in the kitchen, cooking.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">El Bulli's location in a beautiful and isolated seaside cove on Spain's far north-eastern tip inspired Mr Adria, who started off as a hotel dishwasher, to think about the essence of what makes food taste delicious, prompting him to deconstruct ingredients to what he calls the molecular level. He would then reconstruct each dish using unexpected recombinations of the original components, presenting them in mouthful-sized portions.</div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Most required instructions on how to eat them, sometimes with bare hands. Food took on unexpected shapes, textures and temperatures as the chef used liquid nitrogen to produce vegetable or fruit foam, airy, ethereal reincarnations of solid food, combining seaweed and tea, or caviar with jellied apples.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">His bunuelo de llebre is a small ball with an external surface of chilled delicate pastry that conceals "hot liquid hare which you must bite into with your lips closed", enabling its caramel-like taste to explode inside your mouth.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The restaurant's average price of €270 (Dh1,427) per head - not including drinks, tax or tips - was another of its distinctive features.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The restaurant had more than a million reservation requests every year. It seated only 50 and opened just for dinner, and usually for only six months a year.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mr Adria used the other six months to travel the world in search of ideas and then to conceive and painstakingly practise preparing dishes that have astounded gastronomy critics and dedicated foodies alike.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"El Bulli will be opening again, just not for reservations," said Mr Adria at a farewell press conference in the rock garden outside his restaurant surrounded by dozens of colleagues, former and current. Among them were some of the most famous chefs to come out of the restaurant - Rene Redzepi of Denmark and Grant Achatz of Chicago.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"For me the spirit of this place has always been its freedom," said Mr Redzepi, adding that "the courage and bravery" with which they work in his Noma restaurant "came from here. It was like finding a treasure".</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Four of the world's top five chefs trained at the restaurant, which takes is named from a pet bulldog owned by the German couple who first established a restaurant in the Cala Montjoi cove in the late 1950s.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"I thought that I knew cooking," said Mr Achatz, who now runs two restaurants, Alinea and Next, both considered among the leading lights in molecular gastronomy in the US. "When I arrived here and walked into the kitchen for the first time [12 years ago] I felt I was on another planet."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Achatz, like others, highlighted Mr Adria's daring and insistence on constantly breaking new ground.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"When I came here, cuisine in America was very stale. Everyone was following each other. So to see someone taking risks, expressing themselves through real food - it lights a fire."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Back in the US "it was very exciting to watch that seed grow and watch it spread over the country," he said. At 49, Mr Adria said he and his crew need to replenish their inspiration to come up with something new. </div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"There comes a time for change in everything so that we can maintain creativity," he said.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">He added that the foundation "will create every day" and present its findings free to the world online. Last year, Mr Adria acknowledged that El Bulli was struggling financially, but on Saturday he flatly denied that it was closing for financial reasons.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">His biographer Colman Andrews said that while the restaurant may have lost money, Mr Adria made substantial amounts through books, conferences and side businesses that depended on his name and that of the restaurant.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Besides functioning as a think-tank and laboratory with the best chefs and food experts from around the world, Mr Adria said the new establishment would be open for visits to everyone, from multinational executives to school children. He said it would also be organising benefit meals for charities and non-governmental organisations.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Although the premises may be closing to the public, Mr Adria said he would not be stopping.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"With things as they are, with the economic crisis, it would be a total lack of respect to take holidays," he said.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mr Adria's immediate plans are to travel, spreading the Bulli word with trips to China, Peru and the United States, where he will give classes at Harvard.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">He said serious work on the foundation will begin next January although he hopes to make an important announcement in October in Madrid.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">At the news conference, Mr Adria was presented with a giant-sized white nougat sculpture of a bulldog, in memory of the "bulli" - a local Catalan word - that inspired a name that is now legendary in the culinary firmament.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Ferran Adria, the chef of El Bulli restaurant, celebrates with his team in Cala Montjoi, near Roses in Catalonia, on Saturday. The world-renowned and award-winning restaurant will be closed down until 2014 when it will open as a culinary research centre, the El Bulli Foundation." height="266" src="http://www.thenational.ae/deployedfiles//Assets/Richmedia/Image/SaxoPress/AD20110801186945-Ferran%20Adria,%20c.jpg" width="400" /></div></span></span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-50169055401668102902011-07-29T14:04:00.002-04:002011-07-29T14:04:54.590-04:00Miami Spice Brings Affordable Fine Dining To The Magic City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YJNtQqwGfXo/TjL2P5qMdWI/AAAAAAAACT4/rWtHOXS5Yks/s1600/miami-spice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YJNtQqwGfXo/TjL2P5qMdWI/AAAAAAAACT4/rWtHOXS5Yks/s1600/miami-spice.jpg" /></a></div><h1 class="entry-title" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 3em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 36px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Miami Spice Brings Affordable Fine Dining To The Magic City</span></h1><h4 class="entry-subtitle" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #646161; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Miami Spice Runs From Aug. 1 - Sept. 30</h4><div style="color: #646161;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c2d2e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Grab a friend and your appetite for another one of South Florida’s mouth-watering restaurant promotion events.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Miami Spice will kick off its annual Summer event which provides delicious deals at some of the Miami’s best restaurants.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Foodies all over South Florida have been waiting for the 10th annual Miami Spice to begin and now it’s almost here.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Miami Spice begins August 1st and runs for two months until September 30th.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">During those two months, diners can enjoy mouth-watering three-course, $22 lunches and $35 dinners at more than 130 participating restaurants across Miami-Dade County.