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Snack Time
- Ever wish you could drink your cheesesteak instead of chewing it? Me neither. Apparently, Kirk LaVecchia has — the South Jersey brewer has a cheesesteak-flavored beer in the works. So far, the ingredient list includes boiled meat and old hops. Sounds interesting.
- Moving on to a more sophisticated Garden State inebreant, WHYY and the Wine School of Philadelphia teamed up to host a tasting comparing wines of France to wines of New Jersey. It seems the growing conditions in NJ are similar to those in Bordeaux. They blind-sipped six different wines, three from each region, and then rated. Check out the link to see which region took the cake.
- Let's transition from refined to uncouth. A billboard recently appeared in Chicago claiming "Hot Dogs Cause Butt Cancer" via the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council is boiling mad at the "outrageous [and] inflammatory" claim. Reps of each group were last seen throwing case studies at each other's heads.
- Marilyn Hagerty, a food writer in Grand Forks, North Dakota, was just doing her job by writing this review of the newest and hottest restaurant in town, Olive Garden. The internet seemed to have caught on to the piece and how it reflects a simpler way of life 'round those parts, and Camille Dodero of Village Voice interviewed Hagerty about her new-found popularity. Hagerty is a sassy bitch, ladies and gentlemen, and I like her for that.
- Little old ladies from the Dakotas aren't the only inconspicuous food writers out there — we got rappers, too. Francis Lam wrote this poignant piece on the Notorious B.I.G.'s use of food imagery in his lyrics, from recalling his sparse childhood meals to boasting about the expensive bubbly he drank.
- The creative geniuses over at Molson Coors are coming out with an inventive new product, Coors Light Iced T. Not to be confused with Ice-T, the beverage doesn't actually contain any iced tea, just extra chemicals to give the beer the flavor of the summertime drink. I know you're excited, but it won't be available in America for a bit. They're giving it a test run in Canada first.
- Remember how we posted about that awful tipper in last week's Snack Time? Looks like we, and the rest of the internet, were HOODWINKED! Turns out the whole thing was a sham. Well, I never.
- If you know anything about me at all, you know I love sushi. The bros over at Bamboo Sushi seems to have heard about this and made this little video just for me. It documents the journey of a fish from the water to the table and Bamboo's approach to sustainability.
- Grub Street New York posted this article on using bitters in food. They're used all the time in the Carribean, as Angostura bitters are from Trinidad and Tobago. Rarely do chefs in the States use bitters in cooking, but one who does resides right here in Philly: Fish's Monica Glass includes bitters in her cherry meringue.
- In addition to the overhaul that the PLCB performed on 10 liquor stores, they've also released an iPhone app that acts as a state-store locator and locates bottles you're looking for, among other features. For those of us not on the iWagon, they'll be coming out with an Android version soon.
- The Union League's Joan Carter doesn't care about hot dogs. Carter mentions in a letter that she had exiled a hot dog vendor from Broad and Sansom to "buy back [their] corner" and make it a "cleaner, safer and better" place. Hot dog-related crime has really been on the rise lately. Strong move, Joanie.
- Guys look, a whole photo gallery of the country's 50 fattiest foods. That's one from each state. Peep PA at No. 48. Bet you can't guess what our dish is.
- If you were hoping that we would post a vid of a really cute baby sloths, today is your day. It's food- related, in that they drink milk and get coated in lard. And then wrapped in this really precious patterned gauze, like they're wearing clothes!
In this extremely impressive vid, a guy creates a skeletal dragon lolipop by drizzling melted caramel from a spoon. This dude is for serious talented. I'm not even that precise with a fine point pen.
- Felicia D'Ambrosio has another great interview for generocity.org, this time with Philabundance's executive director, Bill Clark. Formerly a successful businessman, the now-retired Clark spends his time making sure that the hungry are getting fed: "The way to end hunger isn't just to put food in front of people who are hungry," he says. "To truly end it, we need to build a community-wide intolerance for the existence of hunger among us." It's nice to know that people like Bill exist in our city.
- The manager of the Tony Luke's brand (who should really brush up on his grammar) felt it was his social and moral obligation to let Philebrity know that Jen Carroll and Tony Luke Jr. are allegedly dating. Regardless of whether or not this little tidbit is true, the email chain and Sweeney's commentary are highly entertaining.
