The Houston Press put together a slideshow of twenty foods from TV, movies, and literature that they wish really existed. Entries include Romulan Ale from Star Trek, Harry Potter's Butterbeer, and the "tomacco" plant from The Simpsons (an addictive hybrid of tomato and tobacco). I'd add in the fizzy drink Frobscottle, from Roald Dahl's book The BFG—tasting "of vanilla and cream, with just the faintest trace of raspberries on the edge of the flavour." And coolest of all, the bubbles go downwards. What fictional foods would you like to eat?...
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To Seek Out Strange New Worlds ... and Eat Their Foods Spaceballs ... oh, wait. That was another movie. The J. J. Abrams–helmed Star Trek movie opens tomorrow. As I was reading up on the new installment, I came across this line in the Wikipedia entry: "Another reference to Abrams' previous works is Slusho, which Uhura orders at the bar she meets Kirk at." That reminded me that food and drink is depicted routinely in the Star Trek franchise—across ten movies and six TV shows. There's no doubt—or at least, I hope—that there will be food references in the 11th movie, which will feature Romulans, Vulcans, Orions. As a refresher, I thought I'd take a look at what passes for...
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Calling all Survivor fans: Courtney Yates may not have been crowned the sole Survivor on last night's finale, but if you'd like to the see the first runner-up model/waitress and self-proclaimed "world's biggest b----h" serving food instead of trying to win challenges for it, grab a table at the Coffee Shop in Union Square. According to a recent interview with the guys over at Grub Street, she once received a $250 tip from Taye Diggs. It may not be a million dollar prize, but perhaps her newfound fame will bring in more big tips à la Taye....
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More TV-related food news for you: Fans of the CW network show Veronica Mars have been sending Mars candy bars to Dawn Ostroff, CW's president of entertainment, as a form of protest that the show has been canceled. It's similar to the Nuts for Jericho fan campaign that had devotees of that show sending massive amounts of nuts to CBS....
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By now you've either seen last night's Sopranos or the news coverage this morning of what was the series finale. If, like me, you were wondering where the infamous final scene took place, where it was that the cinematographer lingered so lovingly over those onion rings, Jason Perlow of Off the Broiler enlightens us: Holsten's in Bloomfield, New Jersey: Opened in 1939, going there is literally like being sent back in a time machine to observe the social habits of pre-WWII and 1950’s American youth. The menu of ice cream treats and food items it serves are totally retro. This is not by design like one of the newer established 50’s chains like Johnny Rockets or Cheeburger Cheeburger, but...
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Slate's Jacob Weisberg breaks down the growing ubiquity of green tea: "In China and Japan, green tea is a hot drink usually served in a small ceramic cup. But to American commercial culture, green tea is yoga in a bottle—or in a can, candy bar, candle, lotion, soap, perfume, pill, or extract. Described as soothing and gentle, it sits paradoxically at the red-hot intersection of New Age health mania and industrial chemistry." As an example, Weisberg points out that if you're drinking the Tazo Green Tea Frappucino at Starbucks for any other reason other than taste like, say, your health, you're delusional—the venti size has a whopping 560 calories, and that's without whipped cream. [via Amy's Robot]...
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Bacon is a Vegetable: the slogan that started out as a Diesel Sweeties strip can now be purchased on t-shirts, aprons and stickers. What, no tiny hipster buttons?...
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retroCRUSH says, "2007 is the Chinese Year of the Boar. It's a year of fertility that will be lucky for people giving birth during this time (unless you're in China and have a baby girl). What better way to honor this ancient and silly superstition than by paying tribute to the great pigs in pop culture history?" I have to confess I'd totally forgotten about both Gub Gub and Hen Wen, despite loving them when I was a kid....
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Fans of Lost, the next time you host a viewing party, why not go the extra step and make your food look like it's been air-dropped by the Hanso Foundation? All you need to do is print out from a PDF onto a label and pretty soon your beer will be Dharma Initiative Rations....
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