</div></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-25579026457946602502011-07-29T11:49:00.000-04:002011-07-29T11:49:56.961-04:00Freegans go Dumpster dining at Trader Joe's<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hji5ddDXYdE/TjLWnbo53WI/AAAAAAAACTY/3SQ-KpmI7ck/s1600/Jeremy+Seifert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hji5ddDXYdE/TjLWnbo53WI/AAAAAAAACTY/3SQ-KpmI7ck/s320/Jeremy+Seifert.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Freegans go Dumpster dining at Trader Joe's</b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A new documentary about food waste could dampen grocery chain <a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/index.asp" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #004276; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Trader Joe’s</a>crunchy image.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Dive" illustrates the waste of wholesome food by following a group of “Dumpster divers,” people who mine trash bins for usable products. In the film, the divers are not homeless or even particularly poor; they just don't like to see good food go to waste, and they like to <a href="http://www.divethefilm.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #004276; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">get stuff for free</a>.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“In the United States, even our trash cans are filled with food; you just have to go get it,” director Jeremy Seifert says during the film’s opening sequence.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The “freegan” divers – Seifert, his wife, Jennifer, and a bunch of their friends – discover large quantities of fresh meat, vegetables and fruit in bins behind a couple of Trader Joe’s stores in the Los Angeles area. Seifert is appalled that so much food that is not spoiled and not past its freshness date is being discarded.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><span id="more-45144" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />But Seifert says the target of his film is wastefulness, not Trader Joe’s.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“In our consumerism we‘ve become wasteful,” he told CNN. “And I try to bring it back on us because of the food waste in the home.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A typical household of two adults and two children loses $600 in food per year through spoilage and mishandling, University of Arizona professor Timothy Jones estimates.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, “I don’t get mad at people when they don’t think about food waste, because I didn’t think about food waste,” said Seifert, 34, who holds a master’s degree from<a href="http://www.fuller.edu/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #004276; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Fuller Theological Seminary</a>.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I didn’t think about food waste until I started eating trash.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That began when some friends brought food they had pulled from a bin behind a store.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Half of it was inedible and half of it was amazing,” he said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Dive” is Seifert’s first film. The 53-minute documentary cost $200 and innumerable hours to make as he taught himself how to edit video, he said. Gaps in the video storytelling are filled in with animated graphics and long stretches of archival stock footage. It has won awards at 21 film festivals and was released July 19th on DVD and through Netflix and iTunes.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seifert said egregious waste occurs at most grocery stores, but Trader Joe’s bins simply were more accessible. Some food gets donated to food banks, but not nearly enough, he said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Trader Joe’s are doing a pretty damn good job, and doing a lot better job than a lot of other stores,” he said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“This is like a family quarrel. I like Trader Joe’s. I shop there. I Dumpster dive there. And I want them to do better. So I’m not really trying to go after them or harshly criticize them, I just want them to do better.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seifert has started a <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-trader-joes-to-stop-wasting-food#comments" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #004276; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">petition on Change.org</a> demanding that Trader Joe’s make zero waste a part of its corporate identity.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The petition, which had garnered nearly 77,000 signatures by Tuesday morning, is unnecessary, said Matt Sloan, Trader Joe’s vice president of marketing.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The company works with each of its more than 250 stores to arrange with local food banks and other charities for daily pickups of food the stores don’t plan to sell or aren’t able to sell, Sloan said. The program isn’t perfectly executed, but there is a program, and it’s not optional, he said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“In 2010, Trader Joe's donated more than 25 million pounds of food – that's equal to almost 656 truckloads of food or 20 million meals,” the privately owned chain’s website says.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Trader Joe's long-running policy is to donate products that are not fit for sale but are safe for consumption,” it goes on. “Each store has a designated Donation Coordinator, whose responsibilities include working with local food banks, food pantries, and/or soup kitchens in their communities to facilitate donations, seven days a week.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We continuously strive to improve our processes in our efforts to reduce food waste and provide hunger relief.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even so, the chain has no national donation agreement with <a href="http://feedingamerica.org/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #004276; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Feeding America</a>, the network to which most food banks belong, said Feeding America spokesman Ross Fraser.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Nearly every other retailer has a donation arrangement with us - Wal-mart, Sam’s, Kroger, Target, Food Lion, and just about any other grocery chain you can think of,” Fraser added. Feeding America rescues nearly half a billion pounds of fresh food yearly, and most of that comes from Wal-mart, Fraser said. http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/9176.aspx</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given Trader Joe’s carefully cultivated progressive image, many customers are pained to learn of waste at any Trader Joe’s store.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“They have such an earthy feel, they feel so funky, and I would think they would want to do something more about it,” Deborah Buczarski told CNN.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Now when I go in there and I see them pulling all this stuff off the shelves, I know what they’re doing with it,” she said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buczarski, a librarian in Santa Ana, California, said Trader Joe’s may have a policy, but it needs to make sure whoever is responsible for coordinating a store’s food donations actually has the time and resources to do it.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The change would have to come down from the top. Allow them some time to do this, some leeway,” she said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Trader Joe's is my favorite store so I really hope you will step up to this important task,” petition signer Cheri Acita wrote on Change.org. “PLEASE help fight hunger and stop your waste of food. It is very sad to know about this because I love all you stand for.