Monday food links - June 28, 2010
Visit the linkfarm for a medley of stories including giant salmon, a new Double Down-style sandwich, a barbershop with booze, green bars, Starbucks and entrepreneurship.
Kombucha tea might have as much alcohol content as some beers, according to the New York Times Diner’s Journal. The thing is that it keeps fermenting even after it’s been bottled, so it just keeps getting more and more alcoholic.
Fish double-header! (Double-finner?) Both from the NYT.
Genetically-altered salmon are now under study by the FDA for possible approval. These salmon are pretty much normal salmon on steroids, able to grow twice as big very quickly and make the natural ones feel inadequate. But are these steroid-salmon safe? I guess the FDA is finding out now.
Tuna’s End discusses the bluefin tuna. It’s a long article, but a good read. The bluefin tuna is one of the most prized fish for sushi, but one of its only known nesting grounds is currently being soaked in oil courtesy BP and company. The article also follows some Greenpeace activists trying to stop a boat from catching tuna, which doesn’t go well and results in one of the activists literally being harpooned. Ouch!
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Oh, not another one! KFC, hot off the release of its Double Down sandwich, is now going to try it again, but this time with bread, according to the Orange County Register. The Doublicious, dropping on July 5th, features sweet Hawaiian bread buns, bacon and some sort of special sauce. Arteries are already clogging in anticipation!
Over at A Hamburger Today, a quest to find the best American cheese slices for cheeseburgers, testing 10 different varieties. Interestingly, the healthiest—an organic and a vegan choice—score the worst in the taste testing.
Interesting new bar in New York City—The Blind Barber, which is actually a bar and a barber shop. (Bar-ber shop!) You can get a shave and a haircut (for slightly more than 2 bits), plus cocktails like the Sweeney Todd, or skip the barbershop altogether and go to the lounge in the back.
A restaurant owner in Arizona decided to capitalize on the popularity of the World Cup by selling a burger made of... lion meat. His defense is “they eat it in Africa!” and he kept trying to stress that the lion was free range, except CNN Money did a little more sleuthing and found that his free-range claim may not be as true as he thought.
The AP reports on a Seattle Starbucks location that is basically its laboratory. It’s not even called Starbucks, but rather Olive Way. It has work space and a meeting room, a fireplace, more closeness to the baristas and BOOZE! Yep, that’s right, craft beers and wines from the Pacific Northwest. This concept could really work—if stuff from Olive Way proves to be a hit, Starbucks can spread it out to their other locations.
The World Barista Championship, held here in Atlanta last year, was in London this year. It just finished and an American man won! Michael Phillips of Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea in Chicago. 52 different nations participated this year in an event the NYT describes as “part World Cup and part World Figure Skating Championship”...with caffeine!
Last week, Jimmy Fallon sang a choral ode to Hot Pockets on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Now, Hot Pockets responds in kind. (Link includes both videos.)
EcoDrinking.com highlights 9 of the best eco-friendly bars around the country, from LA to NYC to Hawaii. Atlanta is not represented on that particular list, but EcoDrinking does list two bars here, Altorex and Pacci, which are both on the same street!
No, the phenomenon of Bros Icing Bros was not a clever ploy by Smirnoff to sell more Smirnoff Ice, as some theorized—in fact, Smirnoff had Bros Icing Bros taken down. Sad. I kind of liked the ingenuity some of the icers used to ice their bros.
Here is a slideshow of nine frozen yogurt places whose names, logos or both greatly resemble those of Pinkberry.
And finally, support an entrepreneur! Bastard Brownies Bakery is the brainchild of “Meg” (pseudonym), who suffered a really bad breakup just after Valentine’s Day. Left to pay 100% of bills she fully expected her ex to chip in half of (especially a mortgage on a new house—eek!), she decided to try making a little cash by selling brownies. The flavors are hilarious. The “Bastard” includes caramel, marshmallow and walnuts (which Meg says represents how quickly he slipped away, how his life will turn to mush and the size of his penis). There’s also the “Loyal Boyfriend,” “Sweetheart” and “Slut” as well as a sampler. They’re shipped via UPS Flat Rate Priority so they’ll be fresh. Hmm. I should try some!