July 14, 2008
Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, July 14, 2008 at 8:00 PM
The ground was a little soggy this Saturday from an earlier rainstorm, but beyond some muddy shoes the weather was warm and welcoming for my first excursion into Chicago's Green City Market. Advertised as the city's only sustainable market, not to mentioned home to regular cooking lessons from notable Chicago chefs, I absolutely couldn't wait to experience it for the first time.
Sure enough, as soon as I walked in I was given a cute little cup of cherry porridge with sweet Israeli cous cous, a creation from Jason Hammel and Amalea Tshilds of Lula Cafe. Luckily. I've visited that excellent restaurant before, and this was a great reminder of their remarkable menu. What a perfect way to start shopping.
Not that I needed any help. The only thing that could have held me back was my own lack of imagination. Whether it was a mountain of berries, elk meat, or fava beans, I felt overwhelmed in the best possible way.
Continue reading »
Congrats to bndraldy, ch121, cbradford, gala2, and boover57. Winners have been notified by email and also appear on our Contest Winners page. Thanks to everyone who entered last week's Cook the Book!
Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 14, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Once again, the Next Food Network Star contestants were pinching themselves, wondering how they entered this surreal food media world. Paula Deen is here? And we're in Vegas? And our next challenge is a Throwdown-style in front of the Throwdown messiah, Bobby Flay? Whoa, I love my life.
This week, the remaining four had to make a signature dish and one-up their opponent's signature dish in a 75-minute battle. That meant Adam was recreating Lisa's cassoulet, the slow-cooked French bean and pork stew, which he'd never tried before, let alone recognized. Lisa, as a Southern girl, should have owned Adam's mac and cheese, but when her dish wasn't endorsed by Paula Deen, she looked weepy.
"I do not like it at all; in fact, I hate it." When the mother of all things gooey, fatty and cheesy, hates your mac and cheese, you're pretty screwed.
Continue reading »
Posted by The Serious Eats Team, July 14, 2008 at 2:15 PM
Major League Eating: The Game is out! And we're making an open call, a challenge to other food blogs out there—we're looking specifically at group endeavors like you, Grub Street, Eater (and your regional variants), Slashfood, and The Kitchn. We dare you to throw down against the virtual eating skills of the Serious Eats crew, so bring it! Your place or ours—or even online. Stick a fork in it—you're done!
Lack of response will be seen as cession of the Scarf Scepter to us.
Posted by Lucy Baker, July 14, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Here in New York, one of the most expensive cities in the world, good deals on food can be hard to find. After all, this is the home of the original World's Most Expensive Cocktail, not to mention a $1,000 ice cream sundae that is only available by appointment. Ask any Manhattanite or Brooklynite, however, and they are sure to tell you—in hushed tones, lest others find out—about their favorite place for a steal of a meal.
My number one bargain buy? The lobster roll at the Fairway Café in Red Hook, Brooklyn. For just $7.99, you get a buttery bun filled with big, sweet chunks of lobster meat (light on the mayo), chips, coleslaw, and a snappy deli pickle. Plus, the patio view of the Statue of Liberty is unparalleled.
Continue reading »
Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 14, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Brunch haters are few and far between, but McDonald's is one of them. That 11 a.m. deadline for breakfast foods is so strict, leaving absolutely no wiggle room between Egg McMuffin and Big Mac service. Is it so wrong to crave an egg sandwich at lunchtime and double meat patty at 9 a.m.? Or both at once? Don't they stock everything in the back anyway?
Two self-proclaimed "Internet Celebrities" Dallas Penn and Rafi Kam hopped into a fast food spaceship to another cosmos where McDonald's brunch sandwiches exist. Arriving at 10:55 a.m. just before the changing of the guard, they ordered breakfast then hopped back into line at 11:01 a.m.
The result: Canadian bacon, the "round eggy thing," fries, Premium Chicken Select Strips, and honey mustard, all inside the McGriddle bread. Yes, they went there. Because they call the shots, "not the clown." After the jump, watch the meal rebellion, but be aware, the language is NSFW. [via SoGoodBlog]
Continue reading »
Posted by Wan Yan Ling, July 14, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Meet the longan. Its name literally translates to “dragon’s eye," which I can only assume stems from the way its translucent, off-white flesh resembles the eye's sclera, with a pupil-like black seed within. I was tempted to take a picture of all their beady little eyes exposed and peering out, but it’s impossible to eat just half a longan. Like biting into a plump cherry tomato or succulent grape, cramming the whole thing in your mouth is almost a matter of principle.