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 2010, about 5.7 million people came to food banks seeking help, Feeding America’s Fraser said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We need every morsel of food we can get at this point,” Fraser said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It’s very common that we simply run out of food before everyone standing in line gets what they need.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He acknowledged that individual Trader Joe’s stores regularly donate to local food banks, but Feeding America would prefer a nationwide plan.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“If they’d like to work with us, we’d be delighted to work with them,” he said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 7px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It’s about more than not wasting food,” Seifert says in the film. “It’s about making sure everyone has enough to eat.”</span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-34172776896449376912011-07-28T14:22:00.000-04:002011-07-28T14:22:33.351-04:00New Haven’s Oaxaca Kitchen delivers inventive cuisine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wTs2Ktjsoxg/TjGo3o5XLOI/AAAAAAAACSc/qr7YOl_s8QU/s1600/Oaxaca+Kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wTs2Ktjsoxg/TjGo3o5XLOI/AAAAAAAACSc/qr7YOl_s8QU/s320/Oaxaca+Kitchen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>New Haven’s Oaxaca Kitchen delivers inventive cuisine</b></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Joan Gordon<br />
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<b>Oaxaca Kitchen</b><br />
228 College St., New Haven, (203) 859-5774<br />
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<b>Hours:</b> Lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Dinner, 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Brunch, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. <br />
<b>Prices</b> (same for lunch and dinner): Starters $4-$12; entrées $13-$22; desserts $6-$7. <br />
<b>Amenities</b>: Major credit cards accepted. Wheelchair accessible (street and bar level tables only). Reservations suggested on weekends, including brunch.<br />
<b>Price: </b>$-$<br />
<b>Rating</b>: Four out of four stars.<br />
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<b>In a nutshell</b>: Fresh and inventive. Some of the best Oaxacan and Mexican fare to be had in the state. We loved it all, from the guacamole, gazpacho, crab cake, buffalo burger and sea bass to the ultimate tres leches cake. <br />
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Five intense foodies recently gathered in New Haven to sample the fare at the newly opened Oaxaca Kitchen. Mexican food fans all, we were eager to try this newest venture of chef Prasad Chirnomula. It did not disappoint, and was reasonably priced to boot.<br />
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Customers who have feasted at Chirnomula’s Thali-monikered Indian restaurants will not be surprised to hear he has ventured into another robust cookery style. As more and more ethnic cuisines become popular, an Indian chef creating Mexican dishes shouldn’t raise any eyebrows. (Italian food at Modesto’s in Norwich is created by Mexican chef/owner Modesto Moran.)<br />
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The restaurant space at Oaxaca has been painstakingly decorated. A few tables on a front brick patio invite you into the tiled entry, followed by a good sized bar. Each detail — colors, wall treatments, rough-hewn beams and leather — has been designed to mimic a cantina with Spanish colonial accents. Up a few stairs to the dining room, terra cotta pot lids collaged onto the surface adorn one wall in the dining room, while on another, little sculptures of colorful lizards climb a mesh screen. <br />
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Our informative and amiable server, Colin, proffered housemade corn chips and a superb salsa. We munched while watching our order of guacamole being prepared tableside in a hefty molcajete. It was absolutely delicious, complete with Spanish onion, a tad of cilantro and a Serrano chili.<br />
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Small touches<br />
Little touches often separate the mundane from the extraordinary, and Oaxaca’s gazpacho offered ample evidence. Toasted pepitas, swirls of jalapeño oil and the coup de grace (or, more fittingly, golpe de gracia), a dollop of roasted red pepper sorbet, elevated the thick tomato-avocado base. Mango sorbet highlighted the ceviche Vera Cruz.<br />
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We split most dishes. The menu is so well put together we wanted one of everything. Jumbo lump blue crab cake was delicious and creamy, with a crunchy coating of blue corn chips surrounded by a roasted tomato coulis. Flour tortillas were available paired with fish, chicken, beef or pork and came with a creamed, chipotle accented sauce. <br />
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Chilean sea bass had been draped in a masterful Oaxacan yellow mole sauce. The accents were black beans, roasted grape tomatoes and queso fresco for balance.<br />
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Meat eaters could revel in the marinated hangar steak, Bistec a la Parilla, or pork tenderloin finished with a thyme jus. However, we just had to try one of the massive buffalo burgers. The over-sized patty was mixed with chopped chorizo and served over Oaxacan cheese, roasted poblano peppers and grilled onions. What could be better? Well, maybe the chili-spiced fries. Dipping them into the housemade ketchup was a special treat. <br />
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The bar has a large list of tequilas, plus six superb Mezcals native to Oaxaca. But Negra Modelo, my favorite Mexican beer, was available, and we shared a few sips.<br />
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Sweet desserts<br />
Desserts? No way we would omit them. Of the three offered, we split two, skipping only the orange flan. Sopapilla cheesecake was very creative, a layer of traditional cinnamon-fried dough topping a Mexican vanilla cheesecake surrounded by golden agave nectar. It came garnished with a cookie spelling out “Oaxaca!”<br />
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I almost inhaled the kitchen’s fabulous Tres Leches cake. Since first tasting my friend Lee White’s version, I had always thought nothing could ever top it, but Oaxaca’s did the trick (sorry, Lee). Could I have been a sucker for the margarita cream and chocolate swirl on top?<br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10px;"><span><br />
</span></span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-4679926229935120252011-07-27T12:50:00.000-04:002011-07-27T12:50:35.496-04:00P.F. Chang's 2Q Earnings Drop 29%, Cuts View As Traffic Falls<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XgtR52vXOCo/TjBB1ktBcaI/AAAAAAAACRQ/EwW2_EqJ8BA/s1600/P.F.+Chang%2527s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XgtR52vXOCo/TjBB1ktBcaI/AAAAAAAACRQ/EwW2_EqJ8BA/s320/P.F.+Chang%2527s.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>P.F. Chang's 2Q Earnings Drop 29%, Cuts View As Traffic Falls</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span><div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- There were fewer diners walking through the doors at P.F. Chang's and same store sale slid, pushing second-quarter net income down 29 percent, the restaurateur said Wednesday.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The casual dining company cut its full-year earnings and revenue outlook. Its stock slid $3.80, or 9.7 percent, to $35.45 before the market open.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc. earned $9.1 million, or 40 cents per share, in the quarter compared with $12.8 million, or 55 cents per share, in the same period last year.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast much higher earnings of 56 cents per share.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Revenue for the period ended July 3 edged down 1 percent to $311 million from $312.8 million on lower restaurant sales and a decline in revenue from restaurant licensing.