- Kellogg's is a wholesome family brand, but they've got a sense of humor, too. "I heard someone use the expression Totes Amazeballs, and it sounded like something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I sent a cheeky tweet saying I'd invented a new cereal and that Kellogg's were interested," says Tim Burgess of The Charlatans. Kellogg's contacted Burgess and together they created one box of Totes Amazeballs, which is a strange conglomeration of cereal, cake, candy and raisins.
- There has been a bunch of discussion around the web lately regarding the Roundeye Noodle Bar's nomenclature since Helen Gym of Asian Americans United sent out a statement of her thoughts to the press. Our own Drew Lazor writes about the subject from an Asian-American perspective.
- Check out this post on Eater about a rich jagweed who tips only 1 percent when he dines out. Well, I never.
- It's unfortunate that Old City is still seeing violence during its busiest times. The most recent bout of brutality occurred outside of Recess Lounge (125 S. Second St.) early Saturday morning, when a man was stabbed in the leg. On a lighter and somewhat related note, check out our earlier post about Old City newcomer Reserve.
- Cooking Light has compiled a clever list of 41 of the most common cooking mistakes and how to fix them. I would admit to you that I'm guilty of committing nearly all of these mistakes, but I won't because that's embarrassing.
- Dosa Hunt is a short film by Stereogum's Amrit Singh in which he gathers a bunch of cool dudes of Indian heritage (Anand Wilder of Yeasayer, Alan Palamo of Neon Indian, Himanshu Suri of Das Racist) to search for good dosas in NYC. Sam Hockley-Smith wrote about the flick for Fader.com.
- Someone gave some guy named Logan Warren a Starbucks gift card, so he thought it would be fun to try to create the most expensive Starbucks drink possible. And he did. For $23.60, he ordered a 31-ounce Trenta Java Chip Frappuccino with 10 add-ins. Peep the article for the list. I promise it'll be gross.
- A man dining at Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas actually suffered a heart attack while eating their aptly-named Triple Bypass burger. The restaurant blatantly endorses unhealthy eating, from the name to the policy of letting people who weigh more than 350 pounds eat free. "I actually felt horrible for the gentleman because the tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt. Even with our own morbid sense of humor, we would never pull a stunt like that," says owner "Doctor" Jon Basso. Disheartening.
- For a more lighthearted (ugh sorry) story about beef, Antony Bowness, a butcher from Gloucestershire, has created a meat bouquet. It's made from a dozen sirloin strips curled to look like roses. "I mean if you can make a dress from meat, then why not a bunch of roses?” says Bowness. Looks like Lady Gaga wins again. Dang.
- I'm trying to think of an eloquent way to talk about this Reese's Pieces spec ad, but I can't. It's ... weird? Gross? Inhumane? Just watch it. Sorry in advance, guys.
- Bompas & Parr, "food artists", want to make your wedding day even more exciting. They offer an exploding wedding cake service, which involves an explosives technician putting charges inside your wedding cake that detonate when you cut it. Risk assessment is included in the £800 price tag.
- This video is supposed to show a guy completing the "Gauntlet Challenge," which requires you to consume six habaneros, 15 Warheads, two packs of Mentos (while drinking Diet Coke), a tablespoon of cinnamon and a gallon of milk. This video, in actuality, shows a guy chewing real loud and puking everywhere. Fun stuff.
- Want to get your sweetie something real special for Valentine's Day but just don't have the money? We've got a solution for you: make underwear out of beef jerky! Great idea or greatest idea?
- If you're not into the briefs-made-from-jerky scene but still really want to show how much you care, why not purchase the Engagement Party Package from Pizza Hut? For $10,000, they're pulling out all the stops: a limo, a ring, flowers, fireworks, a photographer, a videographer ... and a Pizza Hut dinner box. If she doesn't say yes to THAT, tell her it's over, man.
- No meat undies and no Pizza Hut diamond for you? You're probably feeling a little blue. Why not eat some chocolate (it's said to boost your mood) while looking at a bunch of weird stock photos of people eating chocolate?
- Brock Davis, a photographer from Minneapolis, still plays with his food, but it's the sake of art. Here he's recreated three infamous explosions in world history using cauliflower.
- Meal Ticket contributor and donutness extraordinaire Felicia D'Ambrosio sat down for a Generocity.org Q&A with Yael Lehmann, executive director of The Food Trust. Not only does Yael oversee an org whose goal is keeping all of Philadelphia fed and healthy, she also plays bass in a band called Happy Accident. Dude, Yael is badass.