With a sweet, almost-crisp bite, the longan’s flavor is very much that of a subtle, floral honey. Lychees and longans are often compared to each other—probably because these two fruits come into season at the same time. Whenever you see the brilliant, glistening, ruby coat of the lychee, you’ll no doubt spot the plain, mottled brown skin of the longan, too. The poor longan, not as lusciously sweet, decadently perfumed, or extravagantly juicy as the lychee, is often put down as inferior—referred to, in fact, as the “handmaiden of the lychee."
Fresh or Dried
Yet, in the final race toward human consumption, the longan is the dark horse. Being drier, fresh longans fare much better than lychees during transportation, with significantly better odds of arriving at tables none the worse for wear. Grown in Florida and Hawaii, fresh longans appear in dishes as diverse as mahi mahi and longan ceviche and chicken with longan and macadamia salad. I like them plenty fresh and out of hand, but here’s the cincher: Unlike lychees, which aren’t very good past their prime, I’m just as enamored of longans dried.
Continue reading »
Well, it's official. Now when your beer snob friends sneer at you for drinking a Bud, you can tell them it's a Belgian beer. Anheuser-Busch took the $52 billion takeover offer from Belgian brewer InBev.
Posted by Raphael, July 14, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Today, July 14, 2008, marks a momentous occasion in the history of virtual gluttony: the release of Major League Eating: The Game on Nintendo's Wii Ware service, a game which we've tracked extensively. The game is for one or two players, with the killer feature of online play and leaderboards. Requiring players to "master a smorgasbord of offensive and defensive weapons including bites, burps, belches, mustard gas, and jalapeño flames while cramming and chewing food at a world-class pace," the game is officially sanctioned by Major League Eating, the sporting league that oversees all professional competitive-eating events, including the Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. The game will "simulate the fast and furious action of a professional eating competition" and feature "the world's greatest gurgitory athletes."
Expect an extensive review here on Serious Eats.
Previously
Photo Gallery: Competitive Eating Stars Battling at Nintendo World Store
Eater X, Speed Eating Sushi
Video Trailer for 'Major League Eating: The Game'
'Major League Eating: The Game' Coming Soon for the Nintendo Wii
Posted by Ed Levine, July 14, 2008 at 8:30 AM
Friend of Serious Eats and Roadfooder Stephen Rushmore embarked on an insane 50-stop journey with two other Roadfooders, searching for the best ice cream in New England. They covered six states and hundreds of miles and came to some surprising conclusions. Stephen gave us the scoop on his incredible ice cream journey.
Continue reading »
Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 14, 2008 at 7:30 AM
Starbucks is unleashing another "healthy" answer to the extra caramel Frappuccino with extra whip. Launching Tuesday, the "Vivanno" will taste, look, and act like a smoothie but since it's "so much more than a smoothie" according to Starbucks, they won't let you call it one.
The Vivanno will come in two flavors: Orange Mango Banana Blend, made with Naked Juice, protein and fiber powders, milk, and ice, with 227 calories in a grande. In the Banana Chocolate Blend, mocha syrup replaces the juice, and there's 270 calories for the same 16 ounces. Each blend also contains a whole banana, which Starbucks really wants you to know and love. According to one barista blogger, staffers were reminded repeatedly that there's “at least one serving of fruit with a whole banana" throughout corporate training. They even watched a DVD underscoring the banana presence.
And bananas are good. Americans eat as many bananas as apples and oranges combined, according to banana sage Dan Koeppel. Less than 300 calories is also good, as Frappucinos can easily reach the 600- to 700-calorie range.
But is Starbucks a smoothie house? Not according to the barista blogger. "This isn’t Jamba Juice. This isn’t Smoothie King. This is Starbucks Coffee & Tea. Not Starbucks Coffee & Tea & Smoothies. Or I suppose Starbucks Coffee & Tea & Nourishing Blends."
What do you think? Would you grab a not-smoothie from Starbucks?
Read our review of the Starbucks Vivanno and a comparison to Jamba Juice Smoothies.