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">That missed Wall Street expectations of $313.2 million as well.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Revenue from its namesake restaurants open at least a year fell 2.5 percent, while the figure slipped 2.7 percent at its other notable brand, the Pei Wei Diner.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">That is a key metric used to gauge a restaurant's health because it excludes the volatile results from locations opened or closed during the year.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">P.F. Chang's, which is based in Scottsdale, Ariz., said it had raised prices at its namesake restaurants by 1 percent to 2 percent and enacted 2 percent to 3 percent price hikes at Pei Wei locations. Almost every business sector is testing how much of a price hike consumers will absorb.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The company said it expects labor costs will climb, and now predicts full-year earnings of $1.60 to $1.70 per share with revenue up about 1 percent. P.F. Chang's prior guidance was for earnings between $2.15 and $2.20 per share, with revenue rising about 3 percent to 4 percent.</div><div style="color: #181818; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Analysts expect fiscal 2011 earnings of $2.09 per share on revenue of $1.26 billion.</div><div><br />
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</div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-77773410515369426302011-07-26T13:10:00.000-04:002011-07-26T13:10:09.495-04:00Cafe Ole Restaurant shut down for live and dead roaches in kitchen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bcBj6Ts18H8/Ti707FiKtkI/AAAAAAAACQQ/wvVZKvw4qt4/s1600/Cafe+Ole+Restaurant+shut+down+for+live+and+dead+roaches+in+kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bcBj6Ts18H8/Ti707FiKtkI/AAAAAAAACQQ/wvVZKvw4qt4/s1600/Cafe+Ole+Restaurant+shut+down+for+live+and+dead+roaches+in+kitchen.jpg" /></a></div>Cafe Ole Restaurant shut down for live and dead roaches in kitchen</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><ul class="byline fontStyle16" style="color: #636363; font-size: 11px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial, sans-serif; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/about_us/staff/Wendy-Ryan" style="color: black; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Wendy Ryan">By: Wendy Ryan</a></li>
</ul><div class="fontStyle4 storyFontResize" style="color: #404040; font-size: 14px; font: normal normal normal 12px/17px Arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="story last" style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">TAMPA - Charles and Stan Strausser are brothers visiting from out of town and decided to dine at Cafe Olé Restaurant on Cross Creek Blvd in Tampa after their hotel recommended it.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But they were not aware of the restaurant's most recent inspection reports.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Did the place look clean to you? What did you think of it?" asked ABC Action News anchor Wendy Ryan.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"I thought it was. I thought it looked clean, but I didn't see the kitchen," said Charles.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">On June 6, inspectors closed the facility after finding over 30 live and dead roaches near the prep counter and drawers, bar area, sink, dishwashing area, and back door.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">And this wasn't the first time inspectors discovered roaches. During the three previous inspections, in January of this year and May and September of last year, they documented seeing roaches inside Cafe Olé's kitchen. So has anything changed? Ryan went to the restaurant to find out.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Is there an owner or manager I can speak with?" asked Ryan.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"He's not here right now," an employee responded.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But that employee told Ryan he had only worked at Cafe Olé for a couple weeks, the owner wasn't around, and the manager wouldn't be back for several hours.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Cafe Olé has accumulated 73 critical violations over the last 14 months, and during the most recent inspection in June, inspectors documented food not date-marked, food thawed at room temperature, and food stored on the floor.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"You always assume they're abiding by the law and if they're not, you don't know," said Stan.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But despite what inspectors uncovered, the Strausser brothers say they'd be repeat customers.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"So the food was good?" Ryan asked.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Yes, superb. I'd come back here in a heartbeat!" Charles said.</div></div></div></span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-83877634778594078182011-07-25T11:00:00.000-04:002011-07-25T11:00:18.518-04:00Breakfast by the beach in Palm Beach County<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MYKWQ_nANCc/Ti2E_aTEnjI/AAAAAAAACPQ/3LgYGUiF9o8/s1600/Breakfast+by+the+beach+in+Palm+Beach+County.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MYKWQ_nANCc/Ti2E_aTEnjI/AAAAAAAACPQ/3LgYGUiF9o8/s320/Breakfast+by+the+beach+in+Palm+Beach+County.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Breakfast by the beach in Palm Beach County</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By <a href="http://www.pbpulse.com/author/jfontaine/">Janis Fontaine</a></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s no more relaxing way to enjoy the most important meal of the day.</span></span><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s a bumper sticker that says, “Some of us are NOT on vacation.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">True enough, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pretend you’re on vacation with a surf-side breakfast and a nice ocean view.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a very abbreviated list of places where you can kick off your flip-flops and enjoy your eggs Benedict to the sound of the surf and the smell of the sea:<span id="more-96870" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Benny’s on the Beach</strong>, 10 Ocean Blvd., Lake Worth. Breakfast: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Info: (561) 582-9001. Benny’s is like John G’s red-headed stepchild. John G’s closing got so much attention, they forgot to tell you that Benny’s is still open at Lake Worth Beach. It’s been a local landmark since it opened in 1986.<a href="http://events.pbpulse.com/lake-worth-fl/venues/show/1105699-bennys-on-the-beach" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #663433; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Directions, reviews, more >></a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dune Deck Cafe</strong>, 100 N. Ocean Blvd., Lantana. Breakfast served: 8 to 11:30 a.m. Monday-Friday. Brunch from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Info: (561) 582-0472. With a slogan like “The only thing we overlook is the ocean,” it’s got to deliver! <a href="http://events.pbpulse.com/lantana-fl/venues/show/844461-dune-deck-cafe" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #663433; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Directions, reviews, more >></a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Tides Bar and Grille</strong> at the Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn, 3550 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. Info: (561) 582-5631. Afraid of Palm Beach? Don’t be. Tides proudly boasts it’s the closest restaurant to the ocean in South Florida. Every table overlooks the pool and the ocean, and the outside terrace offers al fresco dining. <a href="http://events.pbpulse.com/palm-beach-fl/venues/show/1105702-tides-bar-grille" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #663433; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Directions, reviews, more >></a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Johnny Longboats</strong>, 2401 Ocean Ave., Singer Island. Breakfast served: 7 a.m. to noon daily. This place wins for the best legend. Ask someone to tell you about it. This place has a local, old Florida feel that will make you feel oceans away from the old 9-to-5 grind. Small dogs are allowed outside on patio.