- Ever wonder if a takeout order at Sonic could make you cry? No? Well, troubadour Giorgio Fareira nails it with this vid. This is like Dashboard Confessional type shit.
- BBC News posted about 3.5-year-old innovator Lily Robinson, who suggested that Sainsbury's supermarket rename its tiger bread to giraffe bread because of the closer resemblance. Maybe it's because I'm still thinking about the singing Sonic order, but this article is making me tear up again. It's so cute I can't stand it.
- Bake Happy shows us how to make fondant dragon toppers for our Chinese New Year cupcakes with this simple recipe. All you need is an art degree, a culinary degree, and a few cookie cutters.
- NYC filmmaker Casey Neistat demonstrates a cool trick that turns whiskey into water. Well, not exactly, but that sure would be something, eh?
- Listverse has combined two of my favorite things, lists and food, to bring you a list of 10 fast foods everyone should eat. There ain't no 'merican foods, though. Think more along the lines of sushi from Japan or croissants from France.
- Stacy Irvine, who's been subsisting almost entirely off of chicken nuggets for 15 of her 17 years on earth, was taken to the hospital after collapsing due to her atrocious diet. Irvine sure is smiling a lot in these pictures for someone who fully realizes her eating habits are deadly.
- In other health-related news, researchers suggest using "cured salted pork" to stop nosebleeds. What is this I don't even ...
- In even more health-related news, Rita Lawlor, a 7-year-old from Sarasota, has won an award for saving her mother's life after she couldn't wake her. What did little Rita do? "I called 911, but first I slapped her with a piece of pizza." Atta girl.
- Starbucks, along with several other large corporations, has publicly announced that it supports gay marriage legislation. Yeah!
Photo: bakehappy.blogspot.com
- Here's a whole minute and 14 seconds of Brad Pitt eating and drinking in movies. Does he have some sort of edible clause in his contract?
- In light of the not-shocking news of Paula Deen's diabetes, Twitlebrity Megan Amram imagines what a health-food cookbook from PD might look like. Paula's Guilt Free® Pizza Pants look very good.
- For those who enjoy the finer things in life, Wendy's is rolling out a premium Black Label burger. They'll offer two versions: bacon portabella ("Take that, vegetarians!" -Wendy), and spicy Santa Fe. The burgers will run you more than $5, so start saving up now.
- L.A. Kings forward Dustin Penner hurt himself while eating pancakes a few weeks ago, which has led to multiple awesome moments, including a fan bringing a box of pancake mix to a game for Penner to autograph. Apparently he's been a good sport about all this pancake business.
- If you caught last week's episode of Parks and Recreation, you may have recognized the building Ron Swanson and Co. got pulled over in front of — it was Paddy's Pub from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
- As you may or may not have heard, some scalawags stole more than 500 pounds of meatballs from a delivery truck in Old City. "It's unclear why the thieves would target 510 pounds of frozen meat or how they would unload the goods." There's an Oregon Trail joke in there somewhere.
- Arrested Development movie rumors are just that (I'll believe it when I see it), but Megan Mullally confirms that there is a Party Down movie in the making. For those unfamiliar, it's about a dysfunctional catering company. Are we having fun yet?
- Tina Fey and ?uestlove engaged in a time-honored ritual to quash any residual animosity between the two after ?uest aired some of his grievances toward Fey on Bravo. It's formally known as "biting the hoagie of forgiveness." I hear they're adding a "forgiveness" option to the touch-screen menus at Wawa.
- Icon Magazine has released an issue entitled "The Future of Food," and Behance Network gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the cover image — a technicolor hamburger made entirely from cut and folded paper, sesame seeds and all.
- After refraining from price hikes for 18 months, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has announced plans to raise prices on certain items effective in February. The price increases range from 50 cents to $5, and are seemingly necessary to offset the cost of getting the liquor from the manufacturer to state store shelves. After reading this article, I feel oddly sympathetic toward the LCB. Dammit.
- TSA agents confiscated a woman's cupcake-in-a-jar at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. The woman had no issues in Boston, but Vegas found the frosting to be too "gel-like" and in violation of the policy against liquids and gels over 3 ounces. Everybody knows cupcakes aren't worth eating unless you've got at least 4 ounces of frosting on there, anyway.
- Cracked.com writes a list entitled "9 Ridiculous Cooking Myths You Probably Believe." I, for one, believed each and every one of those myths because I'm an impressionable young lady. Chefs of Philadelphia, what say you? Accurate?
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