<a href="http://events.pbpulse.com/singer-island-fl/venues/show/1105327-johnny-longboats" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #663433; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Directions, reviews, more >></a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Coconuts on the Beach</strong> at the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront/Palm Beaches, 3700 N. Ocean Drive, Singer Island. Info: (561) 848-3888. Breakfast served: 7 to 11 a.m. You may not be able to put your toes in the sand while you’re eating, but pretty close! <a href="http://events.pbpulse.com/riviera-beach-fl/venues/show/1103759-coconuts-on-the-beach" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #663433; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Directions, reviews, more >></a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Sandbar</strong> at Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa, 5 North A1A, Jupiter. Info: (866) 943-0950. Breakfast served: 7-11 a.m. Monday-Friday and a breakfast buffet 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to noon Sunday. It’s tough to find surf-side dining in Jupiter, but pool-side and an ocean view works.</span></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-36849382606010139722011-07-22T12:35:00.000-04:002011-07-22T12:35:23.198-04:00A tour of hotels, restaurants where Entourage filmed final season<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aIi1HR0mHdA/TimmxS-YAjI/AAAAAAAACOM/jmbxG9S_dU0/s1600/restaurants+where+Entourage+filmed+final+season.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aIi1HR0mHdA/TimmxS-YAjI/AAAAAAAACOM/jmbxG9S_dU0/s320/restaurants+where+Entourage+filmed+final+season.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A tour of hotels, restaurants where Entourage filmed final season</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/reporter/Barbara+De+Lollis">Barbara De Lollis</a></span></div><div><br />
</div><div><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">LOS ANGELES - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As we wait for the eighth and final season of HBO's hit series, "Entourage," to premier Sunday, speculation builds about the plot - and, importantly, which sexy locations we'll see in the shows.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Well, Hotel Check-In's here with some answers about the locations.</span></div><div class="__NOTFORSYNDICATION" style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><strong style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">PHOTO GALLERY: </strong> <a href="http://travel.usatoday.com/gallery/An+%27Entourage%27+tour+of+Los+Angeles+hotels/G2518" style="color: #05558c; text-decoration: none;" target="_self" title="PHOTO GALLERY: A tour of hotels, restaurants where Entourage shot final season">A tour of hotels, restaurants where Entourage shot final season</a></span></div><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I also have a heads-up about a couple of LA hotel-restaurant personalities who were invited on the set.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">During my two-week hotel whirlwind here, it seemed as if every hotel I checked into or visited had <em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">just </em>hosted the Entourage cast and crew for filming.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The day before I toured the glam W Hollywood hotel with GM Jim McPartlin, Entourage had just wrapped up shooting for a scene in the hotel's swanky, outdoor Living Room, where celebrities regularly pop up.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Other hotels where Entourage filmed scenes for the final season:</span></div><ul style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://i.usatoday.net/travel/_common/global/images/list_bullet_gray.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beverly Wilshire: Expect to see plenty of this glitz hotel - part of the Four Seasons chain - in the final season. (Though I didn't spot Vince, E or Drama, I did spot real-life Hollywood talent scout mogul Ari Emanual - the power broker who Ari Gold's loosely based on - dining in the hotel's restaurant BLVD a few tables away from me.)</span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://i.usatoday.net/travel/_common/global/images/list_bullet_gray.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Redbury: They came to the eccentric, hip Redbury to film scenes throughout the hotel as well as in its hot, laid-back restaurant, Cleo. (Again, I didn't spot any Entourage cast members, but I did run into pop singer Natasha Bedingfield one night at the hotel's private rooftop lounge.)</span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://i.usatoday.net/travel/_common/global/images/list_bullet_gray.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SLS Beverly Hills: They shot scenes throughout the sexy, design-driven SLS hotel, including its rooftop pool. (No sign of E, but I'm pretty sure it was James Cameron - Aquaman director - who we saw holding court at a rooftop table during our stay.)</span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://i.usatoday.net/travel/_common/global/images/list_bullet_gray.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Montage Beverly Hills: They filmed in a few places in this luxurious hotel, but perhaps the most interesting is the barber shop location. One character in particular sat in barber William Gornick's chair to get a straight razor shave. While in his chair, they undoubtedly heard Gornick's colorful stories about the days he used to give Pres. Ronald Reagan a shave. (I didn't have luck here either spotting Adrian Grenier or the others, but I did see Iron Man director Jon Favreau arrive and walk into the lobby to do a photo shoot.)</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the case of cameos, you'll likely spot two high-profile people from the hotel-restaurant world. They are:</span></div><ul style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://i.usatoday.net/travel/_common/global/images/list_bullet_gray.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam Nazarian, the LA nightlife, restaurant and hotel mogul (CEO of "sbe") who runs some of the hottest hang-outs in town. Entourage filmed at two of his hotels (the SLS Beverly Hills and Redbury) in addition to two restaurants (The Bazaar and Cleo). Nazarian's such a high-profile player in town that he had a small cameo in a prior season, but this time he was given actual lines. He's not, however, about to quit his day job. "It's always fun to take part, but (Entourage co-producer Mark) Wahlberg's not exactly sending me scripts for his new projects," Nazarian told me via email.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://i.usatoday.net/travel/_common/global/images/list_bullet_gray.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 12px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scott Conant, the New York chef who last October opened one of his popular Scarpetta restaurants at the Montage Beverly Hills. The restaurant's packed and regularly hosts celebrities. (While I was there, Latin pop star Luis Miguel and Daisy Fuentes dined there.)</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">LA's hottest hotels and restaurants have made it into plenty of other shows during the past seven seasons.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">One example: Way back in season two, Jeremy Piven, Adrien Grenier and Kevin Connelly went to the Viceroy Santa Monica to film scenes for the "Oh Mandy" episode (No. 16). In the scene, Ari presented Vince with a check for $2 million for doing Aquaman as well as James Cameron's list of candidates for Aquagirl.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Readers: Can you name other memorable Entourage scenes shot in an LA hotel or restaurant? Also, by the likes of the hotels shown in the photo gallery, do you want to make any bets on the direction that Vince's career will take?</span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-16110835897116291722011-07-21T11:46:00.000-04:002011-07-21T11:46:55.207-04:00Luca Bella, Family Style Italian Dining, Coming to South Florida<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5XVdXwVi7I/TihJ6JPnVzI/AAAAAAAACNU/QsYCU0Tsz-U/s1600/luca+bella.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5XVdXwVi7I/TihJ6JPnVzI/AAAAAAAACNU/QsYCU0Tsz-U/s320/luca+bella.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Luca Bella, Family Style Italian Dining, Coming to South Florida</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><div id="story_subheadline" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Former Owner of Matteo’s Italian Restaurant, Hallandale Beach, takes over ‘Chef Allen’s’ old location in Aventura; Owner Mickey Maltese will roll out Southern Italian Favorites beginning, September, 2011</b></span></div></div><div style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AVENTURA, Fla.--(<a href="http://www.businesswire.com/" style="color: #226db3; text-decoration: none;">BUSINESS WIRE</a>)--Concorde Plaza will soon be the new home of <i>Luca Bella</i>, a <b>family-style Italian restaurant formerly occupied by Chef Allen</b>. The <b>new restaurant</b>, situated just off of US 1 or Biscayne Boulevard, will feature primarily <b>Southern Italian dishes</b>, fresh seafood, Northern traditional dishes, as well as a <b>full bar</b> and<b>extensive wine list</b>.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Concorde Plaza, located on the north side of <b>Loehmann’s Fashion Island</b>, houses a number of family-oriented businesses and medical offices, including several retail stores. It is just the right place for new owner <b>Mickey Maltese</b> to call home.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div id="story"><div style="margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I am excited to open up a restaurant where my concept of family can truly be encompassed,” Maltese said. “The vitality and family nature of the plaza enables me to feel right at home, and I’m sure the clientele will agree.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maltese, previous owner of <b>Matteo’s Italian Restaurant in Hallandale</b>, has industry experience spanning over fifteen years. With family originally from Naples, Maltese was born in Brooklyn and raised in Cedarhurst, Long Island, New York. Living in South Florida for the past six years with his wife Gabriela and two children, Marcelo Luca and Isabella, he has established a <b>great rapport with customers</b> and looks forward to continually serving them and others in the area.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“My dedicated loyal staff and I like to create what we call Italian comfort food, family style portions of the more popular Italian-American and some traditional Southern Italian dishes as well,” Maltese said. “Some of my favorites will be the little neck baked clams or clams casino, pan fried veal chops layered with prosciutto and mozzarella and topped with a marsala mushroom sauce, prime New York strip steaks and double cut pork chops smothered with sautéed cherry peppers and onions cooked on our wood fired grill. We will also be serving a variety of fresh seafood, including whole lobsters, scallops, snapper, salmon, sea bass and mussels, as well as a variety of pasta dishes like gnocci, tortellini and ravioli.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the opening of <b>Luca Bella</b>, Maltese plans to showcase what he likes to call a “modern twist to an authentic, Italian eatery.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’m excited to take on this new venture,” Maltese said. “I’ve always wanted to expand my horizons, yet still maintain a charming and relaxing family atmosphere.”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Luca Bella</b> has begun transforming the space and is <b>scheduled to open in September 2011</b>. The 4,000 square foot facility will offer accommodations of up to 200 persons, boasts an outside patio for dining, a private party room, a 20 person bar and several large flat screen televisions. The average dish will run anywhere from $11.95-42.95.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div><div id="releaseBottom" style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><h2 style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 229, 195); border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(212, 229, 195); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(212, 229, 195); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(212, 229, 195); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; color: #4fa600; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal bold 125%/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Contacts</h2><div><div style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1.39em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Luca Bella, Aventura<br />
David Mittler, 305-450 8655<br />
or<br />
Michael Maltese, 516-567-3904</div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-51490220788802703312011-07-20T11:19:00.000-04:002011-07-20T11:19:49.463-04:00The Food Truck Phenomenon is Taking Over the Nation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Phoay22ixF8/TibyD72nBrI/AAAAAAAACL8/4cwmWvFT2UI/s1600/Food+Truck.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Phoay22ixF8/TibyD72nBrI/AAAAAAAACL8/4cwmWvFT2UI/s320/Food+Truck.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The Food Truck Phenomenon is Taking Over the Nation</span></b><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Follow that food truck. Whether it’s up the street, over at the farmers market or on Twitter and Facebook, there’s a bumper crop of cooks serving meals from mobile kitchens this summer.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“It’s like we had pressure on the dam, and it burst,” said Greg Smith, president of the Atlanta Street Food Coalition. It started with King of Pops carts and the Yumbii truck, and now we’ve got at least 10 trucks fully permitted by the health department.”</div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A far cry from the neighborhood “ice cream man” and hot dog stands, the food truck scene represents a wide range of ethnic and gourmet offerings. From Yumbii’s Asian rib-eye tacos and tilapia tacos with Korean barbecue sauce to W.O.W truck’s arepas — Venezuelan corn cakes filled with beef, chicken or pork — food trucks serve quality vittles at affordable prices. Even popsicles get a culinary upgrade. Steven Carse’s King of Pops, with carts working the streets of Athens, Atlanta, Asheville and Charleston, offers frozen flavors such as chocolate sea salt, strawberry rhubarb and banana pudding.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A survey out this week by the market research firm Technomic Inc. found that 91 percent of folks familiar with food trucks say the trend is here to stay. The biggest reason nonusers of food trucks cited for not frequenting a mobile cart was hesitation over buying food from a vehicle. Certainly food safety and proper permitting are big concerns.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“Everyone’s required to operate out of a commercial kitchen,” said Smith, who adds that area municipalities haven’t exactly made it easy for food truck owners to roll into their new businesses easily. “It’s extra complicated in the metro Atlanta area because we have so many municipalities with different methods of interpreting the health code. The <a href="http://g.ajc.com/r/DX/" style="color: #004488; text-decoration: none;">city of Atlanta</a> and the Fulton County Health Department are the ones we have worked with since we started. Marietta is taking initial steps to permit food trucks now.”</div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b>Mobile eateries</b></div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">While many food trucks advertise daily locations on their websites, there’s an emerging trend in Atlanta to create food truck “pods” or gatherings of multiple mobile kitchens. You can find food trucks in Midtown on Mondays and Thursdays, at the Woodruff Arts Center and Atlantic Station on Fridays, and at the Buckhead Theatre on Thursday evenings.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Jenny Levison of Souper Jenny restaurant in Buckhead loads up her brightly colored “Incredible Flying Soupmobile” with soups, salads and sandwiches and takes her show on the road to food truck events. “It’s entertaining, and you can get all kinds of people to sample lots of food in one place.”</div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Not surprisingly, the Technomic survey found that location is vital to the success of food trucks, as more than half of consumers “just happen upon them.” Facebook and Twitter are key ingredients for marketing these mobile restaurants because 84 percent of heavy social media users visit food trucks once a week. “I think it’s really cool,” Smith said. “It brings people out and really taps into the power of community in Atlanta.”</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-25466769216108948242011-07-19T11:19:00.000-04:002011-07-19T11:19:22.291-04:00Cupcakes Battle Over Sprinkles Name<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8UrILCHg4mk/TiWgdPPAF4I/AAAAAAAACLM/wmZBteSeBgM/s1600/Pink+Sprinkles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8UrILCHg4mk/TiWgdPPAF4I/AAAAAAAACLM/wmZBteSeBgM/s1600/Pink+Sprinkles.jpg" /></a></div>Cupcakes Battle Over Sprinkles Name</span></b><br />
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Candace Nelson plays a judge on the Food Network's reality television show "Cupcake Wars." But now her cupcake company has taken up a legal fight of its own against an upstart business.<br />
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Nelson's company, Sprinkles Cupcakes, is so frosted that it filed a federal trademark-infringement lawsuit Friday in Connecticut against a store named Pink Sprinkles. The lawsuit claims the similarity in names is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace.<br />
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"The resulting confusion will damage Sprinkles and injure its reputation in the trade and with the public," the lawsuit says.<br />
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The lawsuit says Sprinkles opened its first store in Beverly Hills in 2005 and became a national phenomenon as the cupcakes were featured on shows hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart and others. Sprinkles, which is based in Texas, has stores in New York, Washington, D.C., California, Dallas, Houston and Scottsdale and is planning to open several more around the country and in London, Paris and Toronto.<br />
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Pink Sprinkles opened in 2009 and calls itself "Fairfield's first cupcake boutique."<br />
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Messages left Monday for the owner of Pink Sprinkles were not immediately returned.<br />
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Sprinkles has repeatedly requested that Pink Sprinkles "promptly transition to a new name" but it has refused, the lawsuit says.<br />
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The lawsuit, which seeks damages and to make Pink Sprinkles stop using the name, calls the dispute "an exceptional case, involving calculated and willful misconduct."<br />
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Sprinkles will have to prove consumers are likely to confuse its cupcake with Pink Sprinkles, said Jessica Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan who teaches trademark law. She said Sprinkles is a common name for a bakery, the websites are different and the two businesses are not in the same market.<br />
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"I think it's not so weak a case it was stupid to file it but it's not a strong case," Litman said.<br />
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Charles Nelson, who owns Sprinkles with his wife, said he tried to resolve the dispute amicably but was not successful. He said there has been confusion between the brands, with people erroneously thinking the couple had opened a store in Connecticut, and that their cupcake mix was for sale in Connecticut.<br />
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"It's not about competition," Nelson said. 'It's just about our name."</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-20610447982000979942011-07-18T12:25:00.000-04:002011-07-18T12:25:51.131-04:00Fake Celeb Chef Scams 300 in NJ<div id="headline" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 659px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w_EooLO_flY/TiRefVtuctI/AAAAAAAACKQ/EiMASC4PkYs/s1600/Leonard+Reubeck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w_EooLO_flY/TiRefVtuctI/AAAAAAAACKQ/EiMASC4PkYs/s1600/Leonard+Reubeck.jpg" /></a></div><h1 class="title" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Fake Celeb Chef Scams 300 in NJ</b></span><br />
<b>Police say the man, claiming to be from the Food Network, sold tickets to a celebrity chef event that never was.</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Joe Hyer</span></span></h1><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div id="paragraph1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anybody can pose as a celebrity chef these days, but not knowing the basics of cooking might tip the public off.</div><div id="paragraph2" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leonard Reubeck, 20, of New Castle, Delaware was arrested on Wednesday, after police say he posed as a Food Network chef and scammed 300 people out of money.</div><div id="paragraph3" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">They say he sold tickets for $35 a pop for what he claimed to be a Food Network event in Carney’s Point, N.J. on July 16, <a class=" external" href="http://www.nj.com/sunbeam-news/index.ssf/2011/07/delaware_mans_claims_he_was_st.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #2794d1; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Today's Sunbeam reports</a>.</div><div id="paragraph4" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The faux-star promoted the Food Network’s "Dinner Impossible BBQ,” an event that the TV station was allegedly hosting at the Carney’s Point firehouse. Ruebeck told others that the event would feature guests like Bobby Flay, Robert Irvine, Paul Deen and Rachael Ray, <a class=" external" href="http://www.nj.com/sunbeam-news/index.ssf/2011/07/delaware_mans_claims_he_was_st.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #2794d1; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">according to the paper</a>.</div><div id="paragraph5" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Police say that promotion for the event began in May when Reubeck, otherwise known as "Chef Lenny," was teaching a cooking class. During the course, Reubeck said he was a Food Network chef and convinced others by wearing a Food Network chef’s jacket and a medallion that he allegedly won during a made-up appearance on the show “Iron Chef,” <a class=" external" href="http://www.nj.com/sunbeam-news/index.ssf/2011/07/delaware_mans_claims_he_was_st.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #2794d1; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">according to the Sunbeam</a>.</div><div id="paragraph6" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Something just didn’t seem right during the classes when he didn’t have any of the basic skills a chef should have,” <a class=" external" href="http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2011/07/delaware_mans_claims_he_was_st.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #2794d1; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">one student, Theresa Press, told the paper</a>.</div><div id="paragraph7" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That's when Press went to police and reported Chef Lenny. After an investigation, Reubeck's lies unfolded and he and his cohorts -- a fake production assistant and fake sous chef -- were questioned.</div><div id="paragraph8" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">All admitted their wrongdoings.</div><div id="paragraph9" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ruebeck was released after reimbursing customers nearly $10,000 in ticket costs and officials say criminal charges will not be filed.</div></span></span></div></div><div class="user-interaction" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font: inherit; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 659px;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290444334062584270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728838293911516531.post-15545793801830312202011-07-15T11:45:00.000-04:002011-07-15T11:45:44.625-04:00Rivers Casino dining scene has mass appeal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DjDXnRe3hfk/TiBgmvgTWsI/AAAAAAAACJQ/n9ANzYcnfLs/s1600/ivers+Casino+in+Des+Plaines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DjDXnRe3hfk/TiBgmvgTWsI/AAAAAAAACJQ/n9ANzYcnfLs/s320/ivers+Casino+in+Des+Plaines.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">Rivers Casino dining scene has mass appeal</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">BY MIRIAM DI NUNZIO</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><div class="body.dropcap" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Rivers Casino in Des Plaines opens its doors officially to the public on July 18, all eyes will be focused on the gaming experience, of course. But the Chicago area’s latest casino has more in store than just slots and table games.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new casino boasts seven eateries where visitors can enjoy everything from small bites to gourmet burgers to high-end steak and seafood, as well as a full-out menu of cocktails, world-class wines and more.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We wanted to give our customer base a diverse offering when it came to restaurants,” said Richard Schneider, vice president of food and beverage for Rivers Casino. “So there’s a wide variety of food and price points to meet everyone’s expectations and cravings, whether it’s a quick cup of coffee and a made-in-house pastry or a fine-dining experience.”</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Schneider stressed that Rivers opted for many local vendors and suppliers, including the Gibsons Restaurant Group, which owns and operates the casino’s high-end Hugo’s Frog Bar & Chop House. Rivers’ restaurants also will be serving up Chicago-based Metropolis coffees, Vienna beef products, fish and meat from Chicago purveyors, seafood from Des Plaines-based Boston Fish Market and brews from Chicago-based Half Acre Beer Co. Although there are no Illinois wines represented, expect the full depth and breadth of varietals from California, Australia, Chile, France and Italy.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Our whole game plan for the food was to make it fresh, the highest quality, emphasize small-batch cooking, locally sourced, and make the casino a dining destination,” said William McIlroy, the executive chef overseeing all the casino’s food and beverage operations and menus (except for Hugo’s).</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a look at the dining landscape at Rivers Casino:</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hugo’s Frog Bar & Chop House (Monday-Sunday, 11 am. to closing; 847-768-5200): The sleek styling is instantly reminiscent of Hugo’s properties in Chicago and Naperville. The menu (though not finalized at press time) will reflect the classic steaks, chops and seafood that are this chain’s hallmark. This is the property’s most expensive and high-end eatery.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FLIPT (Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.; Sunday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.): The funky, casual eatery will be serving up burgers, freshly made to order, as well as a full menu of fixings, fresh salads, hand-cut fries, sandwiches and shakes.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We tried 30 different burger blends until we found the one we will be serving,” McIlroy said.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MianBar (Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 a.m.; Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.): This is the smallest restaurant on the property, with just 18 seats, but the menu of noodles and rice dishes is grand in options.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Roasted duck noodles, classic mango duck salad, seafood noodle soup, pot stickers and dim sum are just part of the menu,” McIlroy said. “It’s a very simple but very authentic Asian menu.”</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lotus Bar (10 am. to 4 a.m. daily): This is the massive, centrally located cocktail lounge (complete with piano or jazz trio).</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“This is a respite to just get away from the [gaming] floor,” Schneider said. “We worked with national mixologists to come up with the cocktail menu. And we’ve put our own interesting twist on many of the drinks.”</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Specialty cocktails are $15 and boast classics such as Manhattans and gimlets plus more eclectic libations such as Caipirinhas and Bellinis.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Canopy Buffet: (Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Price: $19, lunch; $26, dinner; $21, Saturday and Sunday brunch). This expansive buffet features nine distinct stations, serving everything from fire-rotisserie chicken, beef and pork, to homemade soups, Italian fare, “American comfort food,” Asian specialties (including hand-rolled sushi), housemade desserts and carving-station fare.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“This is all about small-batch cooking,” McIlroy said, “and a majority will be cooked up right in front of you. That ensures the freshest food throughout the day. Our desserts and pastries, for example, are all individual servings, so a mini-cheesecake is exactly that, not a big cheesecake just cut up into pieces. We make our own gelato, as well.”</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Canopy’s signature soup is the homemade matzo-ball soup, McIlroy said. “It’s very hearty and simple but we are very proud of it.” The buffet also will serve a full brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cube (Monday-Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Thursday, 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.; Friday, 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.): This is the casino’s multipurpose lounge/party room. The venue can be transformed into a nightclub, sports bar, live music stage or private party showcase, complete with patio area.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“People will be able to enjoy football or basketball games on giant screens, or dance the night away,” Schneider said. “This room is all about flexibility.” The menu for the room is all about small bites and cocktails.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Coffee Spot (9 a.m. to 7 a.m. daily): This option is all about a quick cup of coffee, homemade pastries, breakfast sandwiches a selection of sandwiches, salads and other coffee-shop favorites.</span></div><div class="body.textrr" style="color: #3d3c3c; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note: The restaurants are located inside the casino, so patrons must be 21+over to dine at any of the eateries. For more information on Rivers Casino, 3000 S. River Rd., Des Plaines. Call (847) 795-0777 or visit riverscasino.net.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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